Flying Under Fire, Vol. 2: More Aviation Tales from the Second World War

David Bennett is the national director of the Department of Workplace Health, Safety and Environment at the Canadian Labour Congress in Ottawa.

Volume 1 of Flying Under Fire, a reprinted collection of flying stories
from World War II, was a fascinating book about aircraft and what was
achieved in flying them. This second volume is best regarded as part of
a total package. Taken by itself, it is of less interest. Apart from the
Gloster Meteor, the first British jet fighter, the aircraft are less
exotic than those in the first volume. Some aircraft, such as the North
American Mitchell medium bomber and the Curtiss Kittyhawk fighter, make
a new appearance. But by and large the aircraft have appeared in Volume
1; in the case of the legendary Supermarine Spitfire, there are two
stories in Volume 2.

The interest of Volume 2 is less on exotic aircraft or dramatic
operations and more on the quirks or handling characteristics of the
aircraft and the experiences of the pilots in dealing with them. Though
there is less in Volume 2 about specialized roles, such as training and
transport, there is an excellent piece of Spitfire photo-reconnaissance
by Bill Carr, later a lieutenant general in the Canadian Air Force.