20 |FLIGHTPATH
Personal Efects
Combat over the
Trenches–Os-
wald Watt, Avia-
tion Pioneer
Oswald Watt is probably most fa-
moustodayinAustraliaforthe
aviation achievement medal
awardedinhisname.ThisisaUK
repackagingofChrisClark’swork
publishedbyBigSkyPublishing
as ‘The High Life of Oswald Watt’,
theoriginaltitleintendedtoin-
cludeWatt’ssocialandmoredi-
verselifethan‘just’combat.The
original is still available, and
Chris Clark’s name is correctly
applied there rather than the in-
correct‘Clarke’onthePen&
Sword version (the author will be
familiar to any student of Aus-
tralianmilitaryhistoryasChris
Coulthard-Clark). That aside, a
goodbiographyofWattisessen-
tial for Australia’s aeronautical
history and, as would be expect-
ed,thisoneisjustthat.While
Watt should need no introduc-
tion,itisworthbeingreminded
that,in1911,hewasfirstAustral-
iantoqualifyforaRoyalAero
Club flying certificate. At the
startoftheGreatWar,hejoined
the French Foreign Legion as a
pilot, transferring to the Austral-
ianFlyingCorpsin1916,and
quickly progressed from flight
commander with 1 Squadron
AFCinEgypttocommanding
officerof2Squadrononthe
Western Front. By February
1918,hehadbeenpromotedto
lieutenant colonel and taken
commandoftheAFC’sTraining
WinginEngland.Thebookis
extensively illustrated in black
and white, though some illustra-
tionssufferfrompoorquality,
usuallyasaresultoftheirdispa-
rate origins. Recommended. (re-
viewer: James Kightly)
ChrisClark,£25.00plus
p&p,Pen&Sword,www.
pen-and-sword.co.uk
Phoenix–ACom-
plete History of
the Luftwaffe
1918 -1945. Vol. 2
The Genesis of Air
Power 1935-
This, the second of several vol-
umes on the story of the German
Luftwaffefrom the end of the
first to the end of the second of
the world wars, follows volume
one (positively reviewed here in
Vol.28, No.2). This new volume
covers the critical early develop-
ment period when the Luftwaffe
was establishing tactics and tech-
nology as a fighting force at the
cutting edge of warfare with the
concept of ‘operativer Luftkrieg’.
ThemostfamousactivityofGoer-
ing’sLuftwaffein the period was
its involvement in the Spanish
Civil War, but this book covers
everything possible including
suchdiverseandoftenoverlooked
itemsastheformationoftheFla-
kartillerie,uniforms,establish-
mentofairbasesandgeo-political
aspectssuchasthere-militarisa-
tionoftheRhineland,allbasedon
primary available sources. This is
abookofexceptionaldepthand
breadthandwillactasacorere-
source for those interested in or
workingonthehistoryofthisair
arm.Thebookisbrokenintofive
majorthemesofstrategyand
command, ministerial activity,
technology and production, infra-
structureandtraining,and,last-
ly,operations.Whileheavilytext
anddocumentbased,thereare
nevertheless two large sections of
images that show a great diversity
of subjects from the expected air-
craft and personalities to train-
ing,musiciansandeventhearchi-
tectureoftheairarm.Again,
highly recommended and essen-
tial reading on the topic. (review-
er: James Kightly)
Richard Meredith, £44.
plus p&p, Helion & Com-
pany, http://www.helion.co.ukDouglas TBD
Devastator
The discovery of USSLexing-
ton(seepage5),andthere-
markable images of its surviv-
ing aircraft, particularly the
extinct-in-preservation Doug-
las Devastator, has caused
many imaginations to run wild.
Whatbetterwaytoporeover
thephotosofthewrecksthan
with this addition to Schiffer’s
‘Legends of Warfare’ series
closeathand?Ahardbackof
112 pages, it is heavily illustrat-
ed. Indeed, the development,
production and operational
unithistoryofthetype,asa
narrative, is kept to the first
page of each chapter. The pho-
tographs, several in colour, do
the talking and, if that’s not
enough, the author reveals an
exquisitely analytical eye with
manyofthewell-writtencap-
tionsdrawingthereadertoim-
portant and interesting details.
Allphotosarebeautifullyclear
and range from incredible ex-
aminations of structures, com-
ponents, equipment and crew
positions to an excellent varie-
ty of operational ‘poses’.
Thebookislaidoutwitha
chapterforeachmajorstepin
the type’s march to combat and
then dedicates a chapter to
each of the operational units
equipped with the Devastator.
Thedesignwasmorethansix
and a half years old in Decem-
ber 1941. That’s an absolute age
atatimeofincredibleaviation
advancements, especially those
borneincombat.Itsearlysuc-
cesses against major Japanese
surfaceunits,andevenoffNew
Guinea, are overshadowed, al-
most forgotten, by its oft-re-
counted decimation during the
Battle of Midway.
Whilenotheavyontext,it
does not claim to be otherwise,
this is a book to be savoured.
(reviewer: Andy Wright)
DavidDoyle,US$19.99plus
p&p, Schiffer Publishing,
http://www.schifferbooks.comCourage in
the Skies
The recent nonstop flight from
Perth to London by a Qantas
Boeing787hasfinallyseenthe
famous Kangaroo Route whit-
tled down to ‘just’ seventeen
hours. It continues a tradition, a
challenge, and is a significant
achievement for an airline that
hasbeenstrivingtobethepre-
eminent aerial link to the UK
formorethaneightyyears.
Jim Eames, as a former senior
executiveoftheairline,isno
stranger to Qantas and this is at
least his third book telling the
storiesbehindpartofthecul-
ture of the national carrier.
There is, of course, unabashed
adulation for the events, good or
bad, that have favourably
shapedthecompanyandits
strategies. Unlike his earlier
‘The Flying Kangaroo’, this
bookdoesn’tlookintounionism
or other recent elements that
resulted in corporate reactions
that have caused some gnash-
ingofteeth.Itstaysinverypop-
ular territory by looking at the
airline’s operations during
W.W.II.Itscrewsdownfurther
to an operational and personal
levelandpaintsafinepictureof
themenwhotooktheunarmed
aircraft into the front line.
It wasn’t easy. There were
losses, but there was a clear de-
terminationtohelpthewaref-
fortandadesiretojustsurvive
so as to take advantage of inter-
national route opportunities
post-war.
Qantasemergedfromthewar
withtheequipment,superbly
experiencedcrewsandlogisti-
cal expertise ideal for its inter-
national ambitions. The content
of this book is familiar, but rare-
lyhasitbeentoldsowell.(re-
viewer:AndyWright)
JimEames,$29.99plusp&p,
Allen & Unwin, http://www.
allenandunwin.com