The final volume of my trilogy, A PASSION FOR FLIGHT
- New Zealand Aviation before the Great War, Volume Three: The Joe Hammond story
and military beginnings 1910-1914, was published on 28 November
2013.
Whereas Volume Two of A Passion For Flight
concentrated on civil aviation during 1910-1914, this third and final volume
focuses primarily on the military aspect.
Also presented for the first
time is a full and long overdue account of the remarkable career of
Feilding-born Joseph Joel (‘Joe’) Hammond, the most prominent and successful New
Zealand aviator of the period but who is now largely forgotten. Hammond was the
first British Colonial to obtain an aviator’s certificate. He made pioneering
flights in Australia, including the first military-related flights there, was an
early member of the Royal Flying Corps, a flying instructor, test pilot, and a
member of the British Aviation Mission to the USA in 1918.
Of the New
Zealand inventors who began to turn their attention to aircraft for military
purposes, the most remarkable was undoubtedly electrical engineer Alban Roberts.
His experiments with remote control devices for torpedoes and aeroplanes are
also described, as are his two airships, one built in England and the other in
Australia.
A detailed account of New Zealand’s pre-war approach to
military aviation development explains why a cautious policy was adopted and how
progress was limited in large part by the government’s 1909 decision to create a
large territorial force and to introduce compulsory military training. Also
recorded are those New Zealanders who learned to fly abroad while serving with
the British or Indian armies.
The depth of research undertaken for
A Passion for Flight can be gauged by the fact that the complete trilogy
runs to over 700 pages and includes a remarkable collection of more than 500
illustrations. Such is the extent of this hitherto largely unrecognised
contribution to our aviation history.
208 pages. 130 illustrations.
Appendices. Notes, Index. ISBN 978-0-473-26424-6.
All volumes 185 x
245mm. Soft cover.
For flyer/order form for all three volumes and
details of special offers email me - errol DOT martyn ATT xtra DOT co DOT
nz
Errol
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