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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1663.PDF
FLIGHT, 18 December 1953 817 THE CHRISTMAS BOOKSHELF DEAR AUNT MATILDA.—Your suggestion of giving people aviation books for Christmas this year, to mark the Golden Jubilee of Powered Flight, is certainly a good one—though I must admit I hoped you had forgotten about the time when I accidentally left my copy of Bernt Balchen's biography Hitch Your Wagon by your bedside. We loved having you stay with us for those six months—honestly! Anyway—to business. First of all, there's Uncle. Obviously, you want something special for him, and I can suggest nothing better than Charles Gibbs-Smith's new History of Flying. The author is keeper at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and keeper-in-charge of the Wellington Museum at Apsley House; and there's very little he does not know about the early history of flying. With the careful attention to detail that one associates with his profession, he presents a cavalcade of facts, figures, fantasies, hopes and achievements that represent man's attempts to fly over a period of 4,000 years. It is a fascinating story, told with enthusiasm and illustrated with 162 photographs and drawings of almost everything from bird-men (and women) to the Comet. There is little doubt it will please Uncle, because, like him, Mr. Gibbs-Smith obviously believes things are not what they were in his young days: there are 20 pages on the "naughty nineties," and only 12 on the last 35 years! So that Uncle does not have things all his own way, however, I think you should try to get a copy of the U.S. Aircraft Industries Associa tion's Aircraft Yearbook for Cousin Tom. This year's edition is a special Jubilee one, and is quite unique as a compact reference volume on one country's contribution to aviation progress. It contains a superb 500-item chronology of U.S. aviation, and a masterly 12-page essay which puts the Wright Brothers' achievements in their proper perspec tive; then it launches off on to some 450 pages of solid facts and figures dealing with every aspect of present-day American aviation activities. There is, for example, a list of aviation books published in America during the year, and another list of world records current when the book went to press. One section gives completely new data on technical developments of U.S. industry; full specifications of every U.S. aircraft and engine in production, with photographs and line drawings; compre hensive notes on the current activities and finance of every major company in the U.S. aircraft industry; and tables of data giving every thing from the number of aircraft produced annually in America since 1913 to the miles flown daily by every type of U.S. air liner over the last ten years. That should keep Tom quiet for weeks. Now for Dad. Although it has only an indirect connection with aviation, I know he would enjoy The Eddie Chapman Story. You probably read extracts from it in one of the Sunday newspapers—all about a young Englishman who was parachuted into this country twice during the war by the German espionage system, to spy on our airfields and blow up de Havillands. Quite apart from the fact that his first landing was at Littleport, where we used to live, this true story, told by Frank Owen, is far more exciting (and what the cinemas call "gripping") than any spy-story in fiction. Your fear of being unable to find something suitable for dear old Uncle Gus was groundless. He never stops telling us what he thinks of France (although there is more to Paris than the Eiffel Towel and Moulin Rouge). So I have chosen for him The Flying Sailor, by Rear- Admiral Andre Jubelin, so that he can read what a Frenchman thinks of us. A description of the Sunday habits of English gentlefolk is a masterpiece; but only one of many. Jubelin began by escaping from Saigon in a tired Pelican lightplane, which his fellow-escapers had to flight refuel over the shark-infested sea, en route to Malaya. On arrival in England, he first brought a retired battleship to the aid of Portsmouth's anti-aircraft defences and then fiddled his way into the cockpit of a Spitfire. But perhaps the most interesting section of the book describes his tour of duty with MacLachlan's famous No. 1 Squadron of Hurricane night intruder fighters. Vive Ventente cordiale! Now for the terrible twins. The Demolished Man—Sidgwick and Jackson's latest science-fiction thriller—is just the job for Ernie. It is set in the year 2301, when old salts will offer joyrides at "fourpence round the milky way." Normal speech has given way to telepathy, so that the secretaries know what the boss is thinking, and there is enough horror, crime and super-science to give Ernie nightmares until next Christmas. Algernon deserves kindlier treatment, so buy him Jim Stevens' new- book The Shape of the Aeroplane. It will tell him not merely how aircraft have progressed from contraptions of stick-and-string to sleek masterpieces in metal, but why. It is history combined with sound lessons in easy-to-understand practical aerodynamics, illustrated with scores of the author's drawings and diagrams. It looks a little stodgy, but it is not; and, with a few exceptions like the Typhoon-Tempest evolution storv, it sets a high standard of accuracy. Judging from the length of time Ken kept my copy of Stuka Pilot, he enjoys reading of the experiences of the people who used to try to shoot him down (and up) ten years ago. So I Flew for the Fiihrer and Heaven Next Stop should be right up his street. The authors of both these autobiographies were German West Front fighter pilots of more than average skill, one flying Mel09s and the other Fwl90s. Both emphasize that they had no real hatred for Allied pilots and give examples of their kindly treatment of shot-down enemies. They paint a sorry picture of the steady deterioration of the Luftwaffe into an inadequately equipped, outnumbered force, flung into battle to satisfy a Fuhrer's intuition. How far its defeat dictated the kindliness in the books one can only surmise; but Ken will be interested to read of Heinz Knoke's "57 varieties" of training aircraft; of the "bugs" that beset pilots of Mel09s, Fwl90s and the first Me262s; and of the terrific respect Luftwaffe pilots had for his Spitfire even in 1944-45. There are interesting stories in both books of the use of rockets and bombs against bomber formations, and accounts of actions like the Scharnhorst-Gneisenau Channel dash and the German "last fling" air attack of New Year's Day, 1945, as seen through German eyes. It is, as you anticipated, rather more difficult to suggest a book for Uncle Willie. He certainly could not be bothered with history, and would never approve of the technicolored language and combat descrip tions in the war books. Flying saucers are more his cup of tea, so I should buy him Flying Saucers Have Landed, by Desmond Leslie and George Adamski. Even if he doesn't believe Adamski's account of a conversation with a gentleman from Venus, or doubts the authenticity of Adamski's remarkable photographs of flying saucers, he will find plenty to interest him in the first half of the book, which gives in great detail references to flying saucers and like objects in legend and recorded history over thousands of years. Nobody could read this section of the book without deriving some food for serious thought, especially at references to "aircraft" and weapons of war used by ancient civilizations. The parallel between some of the weapons and our modern atomic bombs seems too similar to be either coincidental or reassuring. Well—that's the lot! I hope that my suggestions will be of some help with the Christmas shopping. All that remains is for me to wish you a very happy Christmas. P.S.—I forgot to tell you who publishes these books, and what they cost. Here are the details : A History of Flying, by C. H. Gibbs-Smith. B. T. Batsford, Ltd., 4 Fitzhardinge Street, London, W.l. Illustrated. 21s. Aircraft Yearbook. Official publication of the U.S. Aircraft Industries Association. Lincoln Press Inc., 511 11th Street, Washington 4, D.C., U.S.A. Illustrated. $6.00. The Eddie Chapman Story, by Frank Owen. Allan Wingate, Ltd., 12 Beauchamp Place, London, S.W.3. 10s 6d. The Flying Sailor, by Rear-Admiral Andri Jubelin. Hurst and Blackett, Ltd., Hutchinson House, Stratford Place, London, W.l. Illustrated. 16s. The Demolished Man, by Alfred Bester. Sidgwick and Jackson, Ltd., 44 Museum Street, London, W.C.I. 9s 6d. The Shape of the Aeroplane, by James Hay Stevens. Hutchinson and Co., Ltd., Hutchinson House, Stratford Place, London, W.l. Illustrated. 12s 6d. I Flew for the Fuhrer, by Heinz Knoke. Evans Bros., Ltd., Montague House, Russell Square, London, W.C.I. Illustrated. 12s 6d. Heaven Next Stop, by Gunther Bloemertz. William Kimber and Co., Ltd., 46 Wilton Place, London, S.W.I. Illustrated. 12s 6d. Flying Saucers Have Landed, by Desmond Leslie and George Adamski. T. Werner Laurie, Ltd., 1 Doughty Street, London, W.C.I. Illustrated. 12s 6d. Other Books Received Wings Across the Tasman, by Leslie Jillett. A. H. and A. W. Reed (U.K. Agents: Phoenix House, Ltd., 38 William IV Street, London, W.C.2). Price 16s. The Winged Life—A portrait of Antoine de Saint Exupery, Poet and Airman, by R. Rumbold and Lady Margaret Stewart. George Weidenfeld and Nicolson, Ltd., 7 Cork Street, London, W.l. Price 16s. Jet—The Story of a Pioneer, by Sir Frank Whittle. Frederick Muller, Ltd., Earls Court Gardens, London, S.W.5. Price 16s. The Aircraft Engineer's Handbook : No. 1—Airframe Structure and Controls, Flying Instruments and Equipment, by W. J. C. Speller. Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., Pitman House, Parker Street, London, W.C.2. Price 30s. Airborne at Kitty Hawk, by Michael Harrison. The British Pub lishers Guild, Ltd., 182 High Holbora, London, W.C.I. Price 2s (paper-backed). Heat-Resisting Steels and Alloys, by C. G. Conway. George Newnes, Ltd., Tower House, Southampton Street, Strand, London, W.C.2. Price 25s. Royal Air Force 1939-1945. Vol. I—The Fight at Odds. By D. Richards and H. St. George Saunders. (First volume of the interim history, of the R.A.F. in World War II, beginning with the expansion of strength initiated in 1934 and carrying the story through the Battle of Britain.) H.M.S.O., Atlantic House, Holborn Viaduct, London, E.C.I. Price 13s 6d. (A notice appears on p. 826 of this issue.) Flight into Space, by J. N. Leonard. (An informative series of essays, in non-technical style, on various aspects of rocket flight and space exploration.) Sidgwick and Jackson, Ltd., 44 Museum Street, London, W.C.I. Price 12s 6d. For Yachtsmen Now on sale is Yachting World Annual 1954, a publication of value and interest to yachtsmen everywhere. Among the special articles are an important contribution on design, by J. Laurent Giles, R.D.I., M.I.N.A., and the section on new yachts, which has attracted so much attention in previous years, has been enlarged; details of over 40 boats are given. Other regular features include reports on the more important events of the season; offshore and inshore racing; dinghy racing; and powered-craft events. Throughout, much use is made of outstanding photographs taken during the year. Yachting World Annual is obtainable from booksellers, price 30s, or by post (31s 2d) from the publishers, Yachting World, Dorset House, Stamford Street, London, S.E.I.
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