Alan Firbank in Model Airplane Magazine, November 2015:

An Amazing Piece of Work!

"This book is an amazing piece of work and will provide hours of fascinating reading. It presents an excellent valuie for the money, shining a new light on the Battle of Britain. Pull up a chair in youir local bookshop. have a long, close look at this book and try walking out without it under your arm. I am seriously impressed."

By highly acclaimed World War II aviation historian Chris Dunning, 13 Aug 2015:

A useful addition to the library on this important subject

A useful addition to the library on this important subject. Christer Bergstrom skillfully weaves human emotions with the daily battles, from the frontline pilots to the higher command of both sides. He discloses the misused role of the twin-engine Bf 110 fighter which had a better record than the previous histories showed. Also Goering was more competent than thought and was let down by his subordinates. He knew the value of free chasing but his disobedient commanders preferred close escort which deprived the fighters of their main assets, speed and height.

The conflict between rival commanders on both sides is mentioned and this influenced the course of the campaign and the end result..
This is a human story as much as a battle of machines.

WW II author Neil Page at amazon.com 20 September 2015

By Theodore A. Rushton on September 23, 2015

Absolutely superb!

Absolutely superb, this book is a delight to read and in all likelihood will become the all-time aerial combat reference to explain the decisive English victory in the Battle of Britain.

It's a story of numbers. Spitfires and Hurricanes shot down 1,275 German aircraft; the Me 109s and Me110s shot down 1,050 British aircraft. The British lost 997 Spitfires and Hurricanes, the Germans lost 730 Messerchmitts. Perhaps more relevant, on June 1, 1940, the British had 446 fighters, by Nov. 2, they had 746; on June 29, the Germans had 1,117 fighters, by Dec. 28, they had 755.

In other words, aircraft production is a major factor. The British had only to defend Britain; Germany had to "rescue" Italy and guard its far-flung conquests. To win, the Germans had to quickly decimate the Royal Air Force; the Wehrmacht was not equipped for sustained combat. In contrast, the British merely had to hold out until winter slowed the German offensive. For the British, the critical date was the November 1940 re-election of President Franklin Roosevelt; if Roosevelt won, the U.S. would provide much needed military supplies, raw materials and especially 100-octane aviation fuel.

As for motivation, German pilots thought the war was almost over. They had won, and weren't anxious to be "the last to die." Service in France was a vacation compared to other postings; French culture, food, wines and women were plentiful and delicious. The British were fighting a last-ditch (the Channel) defence; everything they, their families and country valued was at stake.

Bergstrom details, in day-by-day accounts, how the English succeeded. In doing so, he shoots down wartime myths without detracting from successes. The English had a single purpose; the German effort was scatter-brained, due to Churchill's brilliant skill at goading Hitler into stupid reactions.

Granted, Hitler made victory easier. Time and again, Me-109 squadrons slashed Spitfires and especially Hurricanes to pieces; but they couldn't stop the slaughter of German bombers, or the steady plane-by-plane erosion of slow-to-be-replaced German aircraft and skilled pilots.

This book is a detailed study of the battle, plus sufficient background to understand day-by-day events. It is likely Britain's most important victory since Waterloo, certainly greater than the Spanish Armada which was largely dashed by the weather. More so than Stalingrad or the Kursk salient - - it was the turning-point of World War II. Bergstrom details it with exquisite but never "more-than-you-want-to-know" skill.

Read this book, think about it, and you'll get a much better understanding of the folly, heroism and meaning of war.

By T. G Reamon October 7, 2015:

In most ways an indispensable book!

In most ways this is an indispensable book for the military history enthusiast, full of elaborate detail and marvelous pictures.

The author, who has done an amazing amount of primary research (for example, interviewing a large number of living participants - many no longer with us), advanced several views that are not in the mainstream of prior thought about the Battle of Britain - first, that Goering was quite a capable commander, and came very close to winning, thwarted by the fighting spirit of the British (and the foreign pilots) , the ability of British industry to deliver new planes, and finally the pressure exerted on the home front as the British bomber command continued to bomb Germany in the face of heavy losses, forcing a change of strategy that gave Fighter Command breathing room.

The second revelation is his assertion that the much-criticized Messerschmitt bf 110 was quite an effective fighter, and statistically more effective that the 109s, something I have never heard before. Rather than being withdrawn from operations, the heavily armed 110s continued until quite late in the Battle and were only withdrawn when the need for night fighters became paramount.

By Paul Davies, Battle of Britain historian, 1 Dec 2017:

Greatest reappraisal of the air battle

This book was like a reawakening from the myths that abound regarding the battle of Britain. I have read over 370 on the subject and yet found much that was fresh, untrodden ground by this superb author`s research. Highly readable with many, never seen before images and statistics. You will love this book as much as I do for it's honesty. It's clarity and it's balancing of both true sides of the most critical battle for Britain that has ever been fought. The battle of Britain is given a new understanding through this marvelous work. Well written, Christer Bergström

In time for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, we now have―thanks to Swedish historian Bergstrom―perhaps the most thorough, expert examination of the topic ever written. Illustrated throughout with maps and rare photos, plus a color section closely depicting the aircraft, this work lays out the battle as seldom seen before. The battle was a turning in point in military history, and arguably in the fate of the world. By late summer 1940 Nazi Germany had conquered all its opponents on the continent, including the British Army itself, which was forced to scramble back aboard small boats to its shores. With a Non-Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union in hand, Hitler had only one remaining object that season―the British Isles themselves. However, before he could invade, his Luftwaffe needed to wipe the Royal Air Force from the skies. Thus took place history's first strategic military campaign conducted in the air alone.

This book contains a large number of dramatic eyewitness accounts, even as it reveals new facts that will alter perception of the battle in the public's eyes. For example, the twin-engined Messerschmitt Bf 110 was actually a good day fighter, and it performed at least as well in this role as the Bf 109 during the battle.

The Luftwaffe's commander, Hermann Goring, performed far better than has previously been his image. The British night bombers played a more decisive role than previously thought; meantime this book disproves that the German 109 pilots were in any way superior to their Hurricane or Spitfire counterparts.

The author has made a detailed search into the loss records for both sides, and provides statistics that will raise more than one eyebrow.

The "revisionist" version, according to which the courage and skill of the RAF airmen is "exaggerated" is scrutinized and completely shattered. There is no doubt that it was the unparalleled efforts of "The Few" that won the battle. The Germans, on the other hand, did not show the same stamina as they had on the continent. The following summer they would show it again when they went in to Russia. In the skies over Britain this work verifies where credit was due. The Battle of Britain: An Epic Conflict Revisited Hardcover – 7 Aug 2015 by Christer Bergstrom (Author)

By RasElLason 22 October 2016:

Battle of Britain revisited. Get it; Buy it, borrow it, steal it - but read it!

If you wish to read just one book on this subject, read this! The author is uncommonly unbiased, having had personal relations with several of the veteran ace pilots who fought on both sides of the conflict. He also debunks some long standing misconceptions that have been carelessly repeated in practically every book on the matter. These include the incompetence of Goering and the relative inferiority of the Me Bf 110. The basic truth remains: It was the valiant efforts and scrifices of the RAF that tipped the scales. But there is much more to learn here. (This was one of my most interesting reads on WW2, since Andreas Frankson and Niklas Zetterling debunked the official story of the battle of Prochorovka.)

By Astral Surferon 12 September 2015:

Definitive history

Christopher Bergstrom's analysis of conflict and the effect on both Germany and Britain is meticulously researched and highly readable. His account in The Battle of Britain has challenged a number of misconceptions I held about this period. It's a detailed and in depth review which calls into question strategic and political thinking on both sides. I'm no expert in war history, but this book has satisfied my interest in an authoritative account, particularly with so many commemorative events taking place. It's very readable and one to dip into again and again.

The photographs are extraordinary and bring the text to life. Many pictures are totally unlike any I've ever seen. I had an early review copy from Casemate publishing via Netgalley. Its a book which I believe is best experienced in hard copy and it's one I'd like to own as a reference text. I'd seriously recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in any aspect of the Second World War.

By RJ VEENENBERG on 5 November 2015:

Nice account of the battle with some new perspectives on the statistics

Christer Bergstrom is well known as perhaps THE authority on air war in the 2nd World War. His Black-Cross/Red-Star books could hardly be challenged or improved and give particular insight in the daily combat routines in the air.

The same is true for this book about a focus air campaigners which I fight over and over again on board, miniature models and unit cards.

New facts? Yes, that the RAF lost more aircraft in combat alone than the Luftwaffe, which obviously lost this air campaign not taking in account the many aircraft lost on the ground by the RAF. Britain however was producing more aircraft than Germany and could easily make good for the losses, where the Luftwaffe could not sustain the attrition rate. That Goering was a very intelligent and capable commander. That the Me 110 was a very capable aircraft in ground attack (Stephen Bungay saw it as a game changer if they would have been exclusively used in this role) but it also was a very effective destroyer of fighters if the superior speed, weaponry and range were used in the right way......(it was not for both of them, luckily for the British!).

So with Stephen Bungay now Christer Berstrom also points out that the Luftwaffe had the means to win the campaign only if the very able German commanders would have used a sound strategy and proper tactics for their aircraft. If the Luftwaffe only had focussed on the 3 important fighter factories and had kept on marauding the airfields around London, the battle could have easily won for the Germans. In reality their strategy and use of aircraft was flawed and after heavy losses sustained over Holland the BOB simply was too much for them. That they were a most dangerous enemy is proven by the fact that they inflicted heavy losses on the RAF, notwithstanding their poor treatment of the campaign.
Some facts however were missing in the Luftwaffe Order of Battle the type of Me110 was a C which must be a D for I/ZG76 and for a couple of units the Numbers of aircraft were missing. Losses per type of Bomber were not given, as were RAF losses on the ground or to accidenten and Luftwaffe losses to AA fire. The German Bomber characteristics were not given for the range, were the Ju 88 was superior in this respect and a full loaded Do 17 had a lousy range.