Spitfire Groundcrew Under Fire

So often it is daring, even dashing, exploits of the fighter pilots which attract the most interest. Theirs is, indisputably, the glory – but not theirs alone. For it is the groundcrew who kept the aircraft in the sky who deservedly share in that glory. The bond between pilots and their groundcrew was often an immensely powerful one. Each day they took to the sky the pilots put their lives in the hands of the fitters to keep their engines at maximum efficiency, the riggers who maintained the airframe and refuelled the aircraft, or the armourers who serviced the guns and loaded the bombs. The ground crew, the ‘Erks’, were only too aware of the responsibility they bore. Nothing could be overlooked. Everything had to be done correctly, often under enormous time pressures and far from ideal conditions. Those conditions included coming under attack from the enemy, as the title of this absorbing and unusual book indicates. It was at his first wartime posting of St Eval near Padstow in Cornwall that Joe Roddis first came under fire in July 1940. This, though, was a minor affair compared with what was to come. As the Battle of Britain grew in ferocious intensity, Joe’s squadron, No.234, moved to Middle Wallop – the groundcrew being flown in just as the airfield came under Luftwaffe attack. Joe was now firmly on the front-line, and his descriptions of the attacks inflicted upon Middle Wallop are detailed and exciting. Even more fascinating are his explanations of how each aircraft was prepared by the groundcrew, as they turned round the Spitfires as rapidly as possible to get them back into the air to beat off the enemy attackers. Under immense pressure, each function had to be carried out with great care and checked off before the aircraft could be released. The tension was immense. In September, the Battle of Britain having passed its peak, 234 Squadron returned to St Eval, where Joe remained until being posted to 485 (New Zealand) Squadron at RAF Driffield in March 1941. The squadron moved a number of times, to Leconfield, Redhill, Kenley and Kings Cliffe, while undertaking offensive operations across the Channel. It was eventually posted to Westhampnett where, among other tasks, it undertook night...