Armament of British Aircraft 1909-1939

{detailed description}This survey of the armament installations on British aircraft over a period of thirty years is, at the same time, a major contribution to the history of the aircraft themselves, covering as it does no fewer than 500 types of aircraft constructed by 48 private manufacturers and Government establishments. The illustrations alone form a unique record. Many are hitherto unpublished and will have a special appeal to students of the 1914-18 war and the years between the wars, the history of which the present volume goes far to complete. A second volume, British Aircraft Weapons 1909-1939, will describe and illustrate the weapons themselves, their associated equipment and specific applications, and will likewise include a mass of hitherto unpublished material.
The subject of armament is one which historians have hitherto treated with understandable caution, by reason of its specialised nature and the degree of secrecy obtaining while the aircraft concerned were in being. The author, H. F. King, has made a particular study of the subject both during his peacetime service with Flight, which he edited for several years, and as a technical intelligence officer in wartime. Many of the photographs show in fascinating detail not only items of armament but structural and other features of aircraft both historic and obscure. There is a special interest also in the makers' drawings, a number of which not only disclose new information concerning particular aircraft but correct some mistaken impressions.
In his foreword the author summarises conclusions drawn from his researches which establish important facts relating to Britain's part in the development of military aeronautics. From the present volume it is clear that these contributions, during 1914-18 especially, were extensive. The account of the Sopwith types,
to give a single example, together with such little-known facts as the installation of a Browning gun on a Bristol Fighter as early as 1918, will hold a particular interest for students of the First World War.
Cover: Hawker Hind day bomber, showing Lewis gun on Hawker ring-mounting and Universal bomb-carrier under wing.
{Author / Publisher / Date}by H. F. King
1971 1st edition. 457pp
{condition}very good including d/j.
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