The enthralling account of Alex Henshaw's life with the Spitfire. Alex Henshaw spent the early days of World War II at Eastleigh, England testing the immortal Spitfire fighter with Jeffrey Quill before being appointed Chief Test Pilot at Supermarine's new factory in Castle Bromwich. Thousands of Spitfires were tested and manufactured at this site throughout the war by the end of which 37,000 test flights had been made with Alex Henshaw flying an estimated ten per cent of all Spitfires ever built. Often landing without aids of any kind, his breathtaking acrobatic style and complete mastery of the aircraft were to save his life on several occasions.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword by Air Marshal Sir John Allison
• Introduction by Jeffrey Quill OBE
• Preface
• One The storm breaks
• Two Slow days at Weybridge
• Three Spitfire and Walrus
• Four Chief Pilot, Castle Bromwich
• Five Showing off the Spitfire
• Six Bother, bombs and a balloon
• Seven A Tomtit in the garden
• Eight Mr Churchill comes to see
• Nine Requiem for a Tomtit
• Ten Skewgear and prop
• Eleven A son gained, a boot lost
• Twelve Rolling the Lanc
• Thirteen Dinghy on the loose
• Fourteen Two of the very best
• Fifteen Task completed
• Sixteen Reflections 1996
• Epilogue
• Appendix Summary of Flying from Castle Bromwich