Author: Smithies, Edward,
Title: BACKROOM BOYS - Personal Stories of Britain's Air War 1939-1945.
Description: Cassell, London, 2012, reissued edn., trade paperback, xxx, 306pp, 16pp half tone photo ills., coloured photo pictorial upper wrapper, originally published as 'War in the Air' by Viking 1990, compiled from interviews with over 250 of those involved, anecdotes from behind the scenes of the RAF from the people who designed, built, serviced and flew the aircraft ennabling the Royal Air Force to continue to function, narratives from aircrew and groundstaff from many situations, from an army cooperation squadron of reconnnaisance Lysanders in 1940 France to once out of France acting in an air-sea rescuie capacity from RAF Manston, carrying smoke floats and dinghies to drop to those aircrew in the water (pages 14-21). Fascinating glimpses of the little known aspects behind the scenes, for example the animosity between the Supermarine Spitfire designer R. J. Mitchell and Vickers chief designer, Barnes Wallis (Wellington and bouncing bomb designer) after Vickers bought Supermarine and put Barnes Wallis in charge (page 4); and from the inventor Jimmie Martin, half of the inventor team of the later Martin Baker ejection seat, who designed a quick release mechanism to overcome the problem of the jammimg of the sliding hood of a Spitfire, who when he went to the Supermarine team at Castle Bromwich was told to take his ideas elsewhere (page 100/101); on another occasion a firefight between the Coldstream Guards who were protecting RAF Northolt airfield and members of the Polish 303 squadron, when the Guards attempted to stop drunken Poles from entering the airfield a guardsman was knocked down, his rifle seized and the Poles opened fire on his colleagues which led to a brief firefight resulting in three casualties, subsequently 'hushed up' (page 188), a collection of many personal memories of mainly non-combat events, edges lightly tanned, near fine,
Keywords: war ww2 air force raf
See more books from our catalog: WW2 - Air Force
Title: BACKROOM BOYS - Personal Stories of Britain's Air War 1939-1945.
Description: Cassell, London, 2012, reissued edn., trade paperback, xxx, 306pp, 16pp half tone photo ills., coloured photo pictorial upper wrapper, originally published as 'War in the Air' by Viking 1990, compiled from interviews with over 250 of those involved, anecdotes from behind the scenes of the RAF from the people who designed, built, serviced and flew the aircraft ennabling the Royal Air Force to continue to function, narratives from aircrew and groundstaff from many situations, from an army cooperation squadron of reconnnaisance Lysanders in 1940 France to once out of France acting in an air-sea rescuie capacity from RAF Manston, carrying smoke floats and dinghies to drop to those aircrew in the water (pages 14-21). Fascinating glimpses of the little known aspects behind the scenes, for example the animosity between the Supermarine Spitfire designer R. J. Mitchell and Vickers chief designer, Barnes Wallis (Wellington and bouncing bomb designer) after Vickers bought Supermarine and put Barnes Wallis in charge (page 4); and from the inventor Jimmie Martin, half of the inventor team of the later Martin Baker ejection seat, who designed a quick release mechanism to overcome the problem of the jammimg of the sliding hood of a Spitfire, who when he went to the Supermarine team at Castle Bromwich was told to take his ideas elsewhere (page 100/101); on another occasion a firefight between the Coldstream Guards who were protecting RAF Northolt airfield and members of the Polish 303 squadron, when the Guards attempted to stop drunken Poles from entering the airfield a guardsman was knocked down, his rifle seized and the Poles opened fire on his colleagues which led to a brief firefight resulting in three casualties, subsequently 'hushed up' (page 188), a collection of many personal memories of mainly non-combat events, edges lightly tanned, near fine,
Keywords: war ww2 air force raf
Price: GBP 8.00 = appr. US$ 11.42 Seller: A Book for all Reasons
- Book number: 45817
- Book number: 45817
See more books from our catalog: WW2 - Air Force