Danny,
I remember reading a comment from Wg Cdr Stanford Tuck to that effect, but it was an introduction to a book (not the one mentioned by Archimedes ). Maybe "Spitfire in Colour" of the seventies? As best as I can recall:
"Wartime propaganda depicted Spitfire pilots as ginger, beer swilling types. Indeed, with very few exceptions, nothing could have been further from the truth. Flying fighters was very much a cat-and-mouse affair, and woe betide the pilot who was casual, or who daydreamed. He would soon 'cop it up the back end' or one of his pals would."