Battle Of Britain Manual: RAF Operations Manual 1940

This small book about specific topics of the Battle and its archives is generally very good. Because of that I will focus on those few errors solely made by researcher Saunders. He is not historian and on few occasions it shows. Generally he is obsessed with Friendly Fire Fake Stories. On page 112: "There were also frequent cases of friendly fire, often with fatal consequences". Page 113: "Unfortunately, there is also evidence pointing on Hurricanes being shot down in error by other RAF pilots who claimed their hapless victim to be a He 113". Both statements are not only incorrect, but baseless lies. Yes, there were some claims, that some pilots suggested being attacked by friendly aircraft, but those cases were not proved, except very few examples solved in official enquiries, including AA fire. RAF really considered danger of fríendly fire and that is why those enquiries were held. It happened in the future too. Page 128: "Nevertheless, the appearance of taking the fight to the enemy during the Battle of Britain was just as important in raising the morale of the British population as was the damage inflicted on the enemy". This statement about Bomber Command success in the Battle of Britain is exageration on both ends. Their activity was made as a propaganda tool for Home Front, but bombers successes were scares and far between. I could mention only one successfull raid on German airport from 10.9.40 on Eindhoven where 8 He 111s of II./KG 4 were destroyed. Other results were just negligible.

There are multiple books on the deeds of the BoB, usually based on pilot experiences. It's nice to see a book where this is recognised, but does not dominate. Focusing to a high degree on the strategy, communications and processes behind how the battle was fought in a concise way works very well.Some may criticise a lack of technical detail, but there is sufficient for the objective of the book.

Brilliant book,another angle on the battle of Britain.

Brilliant book

Rare to find books describing operation of C3 systems so for anyone interested in such topics or in the Battle of Britain itself, should be an interesting read. Well illustrated with relevent photos and diagrams. Not a long read - pp164 (though large pages), and about half the page area is illustrations.

All the information on how the Battle of Britain and defence systems worked.

First class service and product

A very comprehensive overview of the BOB and a great addition to any library.