The silver Spitfire
Subtitle: the legendary WW11 RAF fighter pilot in his own words
By: Tom Neil
Edition: Paperback ed.
Publisher: Phoenix
Published: 2013
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 302
ISBN-13: 9781780221212
Copyright date: 2014
Subjects: Spitfire (Fighter plane); Aerial Military operations; Aerial operations; World War, 1939-1945; British Personal narratives
Description: "During the build-up to the Allied invasion of Northern Europe, Battle of Britain hero Tom "Ginger" Neil was assigned as an RAF liaison to an American fighter squadron. As the Allies pushed east, Neil commandeered an abandoned Spitfire as his own personal aeroplane. Erasing any evidence of its provenance and stripping it down to bare metal, it became the RAF's only silver Spitfire. He took his plane into battle alongside his US comrades until, with the war's end, he was forced to make a difficult decision. Faced with too many questions about the rogue fighter, he contemplated increasingly desperate measures to offload it, including bailing out mid-Channel. He eventually left the Spitfire at Worthy Down, never to be seen again. THE SILVER SPITFIRE is the unique and gripping account of Tom Neil's heroic experience as an RAF fighter pilot, flying his very own Spitfire"--Cover.
Notes: Includes index.