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Aviation History
1933
1933 - 1292.PDF
FLIGHT, DECEMBER 21, 1933 ifooA y&uiburf. A Short Course in Elementary Meteorology. By W. H. Pick, B.Sc, F.C.P., R.Inst.P. Printed and published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, Adastral House, Kings- way, London. Price 2s. 6d. net. ""THIS is the fourth edition of this extremely useful little *• book. It is invaluable to a pilot whether he be in the Service or a civilian. Its chief attribute is its simplicity, yet it is extremely comprehensive, so much so that the Met. examination for a " B " licence can be passed on a study of this book alone. This 1933 edition does not differ much from the one last produced ; parts of it, however, have been brought up to date. The Interna tional Weather Charts Symbols are more extensive, several new ones having been introduced during the last year or two. Much new knowledge has come to light concerning the formation and movement of depressions, and these latest theories have been included. Experience is teach ing Met. experts more about forecasting each year, so it is but natural that a little more space has been given to this, perhaps the most important, side of meteorology. It is pleasing to note that the very attractive little chapter on Weather Lore has not been omitted ; the old weather maxims may not be altogether accurate, but they are very attractive and not without certain common sense. Airman's Escape. By Hermann Kohl, translated from the German by Claud W. Sykes. (John Lane the Bodley Head, Ltd.) Price 9s., post free. Obtainable from FLIGHT Offices. /"" APT. KOHL is a man who is interesting to everybody ^ because he, in company with Commandant Fitz- maurice and Baron von Hunefeld, made the first flight across the Atlantic from East to West. Therefore, we are glad to learn some more about him, and in this book he has told his story from the outbreak of war. Also the book is welcome as giving us some account of the doings of German night-bombing aircraft during the war. Their tale is not at all the same as that of fighters like von Richthofen and Boelke. In the bombing squadrons the pilot was almost invari ably a sergeant, while the officers were observers, naviga tors, and bomb-aimers. Capt. Kohl learnt to pilot a machine, but he learnt unofficially. Also, when he got command of a Staffel on the Somme front during the British offensive, he introduced night-flying on his own responsibility, although he says " most of my pilots were incredibly youthful and inexperienced. They had only just learnt to fly and could hardly bring off a proper landing in daylight." He frankly admits the British superiority in the air during the Somme battles. " When ever we encountered enemy scouts, we were inferior to them in armament and could only escape destruction by going into steep turns and hiding in the clouds." Later on he bombed a big ammunition dump at Blargies, near Amiens, on May 9, 1918, and was rewarded with the " Pour le Merite," the German equivalent to the Victoria Cross. Then he tried to bomb Paris, but was caught in searchlights and an " Archie " put one of his engines out of action. His pilot had to land in France, and both men tried to make their way back to the trench line. Both were caught after some adventures and became prisoner? of war. There is a fairly long account of his life as a prisoner and his many plans for escape. It was some time after the Armistice had been signed that he actually got out of his prison—one wonders was it really worth it!—and after a week's adventures reached the Rhone and swam across into Switzerland. This is the episode which gives the book its title, and it is well told. The escape, how ever, seems to have been fairly simple, and one cannot but suppose that the French did not care very much, as the war was over. Finally, Capt. Kohl tells the story of his Atlantic flight. That story was told three times in the book, " The Three Musketeers of the Air," each of the three of the Bremen's crew giving his own account. This fourth account is cer tainly superfluous. This book is very well translated, and is quite readable, but it is not a very valuable addition to a war library ; and, to be frank, Capt. Kohl does not succeed in making the reader fall deeply in love with the personality of the autobiographer. F. A. DE V. R. Jane's " All the World's Aircraft." (Sampson L0VC Marston & Co., Ltd.) Obtainable from FLIGHT Office. Price 43s., post free. \Y/E can do no better in describing " All the World's " Aircraft " than to quote the inscription on the jacket of this year's volume, " A complete record of aeronautical progress throughout the world during the past year." For twenty-three years " Jane's " has come as a boon and a "blessing to those who like to know just how far the rest of the world is behind or in front of us in affairs of avia tion. Each year the material for inclusion must grow more profuse, and with all sincerity we " hand it to " those responsible for the production of this annual. We are told in the preface that the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy Bureaux have instituted " Secret Lists " and " Part Publication Lists " which prohibit the publication of the performance figures of military types until the machines have been in production for one year. Of the Curtiss " Shrike " Attack machine we are told that there are " no data available." A very complete performance table of the " Shrike " was given in last year's " Jane's." The " slips," however, seem fewer than last year. The per formance figures of some of the French fighter types which were entered for the recent competition are of extreme interest ; the winner of the competition, the Dewoitine D.500, has an amazing performance. If only performance data of the Hawker '' Super-Fury '' were available! On looking through the book, one is left optimistic for the coming year. As the editor of " Jane's " puts it, " This particular year's volume may be regarded as indi cating the corner round which aviation had to turn before it could start on the road to ultimate success." It may be only the proximity to Christmas which is buoying us up, but we must say that we are inclined to agree. A new map of the Middle East JOHN BARTHOLOMEW & SON, of 12, Duncan Street, Edinburgh, have produced a very useful little map of the Middle East, including Turkey, Egypt, Palestine, Trans- jordan, the Levant States, Arabia, Iraq and Persia. This map is in contour colouring with roads, railways and tracks. A novelty is the marking of aerodromes and land ing grounds with little red aeroplanes, quite simple but very useful, though if Bartholomew's had it in mind to cater for pilots, and this map as it stands would be very useful to them, they might have marked wireless stations and whether petrol and oil were obtainable, which could have been done with very little extra trouble. The map is scale 1:4,000,000, and the cost 6s. net. Carriage by Air Act, 1933 (1) THE ratification by the President of the German Reich of the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules relating to International Carriage by Air, signed at S § S Warsaw on October 12, 1929, and of the additional pro tocol thereto, was deposited on September 30, 1933. The Convention will therefore, in accordance with Article 37 (2), come into force on December 29, 1933, as between the President of the German Reich and the High Con tracting Parties who had previously ratified it. The High Contracting Parties who had previously ratified the Con vention are those referred to in the Carriage by An" (Parties to Convention) Order, 1933 (S.R. and O. 1933, No. 543) (copies of which may be obtained direct from H.M. Stationery Office at Adastral House, Kingsway, London, W.C.2, and other addresses, or through any book seller, price Id. net or 2d. post free), and, in addition. Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, the deposit of whose ratification was notified in Notice to Airmen, Series A, No. 67, of 1933. . . , (2) Copies of the " Carriage by Air Act, 1932," which includes the text of the above-mentioned Convention, can be obtained direct from H.M. Stationery Office, or througn any bookseller, price 3d. net or 4d. post free. 1298
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