Civil Aviation of the 1950s – Combined Volume – by several authors, HB, 384 pages, Crécy Publishing Ltd, £13.50, ISBN 978-1-80035-342-8.
When, a little while ago, I reviewed the excellent Military Aircraft of the 1950s, I mentioned that a companion volume was on the way. It is again a combination of several booklets produced in the 1950s at ‘pocket money prices’ to fit into the pocket of a spotter’s duffel coat. As such they would have received a great deal of wear and tear, therefore, originals are probably few and far between. Now reproduced in the same format as the military compendium, this is a similarly chunky and robust book and would grace a bookshelf or fit into the inner pocket of your gilet.
The titles thus amalgamated are Airports and Airliners (1948), Civil Aircraft Markings (1950), Civil Aircraft Recognition (1955), London Airport (1957) and Civil Aircraft Markings (1952). Included in these are 283 photographs, 15 airport maps, 76 multi-aspect silhouettes of aircraft types, five passenger cabin plans, 25 airline logos, two British Civil Aircraft registers, very comprehensive and numerous airline fleet lists and registrations of foreign airliners serving the UK. As a bonus, there are many faithfully reproduced contemporary adverts.
To give a flavour of the information to be found therein, I am going to pose a few questions, the answers to which are in the book (and at the end of this review):
- How many flying boats did Air France have in 1948?
- Where was Ulster Aviation Ltd based?
- What was the first weekday arrival at Nutts Corner?
- What type was G-EBKY?
- What was so unusual about the Breguet Deux-Ponts?
- Silver City encouraged you to take your (?) on board its ferry aircraft at a fare of £1?
- What was on the roof of the Queen’s Building at LAP?
- Which airline operated the Avia 14 into LAP?
- What was the world’s largest airliner in 1957?
- How long did it take to fly from Lympne to Le Touquet?
Answers 1. Five 2. Newtownards 3. A BEA Dakota from Renfrew at 09.30 4. Sopwith Pup 5. It was a double-decker 6. Pedal cycle 7. A series of spectacular roof gardens 8. Czechoslovakian Airlines 9. Tupolev TU.114 10. 20 minutes
So, as you can tell, I enjoyed this book and am very happy to recommend it! It is a book for happily browsing, for gaining a flavour of times past and for gleaning nuggets of information.
