122 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN Issue No 21GONE BUT NOT
FORGOTTEN — Defunct
British Airlines Since 1945
Alan Phillips
Fonthill Media; ISBN
978-1-781556-27-6; £16.99
THIS 6¾in x 9¾in (171mm x
248mm) softback provides
brief details of 70 British
airlines which have come
and gone since the end of
the Second World War.
What the criteria is for their
inclusion is not specified, no
fleet listings are provided and the majority of the
photographs of indifferent quality are cropped
uncomfortably close to the perfect-bound spine. A fond
stroll down memory lane for some perhaps, but hardcore
researchers may find Maurice J. Wickstead’s Airlines
of the British Isles Since 1919 (Air-Britain), available on
CD at a similar price, more useful instead. NSBOOKS IN BRIEF
A quick round-up of what else is currently
available for the aviation history enthusiastTHE HISTORY OF WOODFORD
AERODROME
Mark Williams
Ringway Publications; ISBN
978-0-9570826-9-4; £14.99
THE TITLE is a misnomer: this
96-page softback is really more a
collection of potted histories of
Avro and other aircraft types built
at, or associated with, Woodford.
That said, it does include a few
pages of historical content about
the airfield, plus personal recollections of an avionics
engineer based there, and tangentially relevant
memories by an RAF Shackleton pilot. A The Road to
Closure chronology reminds us that the aerodrome is
now a memory — except for the fine Avro Heritage
Museum on the site. MOSEA VIXEN XP924
Lewis Gaylard
Clevelands (www.clevelands
diecast.co.uk); no ISBN;
RRP £13.99 (softback)
THIS SECOND edition of
aviation photographer
Lewis Gaylard’s extensive
collection of photographs,
technical information and
crew recollections about
sole airworthy de Havilland Sea Vixen XP924 has been
updated to include highlights of the 2016 season,
before its unfortunate hydraulic failure and wheels-up
landing at Yeovilton in May 2017. Containing numerous
glorious colour photographs of the Vixen and some
fascinating memories of operating the type, both in
service and on the airshow circuit, this is an excellent
reminder of just what an extraordinary machine it is,
and why it’s important that it returns to the sky. NSfleet listings are provided and the majority of theTHE FAIREY BARRACUDA
Matthew Willis
Mushroom Model Publications;
ISBN 978-8-365281-24-1; £19
REGULARLY SIDELINED as
“misbegotten and best-
forgotten”, Fairey’s
replacement for the venerable
Swordfish actually accounted
for a surprising amount of
shipping during the Second
World War and equipped
some 26 front-line squadrons
over its decade-long career — as the ever-dependable
UK naval aviation historian Matthew Willis points out in
his introduction to this comprehensive history of the
little-loved torpedo-bomber. Included is a full technical
description, scale drawings by Dariusz Karnas and 25
colour artworks by J.P. Vieira. Misbegotten? Perhaps.
Best forgotten? Definitely not. NSVOUGHT OS2U KINGFISHER
Kev Darling
Guideline Publications; no ISBN;
£14.50
NUMBER 111 in the long-
running and reliable Warpaint
series,this 48-page A4-format
monograph is a useful
reference source on an
unglamorous but effective
workhorse of the US Navy
during World War Two.
Operating on a wheeled undercarriage or as a
triple-float seaplane, the Kingfisher had its moment of
glory at Truk Island in April 1944, where its combat
search-and-rescue capabilities were proven. Illustrated
with colour and black-and-white photographs,
excellent scale drawings and plentiful colour profile
artwork by Richard J. Caruana, the softback also
covers Kingfishers used by other air arms, and
includes a list of kits, transfers and accessories
available to modellers. MOTHE WRIGHT
BROTHERS STORY
Mike Roussel
The History Press; ISBN
978-0-750970-47-1; £9.99
ALTHOUGH THIS little
landscape-format book
(7½in x 5in) is obviously
aimed at younger readers, it will also serve as an
excellent basic primer on the Wright Brothers for
anyone making their first forays into aviation’s early
history. Well written and amply illustrated with
well-reproduced photographs with informative
captions, it is an attractively designed and reasonably
priced volume. All students of the Wrights ought to
have it in their libraries. PJsole airworthy de Havilland Sea Vixen XP924 has beenTAH