Vader, John (intro by Air Vice-Marshal 'Johnnie' Johnson), — SPITFIRE.

Ballantine, New York, 1978, 5th printing US, large format (trade) paperback, 160pp, line drawing and numerous half tone ills. in text, photo pictorial wrappers, in the Pan / Ballantine series 'History of World War II', an account of the history and development of the Supermarine Spitfire, from the days of the Schneider Trophy seaplane races in the late 1920s and early 1930s, to the Air Ministry specification for a four gun fighter. Supermarine's designer, RJ Mitchell, based his fighter design on his 400 mph Schnneider Trophy winner which concided with the development of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine which became a winning combination in the Spitfire. Test flown in 1935 it went into service with the Royal Air Force in 1936 with eight wing mounted .303 machine guns and a top speed of 360mph it went through many upgrades, Marks I - XI, improving on the fighting qualities and for a variety of purposes including high speed high altitude reconnaisance and a carrier version, the Seafire, for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.lightly rubbed at tips, near fine,