For the British, Spitfire is the same symbol of victory as for us Il-2 or T-34. The "finest hour" of this fighter came during the Battle of England, in which the fate of the country was decided. Fierce air battles lasted from July to the end of 1940 - cities burned, the Royal Air Force lost more aircraft than they collected factories working in three shifts, Prime Minister Churchill slept without undressing at the air defense command post. Both sides suffered horrific losses, but the Germans broke first. The air blitzkrieg failed. And the main merit in this is the English fighters, the best of which, undoubtedly, was the Spitfire. Subsequently, these machines fought on all fronts of World War II - not only the British flew on them, but also Poles, Czechs, French, Norwegians and many others. Spitfires were supplied to our country. Soviet pilots fought on them over the Kuban and chased German scouts over Moscow. Until the late 1940s, these aircraft made up a significant part of the USSR air defense fighter aircraft. After World War II, "spitfires" scattered around the world - from Argentina to Burma - taking part in many local conflicts. The publication is richly illustrated with hundreds of rare photographs.