Acquisitions
Philip Anthony Towle. Pilots and Rebels: The Use of Aircraft in Unconventional Warfare 1918-1988. London: Brassey’s, 1989. From air control to counterinsurgency. A bit RAF-centric until after 1945.
Acquisitions, Books
1940s, Civil defence, Periodicals, Pictures, Post-blogging 1940-2
Monday, 17 March 1941
Today the Glasgow Herald returns to what has been the predominant theme of the last week, America’s increasing commitment to the Allied cause, here represented by a ‘world broadcast’ made by Roosevelt on Saturday (5). Fearlessly he castigated the Axis partners — “these modern tyrants” with their “stuff and nonsense” about the master race. Their
1940s, Air defence, Civil defence, Collective security, Disarmament, International air force, Periodicals, Pictures, Post-blogging 1940-2, Words
Saturday, 15 March 1941
The war news today is much closer to home for the Glasgow Herald than usual. A big air raid last night on ‘a Central district of Scotland’ (5) is vividly described, as though the reporter had witnessed it: readers would know for themselves just how far away it was. One Nazi ‘plane which appeared to
1940s, Air defence, Aircraft, Collective security, International air force, Periodicals, Pictures, Post-blogging 1940-2
Friday, 14 March 1941
The big news today is that the latest Italian offensive against Greek forces in the Tepelini sector has been a disaster. War correspondents estimate 10,000 Italian casualties, including 2000 dead; yet ‘it was stated in authoritative circles in London yesterday that the Italians do not appear to have made any perceptible progress’ (5). This is
1940s, Air defence, International air force, Periodicals, Pictures, Post-blogging 1940-2
Thursday, 13 March 1941
The Glasgow Herald today again leads with Lease-and-Lend, specifically the massive appropriation request made by Roosevelt to Congress — over half a billion pounds’ worth of ‘aircraft and aeronautical material, including engines, spares, and accessories’ alone (5). The Bill will be ready for debate early next week: the Speak of the House of Representatives, Sam
1940s, Aircraft, Civil defence, Collective security, International air force, Periodicals, Pictures, Post-blogging 1940-2
Wednesday, 12 March 1941
The Glasgow Herald, like many early-twentieth-century ‘provincial’ newspapers, made a serious effort to cover war and other international news, as well as reporting on national and local issues. (In fact, it almost seems more interested in what’s happening overseas than it is in London or even Edinburgh.) Its highmindedness is also evident in its lack
Blogging, tweeting and podcasting
Post-blogging the Chinese Revolution of 1911
At Frog in a Well China, Alan Baumler is post-blogging the Chinese Revolution of 1911, beginning with a premature mutiny in Canton. It should make a nice companion series to David Silbey’s earlier effort on the Boxer Uprising.
1910s, Blogging, tweeting and podcasting
Don’t sink the Caroline!
The indefatigable David Silbey has posted Military History Carnival #26 at Cliopatria. The link which inspired this post’s title is at Military Times and concerns the fate of HMS Caroline, a light cruiser which was commissioned in 1914 and remains in service as a floating (albeit permanently moored) headquarters and training ship in Belfast. She
1930s, 1940s, Plots and tables, Tools and methods, Words
The National Government and the air
A while back, The National Archives made all Cabinet papers from 1915 to 1980 freely available for download. Now TNA Labs have created a visualisation tool for said papers, allowing you to see clouds of the 25 most frequent words and contributors for any year (month in wartime) or, using the ‘flexible querying’ mode, any
1930s, 1940s, After 1950, Aircraft, Books, Film, Periodicals, Pictures
The medium and the engineer
A recent comment by J Campbell raised the question of whether Nevil Shute’s 1949 novel No Highway was in fact a prediction of the De Havilland Comet airliner’s metal fatigue problems, which led to two crashes (‘hull losses’, in industry parlance) in 1954. My response was that it seemed unlikely that Shute had any particular