Phallic symbol envy
Source: Review of Reviews for Australasia, May 1913, 248 (link; presumably originally from a British publication).
1910s, Aircraft, Art, Australia, Periodicals, Pictures
Periodicals
1910s, 1940s, Books, Periodicals
Hang ’em high
This is something I’ve been wondering about for ages. In The Impact of Air Power on the British People and their Government, Alfred Gollin notes, but does not explain, a recurring theme: the idea that after a damaging air raid, angry mobs would string up government ministers (or other servants of the public) from lamp-posts
1930s, Books, Other, Periodicals
That was unexpected
Today, I was reading an account of the Cambridge Scientists’ Anti-War Group in Gary Werskey, The Visible College (London: Allen Lane, 1978). On p. 230 I came across the following passage: The Association of Scientific Workers strongly endorsed their work,48 as did J. B. S. Haldane. I turned to the endnotes to check the reference,
1910s, Periodicals, Phantom airships, mystery aeroplanes, and other panics, Rumours
The enemy within
Last month I touched on the Hidden Hand, an alleged German conspiracy during the First World War, supposedly undermining the British war effort from within. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately!) my sources don’t include some of the more extreme publications pushing this conspiracy theory, but I have looked at the Daily Mail, which has published the
1940s, Art, Periodicals, Pictures
Our friends the enemy
An impression by “J.P.” of the R.A.F. attack by Whitleys on the snow-covered Skoda armament works at Plzen in Czechoslovakia on the night of October 27 [1940]. Source: Flight, 29 December 1940, 536 (link). Perhaps I’m just cynical, but I’m guessing that this night raid on the Skoda works was not nearly as accurate as
Australia, Periodicals, Publications
Melbourne Historical Journal 36
Earlier this year, I mentioned that I had joined the editorial collective of Melbourne Historical Journal. Well, against all odds (or so it seemed at times!) we produced what I think is a pretty good issue. Lynette Russell graciously launched it this evening at the Re-orienting Whiteness conference, and it’s now available for purchase. (Or
1910s, Periodicals, Phantom airships, mystery aeroplanes, and other panics, Rumours
Flight‘s message to the politicians
In contrast to the King’s message to the RAF, Flight‘s reaction to the end of the war, in the same issue of 14 November 1918, seems rather grumpy. It’s true that the editorial section is rounded off, on p. 1274 (source), by a short section which expresses a certain amount of glee at the news
1910s, Periodicals, Pictures
The King’s message to the Royal Air Force
It’s 90 years to the day since the guns fell silent, and the bombs stopped falling. I don’t feel that I have anything particularly insightful to say, so here’s how Flight marked the occasion, by publishing the King’s message to the RAF on its front page, 14 November 1918, p. 1270 (source): THE KING’S MESSAGE
Other, Periodicals, Publications, Space
Goodbye, Zeta Reticuli
I’ve got an article in the current (November 2008) issue of Fortean Times (named, of course, after Charles Fort). It’s not at all airminded, it’s not really historical either — it has more to do with my shady astrophysicist past. It’s about the famous Betty and Barney Hill abduction incident in New Hampshire in 1961
1930s, Periodicals, Pictures, Post-blogging the Sudeten crisis
Saturday, 8 October 1938
As The Times reports today (p. 12), the Berlin Commission of Ambassadors which is implementing the Munich agreement has finished demarcating the major zones to be transferred to Germany, and has adjourned until Monday. But there’s still much to do. For example, there’s still the question of what to about Sudeten Germans outside the transfer