Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World

Posted on by

In 1945 Britain was the world s leading designer and builder of aircraft a world class achievement that was not mere rhetoric And what aircraft they were The sleek Comet, the first jet airliner The awesome delta winged Vulcan, an intercontinental bomber that could be thrown about the sky like a fighter The Hawker Hunter, the most beautiful fighter jet ever built and the Lightning, which could zoom ten miles above the clouds in a couple of minutes and whose pilots rated flying it as better than sex.How did Britain so lose the plot that today there is not a single aircraft manufacturer of any significance in the country What became of the great industry of de Havilland or Handley Page And what was it like to be alive in that marvellous post war moment when innovative new British aircraft made their debut, and pilots were the rock stars of the age James Hamilton Paterson captures that season of glory in a compelling book that fuses his own memories of being a schoolboy plane spotter with a ruefully realistic history of British decline its loss of self confidence and power It is the story of great and charismatic machines and the men who flew them heroes such as Bill Waterton, Neville Duke, John Derry and Bill Beaumont who took inconceivable risks, so that we could fly without a second thought. Best Read [ Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World ] Author [ James Hamilton-Paterson ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr I bought this book as I have a interest in the UK s ability to design, build and operate aircraft from the start of World War Two and beyond into the 1970s that is born from reading about or seeing these aircraft in museums and for some at airshows.What I read was a story about Meteors, Lightnings, Vampires, Canberras, and of course the V Bombers Valiant, Victor and the mighty Vulcan from concept to design to service Alongside this is the axed BAC TSR2 and Fairey FD2 and manythat showed I bought this book as I have a interest in the UK s ability to design, build and operate aircraft from the start of World War Two and beyond into the 1970s that is born from reading about or seeing these aircraft in museums and for some at airshows.What I read was a story about Meteors, Lightnings, Vampires, Canberras, and of c...An account of the all too brief postwar period when Britain led the world in innovative aircraft design, and how that lead was irretrievably lost by a series of accidents and bad decisions The author was captivated by thrilling air displays...Read this book and weep, if you are a Briton The British Aviation industry led the world at one stage with some spectacular air craft, but we also had some amazingly bad politicos who would get the most brilliant aircraft up into the skies, only to see it cancelled The author records all th...A book about the post war decades of the UK aviation industry The sheer engineering magnificence of some of the aircraft, even a sort of beauty, and the courage of the pilots particularly test pilots, are well portrayed A management lunch at one of the big companies, and a senior test pilot landing early to fit in with union hours on the shop floor, show the industrial inefficiency of the era also And I also enjoyed the book simply because I can remember seeing and hearing some of these A book about the post war decades of the UK aviation industry The sheer engineering magnificence of some of the aircraft, even a sort of beauty, and the courage of the pilots particularly test pilots, are well...Once upon a time, Britain ruled not just the seas but also the skies Our aircraft flew faster, higher and further than those of any other nation our test pilots were household names Then nothing James Hamilton Paterson has pulled of a stylish and rare coup, part boys own story, part techinical history, part wistful and bitter narrative, presenting the riches to rags saga of post war British aviation Laced with the laconic reminicences of pilots like the late Bill Waterson, a former RAF Once upon a time, Britain ruled not just the seas but also the skies Our aircraft flew faster, higher and further than those of any other nation our test pilots were household names Then nothing James Hamilton Paterson has pulled of a stylish and rare coup, part boys own story, part techinical history, part wistful and bitter narrative, presenting the riches to rags saga of post war British aviation Laced with the laconic reminicences of pilot...Several weeks ago, while I was in London, on a Sunday night, watching BBC4, I saw this interesting and fascinating program about the British development of the jet engine and its influence from the whole world of aviation and global travel, as well as military applications for defense and offense The program was based on James Hamilton Paterson s book It was such a fine program, that I fell victim to the ease of buying books onwith one click, and ordered myself a copy to be sent home Several weeks ago, while I was in London, on a Sunday night, watching BBC4, I saw this interesting and fascinating program about the British development of the jet engine and its influence from the whole world of aviation and global travel, as well as military applications for defense and offense The program was based on James Hamilton Paterson s book It was suc...A hugely engaging read about a fascinating topic the weird and wonderful designs of the first jets, the struggle to understand the problems of supersonic flight, the appalling loss of test pilots lives, the rivalry with the Americans and the French, the squandering of engineering brilliance and pilot bravery by inep...Wonderfully written, particularly evocative accounts of the daring flying manoeuvres although credit for some of the descriptions of those belongs to test pilot reports and memoirs quoted here and definitely captures the difference in culture between then and now It was although perhaps it shouldn t have been something of a revelation to see how much war time practice and war time attitudes had carried over into the post war period Even if at times some of the lackadaisical approach taken Wonderfully written, particularly evocative accounts of the daring flying manoeuvres although credit for some of the descriptions of those belongs to test pilot reports and memoirs quoted here and definitely captures the difference in culture between then and now It was although perhaps it shouldn t hav...Interesting book about the rise and fall of the British aviation industry.What makes this rather sobering topic such a wonderful read is that it is written by an aircraft enthousiast The writer achieves to portray certain flying events described in the book in a lively and entertaining way Next to this he does give a disturbing view of wha...One of the best books I ve read on aviation If not the best in terms of the history of the post war British aviation industry It s excellently written and the author does not mince his words with the politicians who wasted so much talent and financial inv...

Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World
  • English
  • 18 March 2019
  • Hardcover
  • 288 pages
  • 0571247946
  • James Hamilton-Paterson
  • Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World