Vivid wholly convincing compelling. One of the best memoirs for years about the experience of flying in war Max Hastings Sunday TelegraphTwo months before the outbreak of WWII seventeenyearold Geoffrey Wellum becomes a fighter pilot with the RAF . . .Desperate to get in the air he makes it through basic training to become the youngest Spitfire pilot in the prestigious 92 Squadron. Thrust into combat almost immediately Wellum finds himself flying several sorties a day caught up in terrifying dogfights with German Me 109s. Over the coming months he and his fellow pilots play a crucial role in the Battle of Britain. But of the friends that take to the air alongside Wellum many never return.An intimate account . . . rich in detail James Holland Wall Street Journal Five Best World War II MemoirsAn extraordinarily deeply moving and astonishingly evocative story. Reading it you feel you are in the Spitfire with him at 20000ft chased by a German Heinkel with your ammunition gone IndependentA brilliantly fresh achingly written memoir. Thrilling and frightening on virtually every page . . . Wellum takes you into battle with him. A book for all ages and generations a treasure Daily Express