The Aviation Historian Magazine Issue 43 Edición anterior

Innovation is an important thread in the 43rd quarterly edition of The Aviation Historian. Our cover subject is one of many mould-breaking designs by Teddy Petter — the Folland Midge, precursor to the Gnat, reflecting his concept for a small and inexpensive “pocket rocket” fighter in contrast to his complex and expensive English Electric P.1/Lightning. We look at how the UK government handled the choice between the two extremes when equipping the RAF. Petter also designed the Westland Whirlwind twin-engined fighter of WW2, and we reassess whether it could have been more successful with different powerplants. Marking the 80th anniversary of the Dambuster Raid, we also take a close technical look at Barnes Wallis’s extraordinary “bouncing bomb” — which was actually a mine, not a bomb! Also in this issue: the Dassault Super Mirage 4000; post-WW2 British freight aircraft development; Japanese attacks on Chinese airliners in 1937–41; and a pre-WW1 Swedish inventor’s attempts to create a steam-powered flying machine. All this, and much more, is illustrated with high-quality archive photographs and bespoke artwork.