Off-mint.

Slightly off-mint.

Only 12 Schneider Trophy competitions were held, between 1912 and 1931, but they were highly significant in the development of aircraft technology and the winning Supermarine entries in the last years were critical to the genesis of the Spitfire. This illustrated review of the contests gives an account of the races themselves and analyses the aircraft that took part as well as some of the unrealized projects and prototypes.

As an aircraft inspector during the Second World War, Eddie Riding could only take pictures of the planes surreptitiously, but from 1946 to his death in 1950 he amassed many more images and his collection showcases the British aviation scene of the period. Accompanied by detailed captions, the photographs include air-to-air shots of light aircraft, the new generation of passenger craft operating from Croydon and Heathrow and innovations on display at the Farnborough Airshow.

EJ Riding was a well-known aviation enthusiast, engineer and aeromodeller who died in a flying accident in 1950. Compiled by his son, and with technical notes, humorous asides and even his views on the colour schemes, this collection of his photographs of aircraft includes standard shots as well as images of them stripped for maintenance and in crash situations.

This reissue of a classic 1960 title looks at the development of British airlines between the wars, focusing on Imperial Airways (which became BOAC), and includes period photographs, an overview of the political background and a comparison with other countries' approaches to aviation.

This revelation of the secret Italian navy scheme to equip their existing battleships as rocket launchers and troop carriers, and the air force's unhelpful interference in the project, includes unpublished documents and sketches from Axis and Russian sources.

First manufactured at Hatfield Aerodrome in the 1940s, the Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner, and its successor, the Nimrod, saw decades of military action. This illustrated guide explores their construction and tells the story of their design, operation and active service.

A pioneering flight from England to Australia in the 1920s earned Bill Lancaster and Jessie Miller international fame, but their lives unravelled a few years later when Lancaster was tried for murder. Their sensational story describes the financial and personal troubles that led to the death of Miller's lover and the desperate attempt by Lancaster to rebuild his reputation with a long-distance flight that resulted in disaster over the Sahara Desert.

In 1945 Britain was the world's leading builder of jet aircraft, and in the decade that followed produced planes such as the Comet, Vulcan, Hawker Hunter and Lightning; but by the early 1960s aviation companies such as Avro and Vickers were either gone or struggling. This book fuses the author's memories of British aviation's heyday with tales of the legendary aircraft and test pilots and a rueful history of Britain's loss of self-confidence and power. Special illustrated edition.

Formed by various mergers and cooperative agreements in the early 1970s, Airbus is now the world’s leading manufacturer of airliners. This assessment of its aircraft profiles every model produced by the company, with brief histories, technical data tables and photographs.

Designed in the early 1930s, the Swordfish torpedo bomber was considered obsolete in 1939 but remained in service throughout the Second World War, proving itself versatile and durable. Focusing on the Royal Navy Historic Flight's preserved Swordfish Mark II, LS326, one of only two still flying, this guide explores the aircraft's construction and operation and tells the story of its design and active service.

The Douglas DC-3 Dakota revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and played a crucial role in the Second World War, transporting men and equipment in every major theatre. With technical diagrams, photographs and contributions from the pilot and engineer of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Dakota, ZA947, the Haynes ‘Owners’ Workshop Manual’ gives an insight into owning, flying and maintaining this revolutionary aircraft.

This large-format illustrated volume tells the stories of 22 enterprising female aviators who pushed the boundaries of flight, from the record breakers of the 1920s and wartime flyers such as Hanna Reitsch, to commercial pilots of the post-war era and 21st-century astronauts. The historian Bernard Marck describes the challenges faced by each woman, examines their contribution to the history of aviation, and celebrates their skill, courage and determination to succeed.

Biggin Hill and Duxford are famous today thanks mainly to events of the Second World War but owe their origins to the First – the rapid development of military aviation resulting in the establishment of over 500 sites in Britain by the end of the conflict. Organized by country and county, this illustrated gazetteer identifies every location, including aerodromes, aircraft factories, airship, seaplane and kite balloon stations, describing each base, its operational history and what remains today.

Scott Addington uses infographics, fact boxes and photographs to present this concise overview of RAF history, which includes the first military balloon, the design of the roundel insignia, leading aces of the world wars and a list of pilots’ slang. Each entry has played its part in shaping the service, and the selection reflects the innovation, courage and heritage of the world’s first independent air force.

The Short Empire flying boat was primarily intended to carry mail to the far corners of the British Empire but, with room for about 20 paying customers, it also pioneered international passenger aviation in the 1930s, flying regular routes to Egypt, South Africa, Australia and America. This Haynes Manual-style review of the aircraft examines its design and operation as well as the experiences of passengers and crew, and is illustrated with technical drawings, cutaway diagrams and archive photographs.

This photographic history of the Dassault Aviation company, famous for the Mirage, records the evolution of the family-owned French aircraft manufacturer founded by Marcel Dassault in 1929. Dassault began designing in 1916, creating his innovative Éclair propeller for the French military. A century later, his legacy includes the Mirage and Rafale fighter jets, the Neuron drone and the Falcon 7X business jet, presented here along with many Dassault prototypes, demonstrators and production aircraft, both civil and military, created over 100 years of manufacturing.

The highly specialized task of dousing forest fires is the job of the water bomber aircraft examined in this book, which also reviews propeller planes operating in South America, and Russian- and Chinese-built aircraft.

The new British European Airways began in 1946 by taking over the regular services that had been operated by RAF Transport Command from Croydon. The main terminus moved to Northolt shortly after and then to its permanent home at Heathrow in 1954. This book looks at how the company developed up to its merger to form British Airways in 1974, exploring its services and all the aircraft flown, and including the recollections of former employees.

The Schneider Trophy, a seaplane speed contest held between 1913 and 1931, played an important role in the development of aviation technology between the wars. Manufacturers from rival powers learnt from each other’s innovations and designers developed concepts that would shape the iconic fighters of the Second World War. This book examines each of the competitions and the aircraft entered for them and also assesses how Supermarine’s race-winning planes were developed into the Spitfire.

The United States relied on British and French aircraft designs during the First World War, but during and after the Second World War developed a pre-eminence in military aircraft design and manufacture that has continued up to today's cutting-edge models, such as the bat-winged B-2 stealth bomber. This volume is a succinct and highly illustrated guide to the most notable aircraft deployed, including classics such as the P-51 Mustang and B-52 Stratofortress.

The Russian MiG aircraft company was set up in 1939 and produced some of the world's most advanced and capable military planes during its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, including the long-serving and widely exported MiG-21. This concise handbook provides descriptions of all MiG aircraft, including prototypes, up to the MiG-35 of 2011, with tables of key data and additional information about model variants.

The combination of the innovative geodetic lattice structure and traditional cloth covering earned the Wellington the nickname 'the basket weave bomber', but the unusual construction made it extremely resilient, able to keep flying despite sustaining substantial damage. This book, presented in the Haynes manual style, examines the famous Second World War aircraft's design construction and operation, with many technical illustrations and photographs, in particular using images of a recently renovated Mk1A.

Having revolutionized air travel in the 1930s, the Douglas DC-3 was adapted so successfully for military use that General Eisenhower identified it as one of the four most important pieces of equipment of the Second World War (along with the Jeep, the bulldozer and the 2½ ton truck). This large-format volume tells the story of the groundbreaking airliner and is extensively illustrated with archive photographs, memorabilia and promotional materials from the DC-3's civil and military career.

Covering both British civil and military airships and all locations used by them, this illustrated volume documents the development of airship stations and the infrastructure that supported airship operations.

Before being let loose in a Supermarine Spitfire, fighter pilots would have to familiarize themselves with the 'Pilot's Notes' which comprehensively detailed the aircraft's equipment, controls and operation. These instructions are reproduced in this book together with examples of log books, combat reports and other contemporary training booklets advising on such skills as identifying enemy aircraft, estimating range and combat flying.

Taking the development of flight from balloons to space rockets and supersonic jets, this book details the major steps along the way, highlighting trailblazers such as Charles Lindbergh and jet-engine pioneer Frank Whittle. A congratulatory telegram from Louis Blériot to Amy Johnson, the log book of a Battle of Britain pilot, the Apollo 11 mission report and the fact sheet given to Concorde passengers are among the archive documents reproduced. (Previously published as The Story of Flight.)

Between 14 April and 21 May 1927, 16 aviators raced to be the first to cross the Atlantic non-stop and collect the $25,000 prize put up by the French-American hotelier Raymond Orteig. The 'Orteig Prize' finally went to Charles Lindbergh and his victory has overshadowed the achievements and the tragedies – six died – of his fellow competitors. Joe Jackson's compelling account of the 'Great Atlantic Derby' of 1927 covers all who took part in that truly perilous race.

This 35th edition published in 2014 lists in alphabetical and numerical order the aircraft that carry a United Kingdom military registration and which are normally based, or might

The 1950s and 1960s were pivotal in the development of Rolls-Royce, consolidating its reputation as the world's premier builder of both luxury cars and aircraft engines. This second volume of the company's history tells the story of how it took a lead in jet technology and expanded its sales in these first decades after the war before a financial crisis resulted in nationalization in 1971, and its subsequent recovery during the 1970s and 1980s.