Wings over the World

Nowadays air travel is as routine as catching a bus. But before the war, it was truly extraordinary. A giant Handley-Page biplane bound for Paris, bouncing along Croydon Aerodrome’s grass runway, meant seat belts were primarily needed before take-off. Africa by Empire flying boat was a five-day aerial voyage via lakes that had to be cleared of hippos before touchdown. On a wartime Boeing flying boat crossing the Atlantic, the navigator plotted his course by the stars. Now, historian Tom Quinn records the remarkable reminiscences of British pilots, navigators, stewardesses, and station commanders. Abundantly illustrated with period posters, photos, and memorabilia, this is stirring social history from the edge of living memory.