Recently while picking up the mail on September 6th, I noticed a padded manila envelope.
I was very pleased to see a book from Casemate Publishing. It contained, "The Boy Airman an absolute stranger to fear" by noted medical practitioner and surgeon Richard Petty.
Dr. Petty has taken his father's letters and photo images and has offered us a detailed account of the war’s timeline and his father’s war time experiences in the RNAS & RAF.
His training and service tell us about a man with experience in Naval launched aircraft.
The Contents
I was pleasantly surprised with this publication.
The first 2/3 or the book are about the development of the modern maritime service and the circumstance that the young Hugh Mortimer Petty faced wearing the uniform of his Navy.
Many images are published without any computer enhanced cleaning.
There are a couple of typographical errors in the text and the captions that should be addressed. Simply put a Sopwith Camel 2F.1 is not a Folder Pup, also a DH 4 is not a Bristol Fighter. But I believe these can be attributed to an aging memory of the book’s subject.
His story picks up in about Chapter 17 with lists of training schedules and the transfers to the schools that supported these topics.
His own story is told in a speech he gave to his colleagues in about 1927.
Some interesting shots confirm the 110hp Clerget was used in most rotary equipped trainers.
The modified Avro 504 “K” N.6678 was a unique sight for me to view.
Our Thanks to Casemate Publishing! This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.
Comments