Book Review of
British Interwar Aircraft
Author: Lee Chapman
Key Books
ISBN: 978-1-80282-135-2
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $24.95
ISBN: 978-1-80282-135-2
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $24.95
HISTORY:
When the RAF was formed in 1918, Great Britain boasted the largest air force in the world, but it was not to last, As soon as the armistice was declared, a rapid disarmament began. After a period of austerity, the surplus military aircraft formed the basis for civil aviation as we know it today.
More people learned to fly, and pioneering individuals began to break down barriers and set records leading to a demand for purpose-built commercial, touring, racing and passenger aircraft. During the 1930s, the RAF boasted an array of beautiful silver biplanes, which soon gave way to more sleek monoplane fighters and medium-range bombers ready for the imminent war in Europe. This period is often referred to as the “Golden Age of Aviation”, and this book aims to capture that.
Exploring many significant British aircraft types that were active between World Wars One & Two, with the focus on modern-day survivors and replicas, this volume tells the story of how aviation changed during the period. Covering both civil and military aircraft types, the story is told using over 200 high-quality images of surviving, replica and restored aircraft.
THE BOOK:
Key Books is based in the UK.
This book is of soft-cover, with 132 pages in 6 ¾” x 9 ¾” page format. I recently got 10 Key Books to review and all of them have the same page count and page size. However, this book differs, because it is bound with its spine being down the 6 ¾” length, making for wide pages in 9 ¾”. I also had to count the pages, as they are not numbered.
With 205 full-color images including the cover arts and detailed information, this book plunges the reader right into the descriptions of British Interwar Aircraft.
The front cover art is a color photo of a 1930s twin-seater, Hawker Demon biplane, in flight, that has a open turret as the rear seat. It has a pale-grey spine over a light-orange bottom. There are 2 zig zag lines on top of each other atop the upper wing and down the fuselage sides, with the RAF roundel on them, and roundels on the upper wings. It has a black letter K over 8203 on its rudder sides, along with a white arrow head. It has white propeller blades.
The back cover shows a color photo of two original airworthy 1930s racing aircraft, the Shuttleworth Collections DH88 Comet and Percival Mew Gull.
The Comet is overall bright-red, with a white streak down the length of its fuselage, white Governor House on the sides of its nose, white fuselage code G-ACSS and a white circle at the top of the rudder with black no. 34 on it.
The Mew Gull is overall white, with a black circle that has a white area with undecipherable word on it on the sides of the nose, black fuselage code
G-ALXF and a small British flag on the rudder sides.
The CONTENTS page lists a PREFACE and names of 10 chapters and the BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2 After the armistices post World War One aircraft
Chapter 3: A kick-start for British light aviation aircraft of the Lympne trials
Chapter 4: The British Aviation Industry takes off: advanced light aircraft
Chapter 5: The beginning of commercial air travel
Chapter 6: The Golden Age racing and record breaking aircraft
Chapter 7: Silver Wings part one: military biplanes of the 1930s
Chapter 8: Silver Wings part two: the Hawker Air Force
Chapter 9: Re-arming for war: pre-World War Two aircraft
Chapter 10: Summary
Bibliography
Color photos in the book:
The TITLE PAGE has a civilian coupe, de Havilland Dragonfly and de Havilland Hornet Moth, all operated by the Shipping & Airborne Collection, based at Biggin Hill. Parked on a grassy field.
PREFACE:
Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a replica biplane at Stow Maries Aerodrome just after sunrise, a Hawker Nimrod II representing the silver biplanes of the British military in the 1930s.
Chapter 1:
Two Miles Magisters, a Southern Martlet and a Hawk Speed Six, a Sopwith Pup, a de Havilland DH 60 Moth leading a Dessauter and Spartan arrow over Old Warden Aerodrome, a Hawker Demon and two Hawker Nimrods, an Avro Tutor and its eventual replacement the de Havilland Tiger Moth, a Stranraer flying-boat in a museum, a DH88 leading 2 Mew Gulls and 2 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Is.
Chapter 2:
A Sopwith Pup, SE5a, BE2c, Sopwith Camel and photos of its cockpit and engine, a DH-9 and its interior and one in a museum, a Sopwith Snipe in a museum and in flight, an SE5a taking off, a Supermarine Southampton Mk. I flying boat in a hangar, an Avro 504K in flight and in a museum, 3 photos of a Percival F2.
Chapter 3:
A DH-60 Moth, a Sopwith Dove, an Avro 504K in a museum, a Wren prototype, a Beardmore Wee Bee, a Bristol Brownie, 4 photos of a Hawker Cygnet, a de Havilland Moth, a DH60, 9 photos of a Cirrus Moth, 5 photos of a Tiger Moth
Chapter 4:
Thirteen photos of a de Havilland Leopard Moth, 4 photos of Matildas, a Miles M3 Falcon, 3 photos of a Miles Master, 5 photos of a Sparta Arrow, 8 photos of a Queen Bee.
Chapter 5:
Seven photos of a de Havilland Dragon Rapide, an Avro 504K, 2 photos of a de Havilland DH51, a Vickers Vimy, 2 photos of a Short Sunderland flying boat, 2 photos of an Avro Anson.
Chapter 6:
A de Havilland DH 38 Camel, a de Havilland DH 60 Moth, 3 photos of a Vickers PB27 Vinny, 2 photos of a Comper LA-27, a Supermarine 360, 7 photos of a de Havilland DH 88 Comet, a Hawker Speed 6, a Vega Gull, 6 photos of a Percival Mew Gull.
Chapter 7
5 photos of a Avro 504, 5 photos of a Blackburn B2, 4 photos of a Gladiator SS-39, 2 photos of a Gloster Guardian Mk. II.
Chapter 8:
Three photos of a Hawker Demon, 3 photos of a Hawker Nimrod, a Hawker Tomtit and a Hawker Hart II.
Chapter 9:
A Gloster Gladiator, Hawker Hurricane, Stranraer Flying boat, 2 photos of a Westland Lysander, a Boulton Paul Defiant, a Bristol Blenheim, a Fairey Swordfish, a Hawker Hind, 6 photos of work being done in a hangar on museum aircraft, 5 photos of a Hurricane Mk. I, a Spitfire Mk. I and Mk. Ia with dashboard photos of each.
Chapter 10:
Gloster Gladiator, 6 photos of a Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Ia, 2 photos of a Sopwith Camel. 3 photos of a De Havilland DH88 Comet.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
A photo of a Hawker Fury, a Demon and a Nimrod.
This book truly tells IT ALL about British Interwar Aircraft. It will be of interest to modelers and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Key Books and all Key titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
When the RAF was formed in 1918, Great Britain boasted the largest air force in the world, but it was not to last, As soon as the armistice was declared, a rapid disarmament began. After a period of austerity, the surplus military aircraft formed the basis for civil aviation as we know it today.
More people learned to fly, and pioneering individuals began to break down barriers and set records leading to a demand for purpose-built commercial, touring, racing and passenger aircraft. During the 1930s, the RAF boasted an array of beautiful silver biplanes, which soon gave way to more sleek monoplane fighters and medium-range bombers ready for the imminent war in Europe. This period is often referred to as the “Golden Age of Aviation”, and this book aims to capture that.
Exploring many significant British aircraft types that were active between World Wars One & Two, with the focus on modern-day survivors and replicas, this volume tells the story of how aviation changed during the period. Covering both civil and military aircraft types, the story is told using over 200 high-quality images of surviving, replica and restored aircraft.
THE BOOK:
Key Books is based in the UK.
This book is of soft-cover, with 132 pages in 6 ¾” x 9 ¾” page format. I recently got 10 Key Books to review and all of them have the same page count and page size. However, this book differs, because it is bound with its spine being down the 6 ¾” length, making for wide pages in 9 ¾”. I also had to count the pages, as they are not numbered.
With 205 full-color images including the cover arts and detailed information, this book plunges the reader right into the descriptions of British Interwar Aircraft.
The front cover art is a color photo of a 1930s twin-seater, Hawker Demon biplane, in flight, that has a open turret as the rear seat. It has a pale-grey spine over a light-orange bottom. There are 2 zig zag lines on top of each other atop the upper wing and down the fuselage sides, with the RAF roundel on them, and roundels on the upper wings. It has a black letter K over 8203 on its rudder sides, along with a white arrow head. It has white propeller blades.
The back cover shows a color photo of two original airworthy 1930s racing aircraft, the Shuttleworth Collections DH88 Comet and Percival Mew Gull.
The Comet is overall bright-red, with a white streak down the length of its fuselage, white Governor House on the sides of its nose, white fuselage code G-ACSS and a white circle at the top of the rudder with black no. 34 on it.
The Mew Gull is overall white, with a black circle that has a white area with undecipherable word on it on the sides of the nose, black fuselage code
G-ALXF and a small British flag on the rudder sides.
The CONTENTS page lists a PREFACE and names of 10 chapters and the BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2 After the armistices post World War One aircraft
Chapter 3: A kick-start for British light aviation aircraft of the Lympne trials
Chapter 4: The British Aviation Industry takes off: advanced light aircraft
Chapter 5: The beginning of commercial air travel
Chapter 6: The Golden Age racing and record breaking aircraft
Chapter 7: Silver Wings part one: military biplanes of the 1930s
Chapter 8: Silver Wings part two: the Hawker Air Force
Chapter 9: Re-arming for war: pre-World War Two aircraft
Chapter 10: Summary
Bibliography
Color photos in the book:
The TITLE PAGE has a civilian coupe, de Havilland Dragonfly and de Havilland Hornet Moth, all operated by the Shipping & Airborne Collection, based at Biggin Hill. Parked on a grassy field.
PREFACE:
Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a replica biplane at Stow Maries Aerodrome just after sunrise, a Hawker Nimrod II representing the silver biplanes of the British military in the 1930s.
Chapter 1:
Two Miles Magisters, a Southern Martlet and a Hawk Speed Six, a Sopwith Pup, a de Havilland DH 60 Moth leading a Dessauter and Spartan arrow over Old Warden Aerodrome, a Hawker Demon and two Hawker Nimrods, an Avro Tutor and its eventual replacement the de Havilland Tiger Moth, a Stranraer flying-boat in a museum, a DH88 leading 2 Mew Gulls and 2 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Is.
Chapter 2:
A Sopwith Pup, SE5a, BE2c, Sopwith Camel and photos of its cockpit and engine, a DH-9 and its interior and one in a museum, a Sopwith Snipe in a museum and in flight, an SE5a taking off, a Supermarine Southampton Mk. I flying boat in a hangar, an Avro 504K in flight and in a museum, 3 photos of a Percival F2.
Chapter 3:
A DH-60 Moth, a Sopwith Dove, an Avro 504K in a museum, a Wren prototype, a Beardmore Wee Bee, a Bristol Brownie, 4 photos of a Hawker Cygnet, a de Havilland Moth, a DH60, 9 photos of a Cirrus Moth, 5 photos of a Tiger Moth
Chapter 4:
Thirteen photos of a de Havilland Leopard Moth, 4 photos of Matildas, a Miles M3 Falcon, 3 photos of a Miles Master, 5 photos of a Sparta Arrow, 8 photos of a Queen Bee.
Chapter 5:
Seven photos of a de Havilland Dragon Rapide, an Avro 504K, 2 photos of a de Havilland DH51, a Vickers Vimy, 2 photos of a Short Sunderland flying boat, 2 photos of an Avro Anson.
Chapter 6:
A de Havilland DH 38 Camel, a de Havilland DH 60 Moth, 3 photos of a Vickers PB27 Vinny, 2 photos of a Comper LA-27, a Supermarine 360, 7 photos of a de Havilland DH 88 Comet, a Hawker Speed 6, a Vega Gull, 6 photos of a Percival Mew Gull.
Chapter 7
5 photos of a Avro 504, 5 photos of a Blackburn B2, 4 photos of a Gladiator SS-39, 2 photos of a Gloster Guardian Mk. II.
Chapter 8:
Three photos of a Hawker Demon, 3 photos of a Hawker Nimrod, a Hawker Tomtit and a Hawker Hart II.
Chapter 9:
A Gloster Gladiator, Hawker Hurricane, Stranraer Flying boat, 2 photos of a Westland Lysander, a Boulton Paul Defiant, a Bristol Blenheim, a Fairey Swordfish, a Hawker Hind, 6 photos of work being done in a hangar on museum aircraft, 5 photos of a Hurricane Mk. I, a Spitfire Mk. I and Mk. Ia with dashboard photos of each.
Chapter 10:
Gloster Gladiator, 6 photos of a Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Ia, 2 photos of a Sopwith Camel. 3 photos of a De Havilland DH88 Comet.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
A photo of a Hawker Fury, a Demon and a Nimrod.
This book truly tells IT ALL about British Interwar Aircraft. It will be of interest to modelers and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Key Books and all Key titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.