I believe this is the first all new 'Allied Wings' digital edition and this one is on the Spitfire 24 a plane that was a bit too late for WWII and while quite a capable aircraft, was one of many piston powered fighters that saw limited service due to the focus on turbine powered planes.

Only 84 Spitfire 24s were built, six of them converted from earlier airframes and of that total, fully a third spent their career stored away and never issued to units. In fact, so little was the Spitfire 24 changed from the Spitfire 22, that many felt it did not deserve its own designation. Basically, the aircraft was fitted with rocket rails for the ground attack mission. However, so limited was post war funding, that it was thought better to use what they already had and spend the money on jets.

Aside from a few miscellaneous units, the aircraft was only provided to one RAF squadron. This was 80 Squadron in Hong Kong and it served well for many years. Most of the book covers the use of the airplane by that squadron and goes into quite a bit of detail in that area. Once the RAF retired the type, it was used by the Hong Kong Auxilliary Air Force and some were used by the Malaya Auxilliary Air Force.

The book provides a full roster of every F.24 built and what happened to it when that information is known. It also has several superb full color profiles as well as a bevy of large period photographs, some of them in color. It makes for a complete story of the Spitfire 24 and is a reference that any Spitfire fan needs to consider.

May 2014

Review book courtesy of www.raf-in-combat.com. Visit them for other great titles

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