CCI Logo (2779 bytes)Cross & Cockade (9021 bytes)


 

Click to buy the book Click to buy the book

RFC / RNAS Handbook, 1914 - 18


 

bulletPeter G Cooksley, Sutton Publishing, 208 pages, 
ISBN 0-7509-2169-2

bulletReviewed by George Miller in Vol 32 No 2, Summer 2001

This book, by a former Vice-President of our Society, is exactly what its name implies. It covers everything from uniforms to the Songs they Sang, from the Women's Service to fixed wing aircraft, via lighter than air craft and an outline of aircraft markings. All is concisely written and interestingly illustrated with many images I have not seen before. In no way is this meant to be a complete history, but it is better than a quick reference work and is very readable, containing a wealth of information a great deal of which was new to me. For example, I thought I had found a proof reading error when I saw a caption to a photograph referring to a Sopwith Ship Strutter, which was to me a 1 1/2 Strutter. I read the accompanying article and learned that there was a Ship Strutter, which was a single seater capable of carrying twice the bomb load of the two seater 1 1/2 Strutter. After that, I read and learned. It has a helpful index and a useful bibliography. Considering that the life of the RFC was only six years, I never cease to marvel how much went on in that short time. This is a book for the shelf at home.

 

cci_small.gif (1328 bytes)        cci_small.gif (1328 bytes)