Operational history of the Spitfire cannot be told fully unless it is put in the context of broader air aoperations, both British and Allied, and further, also the general military and political events of the war. Writing about campaigns such as Salerno landings or Siege of Impahl, I find myself constantly checking and re-checking dates and chronology of particluar events. Indeed, one is constantly being surprised to learn that the dates quoted by different sources often deviate from each other.

There are quite a few World War II timelines on the web, but here are a few that I found both usable and - not least important - readable.

• The USAAF in World War II - extremely comprehensive, day-by-day account of USAAF operations worldwide. I wish there was a similar chronology of RAF operations...
• World War 2 Timeline at worldwar-2.net - competent general timeline of wartime events
• Wikipedia's Timeline of World War II - very general but easy to navigate and read
• RAF Museum British Military Aviation Timeline - interesting facts from the RAF history

Labels: history