The Battle of Britain as Never Seen Before
By John Dibbs & Tony Holmes

The first Serbian edition of the luxury monograph whose original British edition from 2015 was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain (July 10 – October 31, 1940).

Edition: “Battles”
Language: Serbian (Latin script)
Illustrations: 241 black-and-white and 94 color photographs, 33 posters, 1 map
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 232
Year of publication: 2021

It seems that the purpose of this book, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the battle and written with such a great historical distance from the conflict that could have changed the fate of the world, was to present a balanced historical picture of both wartime opponents—the British Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe—and to demonstrate how evenly matched their chances for ultimate victory actually were.

The book contains an entire photo section dedicated to the German fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 26, depicting details of the everyday lives of pilots and ground crews stationed in France, as well as a separate photo section devoted to the pilots of RAF No. 32 Squadron.

The historical period of strained relations among European states that led to the outbreak of World War II, and later to the beginning of the battle itself, is presented in exceptional depth, with particular emphasis on the development and expansion of the German war machine during the years 1933–1940. Through both text and photography, the training of Luftwaffe pilots and the recruitment of British aircrew amid the anxiety of an anticipated conflict with the aggressor are vividly portrayed.

Most of the photographs appearing in this book have never before been published, and many belong personally to former participants in these events. The texts themselves often serve as testimonies regarding the condition and positions of both sides from a technical and tactical perspective, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of their aircraft, as well as the military and human morale within the ranks of both opponents.

This exceptionally high-quality publication provides a visual chronology of the legendary battle and factually describes how the mighty German air force suffered its first defeat in a military campaign—at the hands of Churchill’s “The Few.”