Twenty-three compelling accounts of desperate circumstances and unbelievable survival when planes went down in remote and dangerous locations.When a pilot experiences a sudden loud bang or sudden total silence, he is often faced with the stark choice of the parachute or attempting to get the aircraft down to earth in as few pieces as possible. This book describes twenty-three remarkable and true instances when, for a variety of reasons, all seems lost—but life was n...

Wolverhampton was a Staffordshire market town in the Middle Ages but became a major industrial town during the Industrial Revolution, renowned for coal mining, metalworking and steel making. The prosperity brought to the town from this era is in evidence in many buildings in the city, and the growing population required a large programme of public housing in the early twentieth century. The development of Wolverhampton continued post-war, with much of the centre being rebuilt in the 1960s ...

On 27 June 1910, the first ever all-British Flying Meeting began at Dunstall Park racecourse, Wolverhampton, and began an unbroken century of flying in the area. Dunstall Park, actually one of the first airports in the whole country, was to remain the town's airport until after the First World War, though an anti-Zeppelin landing strip was established at the Fern Fields, Perton, during the War. Though dogged by bad weather the Flying Meeting, only the third ever held in the country, attrac...

When Wolverhampton's horse-drawn trams were replaced by the unusual surface-contact Lorain system electric trams in 1902, it was one of the first such networks in the country. That they should be replaced by trolleybuses during the 1920s was only to be expected as the town boasted two of the country's biggest trolleybus manufacturers, Guy Motors and Sunbeam. When the trolleybuses came to be replaced in the late 1950s, the town's transport department chose the versatility of motor buses, an...

Wolverhampton has been blessed with a large number of successful sports clubs and individuals who have won national and international acclaim. Wolverhampton Wanderers are the reason that the city's name is known worldwide. However, Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club and Wolverhampton Judo Club both have a greater claim to the accolade of most successful sporting club in the city. The 'other' Wolves, Wolverhampton's speedway team, have consistently ridden in the top flight of British Sp...

Fighting over the beaches of Dunkirk and in the Battle of Britain, guarding the night skies during the perilous months of the Blitz, pioneering electronic countermeasures, and serving air-sea rescue roles all around our coasts, the Boulton Paul Defiant played a vital part through most of the Second World War, finishing it in the important target-tug role. The Defiant is rightly considered Wolverhampton’s highest profile contribution to the war, and the most important product of Boulton Pau...

The West Midlands city of Wolverhampton has a fascinating history. Originally a medieval market town, it grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution through the new coal-mining and manufacturing industries because of its mineral resources, particularly iron, coal and limestone. With the decline of these industries in the late twentieth century, Wolverhampton has had to change yet again, but in spite of the many changes that have occurred here the city has retained its identity. This fasc...

DESCRIPTION“An excellent book to read at this time during the anniversary of the bombing of the German dams by what seemed impossible odds.” Review.**Guy Gibson: Legend of the Dam Busters tells the dramatic story of a renowned British flying legend and his leadership of the infamous raid on the Ruhr dams in May 1943, providing a fitting and timely tribute to a truly courageous aviator.This short i...

DESCRIPTIONRJ Mitchell: Legend of the Spitfire recounts the extraordinary achievements of one of Britain’s greatest aviation legends, the man responsible for creating Britain’s most iconic fighter aircraft, the Supermarine Spitfire.The book, which is around the length of a short story, approximately 40 printed pages, gives the reader a concise and straightforward insight into the life of RJ Mitchell, his role in the prestigious Sch...

In May 1943 a specially established RAF squadron made its permanent imprint on military aviation history.They flew a high-risk, low level, nighttime attack against German hydro-electric dams vital to the Nazi armaments industry in the Ruhr Valley. A comparatively tiny part of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris' four-month-long “Battle of the Ruhr” this one raid had an impact totally out of proportion to the small number of aircraft involved. It highlights the syne...

The renowned WWII RAF fighter pilot who went on to set an air speed record tells his story—now with an updated chapter and new photos.Joining the RAF at the beginning of the war, young Neville Duke became a fighter pilot with the crack 92 Squadron at RAF Biggin Hill in 1941. That spring and summer, he survived the air battles over Northern France with the Biggin Hill Wing, often flying as wingman to the legendary Adolph "Sailor" Malan, Fighter Command's top-scoring...

The first Royal Navy pilot to fly transatlantic non-stop (in a Buccaneer) describes his thirty-five-year career in the Fleet Air Arm and as an Empire Test Pilot.The spectacle of Alan Cobham's Flying Circus and the Fleet at anchor in Weymouth inspired the author's lifelong passion for aeroplanes, flying and the Royal Navy. World War Two provided the opportunity to fulfil his ambition and at eighteen he volunteered for the Fleet Air Arm as a pilot. Training in Canada ...