THE AEROPLANE

(March 14^th 1941)

Front cover:

Advert:  Dunlop – Aeroplane Tyres, Wheels & Brakes

In this issue:

Matters Of Moment  (Invitation to action – Balkan enmities, British initiative.  A dividend for charity, Air Vice-Marshal Breese, Thirty-one years on gasbags, The Avro Manchester, Whirlwind secrecy, For primary training, The spectre of the balloon.  Includes photographs of a Farey Fulmar carrying out a mock attack on a Blackburn Skua, a Vickers-Supermarine Walrus and a Blohm und Vos Ha 138 flying-boat taking off)

The War In The Air  (Atlantic blockade, The lowering of the clouds, Assault on Malta, Offensive operations of the Fighter, Coastal and Bomber Commands of the RAF from March 2^nd to 8^th 1941, Operations of the Luftwaffe against Great Britain from March 2^nd to 8^th 1941.  Includes photographs of a train of bombs waiting to be loaded on a Wellington 1A, A quadruple anti-aircraft gun on a corvette, a Vickers-Supermarine Walrus [x2], a 2,000 kilogram German bomb and a Grumman Martlet making a practice carrier landing at a naval aerodrome)

News From The USA  (A new form of help from the US, Caribou dive, The revelation of secrets – brief snippets of information on many aircraft types, The “low-down” by Engel – more information on American aircraft types, American parachute troops.  Includes photographs of the Glenn Martin 162 flying-boat, the Republic P-43 Lancer, the nose of a Douglas Boston, an RAF Brewster Buffalo [x2] and an RAF Grumman Martlet [x2])

The Caproni Ca 135 bis Bomber  (A one-page review with 4 photos and 5-view silhouettes)

Aircraft Recognition  (The Heinkel He 118 dive bomber – Includes four illustrations)

The Focke-Wulf Kurier  (A one-page review of the Focke-Wulf Fw 200K Kurier which includes photographs of a later model in flight and 5 photos of the wreckage of an earlier model which crashed in Southern Portugal)

The Royal Air Force  (The Roll of Honour – The 61^st casualty list plus photographs of a formation of Wellington 1As over the Western Desert and RAF personnel raising livestock and crops at an Army Co-operation station)

Aeronautical Engineering – Fatigue Testing By Strainmeter  (A 2-page article describing the testing of metal airscrew blades.  Includes a number of photographs including a lovely profile photo of a Fairey Fulmar in flight)

News From Germany  (The American spectre, More industry expansions, New factories, Gongs galore, New automatic parcel.  Includes photographs of the latest German 105mm anti-aircraft gun and ‘re-imaged’ photograph of Hermann Göring)

Air Transport  (New French services, Australian ferry pilots, Those elusive DC-25s, Pan-American and Africa, New titles for British Airways crews, Increased Atlantic services?, Cheap rates in India, A change of name.  Includes photographs of a Douglas DC-3 of KLM and a group photo of four British Airways pilots who have been posted to Atlantic ferry work plus a 4-view silhouette of the Cierva Autogiro C.40)

Sporting Memories – XLIII  (The Southern Martlet, includes photograph)

Adverts include:  The Bristol Beaufort, Palmer Silvoflex High Pressure Hose Units, Vokes Filters (double-page), the Saunders-Roe Lerwick, Desoutter, Marconi, Zwicky Refuelling, Hadfield Aircraft Finishes, the Boulton Paul Defiant, Fairey Aircraft, Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft Limited – Lockheed Hudson, Timken Tapered Roller Bearings, Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah Engines, The Walton Yacht Works, the Airspeed Oxford, the Owlet Night and Day Trainer, Parnall Aircraft Ltd., Smith’s Aircraft Instruments, Avro, the Douglas Industrial Truck, Bostik, Titanine Aircraft Finishes, Dowty High Pressure Hydraulic Pump, the Blackburn Cirrus, the Sperry Gyroscope Co. Ltd., and the Bristol Hercules

The front cover shows some moderate wear to the edges and a few marks including the number ‘83’ written in black ink on the top corner of the front cover page (see photograph). The staples are heavily rusted, which is typical of the low-grade material used during the war and they have started to disintegrate which has resulted in the cover page being loose.  There are no torn pages, significant creases or any other damage other than some typical light age-related discolouration to the page edges.  This magazine is in good overall condition for a magazine of 85 years of age.