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The Aviation Historian
one step
beyond . . .?
The modern journal of classic aeroplanes and the history of flying
®
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THE AVIATION HISTORIAN
Issue No 7
Published quarterly by:
The Aviation Historian
PO Box 962
Horsham RH12 9PP
United Kingdom
Subscribe at:
www.theaviationhistorian.com
(published October 15, 2014)
The Aviation Historian
The modern journal of classic aeroplanes and the history of flying
®
ISSUE NUMBER 9
TM
Editor’s Letter
A VERY WARM welcome to our ninth issue, which I am
delighted to report takes us into our third year of operations
— thanks to the continuing faith and support of you, the
TAH
community, and of course the magnificent work of our
world-class contributors. With your help, we’re developing an
ever-growing, intelligent, literate base for serious enthusiasts
who want to dig deeper into a subject which still has so much
to yield from its continually evolving narrative.
And so to
TAH9,
brim-full with revelations, epiphanies and
unexplored treasures. Phil Vabre’s detective story tracing the
disappearance of Short Empire Flying Boat
Circe
in 1942 is an
object lesson in sedulous research; as is the first part of David
H. Stringer’s dissection of the sprawling history of America’s
“non-sked” airlines, which also exhibits the work of one of the
USA’s greatest aviation photographers, William T. Larkins.
Ralph Pegram’s in-depth investigation into the unbuilt 1930s
monoplane designs of Henry Folland, using newly-discovered
documents from the Royal Aero Club Trust archive, is worth
the ticket price alone. Alan Griffith uses similarly obscure
American official material to reveal 1941 US Army Air Corps
plans for heavily-armoured “ramfighters” (using Bell P-39s
and Curtiss P-40s), long before the Luftwaffe actually did it.
With stops at the 1914 air races at Shoreham, a tour of the
majestic
Hindenburg
in 1936 and a roaring full-afterburner
climb to 40,000ft in a Lightning,
TAH9
takes the reader on
quite a voyage. It’s good to have you aboard!
Nick Stroud
e-mail nickstroud@theaviationhistorian.com
Mick Oakey
e-mail mickoakey@theaviationhistorian.com
EDITOR
MANAGING EDITOR
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Amanda Stroud
Lynn Oakey
FINANCE MANAGER
For all telephone enquiries:
tel +44 (0)7572 237737 (mobile number)
Dr David Baker, Ian Bott, Robert Forsyth,
Juanita Franzi, Harry Fraser-Mitchell,
Dr Richard P. Hallion, Philip Jarrett,
Colin A. Owers, Julian Temple,
Capt Dacre Watson
EDITORIAL BOARD
David & Angie Siddall,
David Siddall Multimedia
Published quarterly by
The Aviation Historian,
PO Box 962, Horsham RH12 9PP, United Kingdom
©
The Aviation Historian
2014
ISSN 2051-1930 (print)
ISSN 2051-7602 (digital)
While every care will be taken with material
submitted to
The Aviation Historian,
no responsibility
can be accepted for loss or damage. Opinions
expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect
those of the Editor. This periodical must not, without the
written consent of the publishers first being given, be
lent, sold, hired out or otherwise disposed of in a
mutilated condition or in any unauthorised cover by way
of trade or annexed or as part of any publication or
advertising literary or pictorial matter whatsoever.
WEBMASTERS
If you do not wish to keep your copy of
The Aviation Historian
(impossible to imagine, we know),
please ensure you recycle it using an appropriate facility.
Printed in the UK by
The Magazine Printing Company
using only paper from FSC/PEFC suppliers
www.magprint.co.uk
FRONT COVER
Encapsulating West Germany’s post-war ambition
to “do something challenging”, the EWR VJ101C supersonic VTOL
experimental jet fighter helped to put the nation back on the map
technologically. The first prototype is seen here on the gyroscopic
pedestal used for trials at Manching.
AIRBUS CORPORATE HERITAGE
MADE IN BRITAIN
BACK COVER:
“Now Fly to Europe!” — a 1936 American Airlines
promotional poster advertising joint services with
Deutsche
ALPHA ARCHIVE
Zeppelin Reederei’s
mammoth
Hindenburg
airship.
THE AVIATION HISTORIAN
3
Issue No 9
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Personalised and
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t: 01403 710207 e: barry@bravodeltamodels.co.uk www.bravodeltamodels.co.uk
4
THE AVIATION HISTORIAN
Issue No 9
30
CONTENTS
3
EDITOR’S LETTER
6
AIR CORRESPONDENCE
12
LOST WITHOUT TRACE?
Issue No 9
In February 1942 Short Empire Flying Boat
Circe
vanished
on an evacuation flight from Java to Broome. More than 70
years later Phil Vabre finally solves a wartime mystery
24
ECHOES FROM DAWN SKIES: UP FOR THE CUP!
Our serialisation of British pioneer F.W. Merriam’s long-lost
manuscript of memories from his contemporaries continues
with Cecil Pashley’s recollections of the 1914 Brighton Cup
30
AMERICA’S RAMJÄGERS
38
PARTY TIME!
Alan Griffith takes an in-depth look at US Army Air Corps
plans in 1941 to turn P-39s and P-40s into “ramfighters”
Bob Archer chronicles Operation
Creek Party,
in which the
Boeing KC-97Ls of the USA’s Air National Guard were called
upon to provide vital aerial refuelling services in Europe
70
24
46
A JAUNT OVER GERMANY
Continuing the
Creek Party
theme, Richard Gardner recalls a
memorable KC-97L sortie with the Ohio ANG in 1969, in
which he got “up close and personal” with USAF Phantoms
50
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE! THE ASJA VIKING
Swedish aviation historian Jan Forsgren tells the full story
of one of Sweden’s most obscure light aircraft
56
“WE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING CHALLENGING”
Dr Andreas Zeitler details West Germany’s ambitious EWR
VJ101 supersonic VTOL project, and talks to test pilot Nils
Meister, who describes what the type was like to fly
70
FOLLAND’S FORGOTTEN MONOPLANES
46
12
Henry Folland was the utlimate biplane specialist — or was
he? Ralph Pegram offers fresh insight into the designer’s
work during the 1930s with the help of newly-discovered
material from the Royal Aero Club Trust archive
80
NON-SKEDS!
Airline historian David H. Stringer opens a two-part series
on the USA’s post-war supplemental airlines — or
“non-skeds” — with the genesis of their uphill struggle
92
HINDENBURG: THE HEIGHT OF LUXURY
Michael O’Leary takes us aboard the majestic but ill-fated
Hindenburg
for a tour of its ultra-luxurious passenger deck
100
AN EYE FOR DETAIL: THE SPITFIRE Mk III
Juanita Franzi introduces a new series, in which she
examines some lesser-known airframes and their markings,
with the cancelled — but influential — Spitfire Mk III
102
DEATH OF A VISIONARY
102
100 years ago one of Britain’s most promising aviators,
Edward T. Busk, was killed flying a B.E.2c. Adrian Roberts
profiles the brief life of a brilliant aeronautical pioneer
112
“IT WAS A JAGUAR D-TYPE ON STEROIDS . . .”
120
ARMCHAIR AVIATION
125
LOST & FOUND
126
ALITALIA’S FAB FOUR
80
Issue No 9
In December 1967 Jeffrey Watson strapped himself into a
two-seat English Electric Lightning and hung on for dear life
Gregory Alegi examines the Italian national airline’s use of
four Aermacchi MB.326D two-seat jet trainers in the 1960s
130
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
5
THE AVIATION HISTORIAN

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