Table Of ContentT
H
E THE COLOUR ENCYCLOpEDIA OF
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L INCREDIBLE AEROpLANES
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STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE WITH THIS R
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CELEBRATION OF 150 MEMORABLE AEROpLANES, N
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FROM THE FIRST FLIMSY FLYING MACHINES TO C
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THE WIDEBODY GIANTS OF TODAY
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JUST THE THING FOR CHApS OF ALL AGES IN
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ISBN 978-1-40531-767-2 L
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N FOREWORD BY
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S CApTAIN ERIC “WINkLE” BROWN CBE, DSC, AFC, RN
£12.99
9 781405 317672
THE COLOUR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
INCREDIBLE AEROPLANES
THE COLOUR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
INCREDIBLE AEROPLANES
Philip Jarrett
A Dorling KinDersley BooK
lonDon, neW yorK, MelBoUrne,
MUniCH, DelHi
Project editor Amber Tokeley
senior Art editor Mandy earey
Designers Clare Joyce, Peter laws, loan nguyen
editorial Consultant reg grant
Picture research Kate lockley
illustrators Debajyoti Dutta, Mugdha sethi
Production editor sarah sherlock
Production Controller inderjit Bhullar
Managing editor Julie oughton
Managing Art editor Christine Keilty
Publisher Jonathan Metcalf
Art Director Bryn Walls
First published in great Britain in 2007 by
Dorling Kindersley limited
80 strand, london WC2r 0rl
A Penguin Company
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Copyright © Dorling Kindersley limited 2006
Text copyright © Philip Jarrett 2006
All rights reserved. no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the
prior written permission of the copyright owner.
A CiP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British library.
isBn 978 1 40531 767 2
Printed and bound in China by
Hung Hing offset Printing Company ltd
Discover more at
www.dk.com
Contents
FOREwORD 6
CHAPTER ONE: 1843–1913
it is Utter nonsense to Believe Flying
Machines Will ever Work 8
CHAPTER TwO: 1914–1918
Fighting in the Air is not sport 70
CHAPTER THREE: 1919–1938
Flying is a grand and glorious Adventure 128
CHAPTER FOUR: 1939–1945
Bandits at Two o’Clock 188
CHAPTER FIvE: 1946–1969
Joining the Jet revolution 248
CHAPTER SIx: 1970 ONwARDS
Anything is Possible 314
INDEx 358
ForeWorD
by Captain Eric “Winkle” Brown CBE, DSC, AFC
MMost people envy the ability of birds to fly, so such as adverse weather or mechanical failure, to
the concept of an aeroplane was supremely both the private and professional pilot; to the
eevvooccaattiivvee ttoo tthhee hhuummaann iimmaaggiinnaattiioonn,, aanndd hhaass military and the test pilot, the challenges are much
rreessuulltteedd iinn aa sstteeaaddyy ssttrreeaamm ooff ccrreeaattiivvee ddeessiiggnnss more demanding, as indeed they were for the early
tthhaatt hhaavvee ggrroowwnn iinn ssoopphhiissttiiccaattiioonn aass ttiimmee pioneers of flight.
hhaass aaddvvaanncceedd.. i was fortunate to be around in the “golden Age”
The history of this mechanical evolution is of aviation (1930s–60s) when aesthetically beautiful
mmiirrrroorreedd iinn tthhee 115500 aaiirrccrraafftt tthhaatt ffoorrmm tthhee ssuubbjjeecctt aircraft such as the supermarine s.6B of schneider
CAPTAin BroWn, of this book, and they have been chosen with great Trophy fame, supermarine spitfire, de Havilland
1954 skill to give a comprehensive understanding of the Mosquito, lockheed Constellation, Hawker Hunter,
incredible scope of aviation. and Concorde graced the skies. There were also the
once you have succumbed to the charismatic “dogs”, which were tricky to fly, such as the granville
attraction of flight, as i did from an early age, your gee Bee racer, Messerschmitt Me163 rocket
interest will grow into enthusiasm and possibly even interceptor, and northrop XB-49 flying wing.
addiction of a healthy sort. i have flown 487 different types of aircraft in my
Flying offers a freedom from “the surly bonds of time – according to the Guinness Book of Records,
earth” and an exhilarating joie de vivre. As well as more than anyone else in history – and those listed
giving great pleasure, it can also provide challenges, in this book positively make my mouth water.
i shall enjoy reliving in memory the experience of airborne, the build-up in speed was breathtaking.
actually flying some 40 of them, in particular the Aviation has made fantastic progress since the
gloster-Whittle e.28/39, Britain’s first jet- Wright brothers first flew in 1903. This book
propelled aeroplane. illustrates and describes key aircraft that have
i was involved with the flight-testing of that contributed to that progress, and includes the
historic aircraft in 1944, and it opened up a whole phenomenal north American X-15, the lockheed
new regime of flight. The first thing that struck me, sr-71 Blackbird, and the Anglo-French Concorde.
after previously flying only propeller aeroplanes, All are sheer magic...
was the e.28/39’s magnificent all-round view from
the cockpit, particularly straight ahead.
in spite of having more engine instruments than
flight instruments – remember this was really a
flying test-bed for the revolutionary jet engine – it
was a confidence-generating cockpit, like that of
the Avro lancaster and lockheed Martin F-16.
During take-off, acceleration was sluggish (as it
was in all early jets), but the absence of noise and
vibration was unexpectedly delightful and, once
The conquest of the air was, without fair share of charlatans and hare-brained
doubt, man’s greatest achievement. inventors, there were also devoted pioneers,
For centuries heavier-than-air-flight struggling on small incomes, yet sustained
had been deemed impossible, yet now by heartfelt convictions and enthusiasm.
problems were confronted and overcome: Once practical aeroplanes began to appear
within a comparatively brief time span in significant numbers, early flying meetings
the aeroplane became the marvel of the and competitions generated tremendous
new 20th century. Private individuals excitement, attracting spectators in their
and governments invested fortunes in an thousands. Pilots became heroes overnight,
assortment of occasionally bizarre “flying and any aviator making an emergency
machines”, often to discover that their descent in a remote, apparently deserted
investment had been wasted. But although field soon found himself surrounded by a
the quest for powered flight attracted its swarm of curious, goggle-eyed locals.
