Air Force Australia by George Odgers soon to be presented for sale on the wonderful BookLovers of Bath web site!
Published: Frenchs Forest: National Book Distributors, 1996, Hardback in dust wrapper.
4th edition. [First Published: 1984] Contains: Black & white photographs; Colour photographs; Colour frontispiece; Silhouettes; Photographic end papers & blanks;
From the cover: Now celebrating the 75th anniversary of its foundation, the Royal Australian Air Force has changed dramatically and irreversibly since its inception. But it continues to focus firmly on the vital task of delivering air power for the defence of Australia.
Air Force Australia presents the fascinating story of the RAAF and its predecessor, the Australian Flying Corps. From the AFCs birth in 1914, when four young army officers learned to fly at Point Cook, Victoria, in frail boxkites, the book traces the RAAFs wide experience of war and its growth and development to the highly efficient force it is today.
The book pays tribute to those many thousands of Australian airmen and women who served in two world wars, the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency, Confrontation and Vietnam, and who have flown over every ocean and every continent except South America. In more recent times the RAAF has supported Australian military operations in the Gulf War and the United Nations peacekeeping operations in Palestine, Cambodia, Somalia and Rwanda.
The heritage of Australian military aviation was passed on to the RAAF from the AFC, which began its air war operations in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) in 1915 where the first Australian pilot lost his life in battle. It continued operations in Egypt and Palestine and reached the climax of its war effort when three squadrons took part in the final year of the air war on the western front in France in 1918. World War II saw the sacrifice of more than 10 000 members of the RAAF, who died in the air war over land and sea.
Defence historian, George Odgers, presents the exciting story of the RAAF through his comprehensive text and many illustrations, including paintings and both colour and black-and-white photographs.
Military aviation in Australia has witnessed incredible achievements in discovery and development. But behind all the achievements stands the vital human element of the men and women who pioneered aviation in this country, mastering the early primitive machines and courageously taking them into battle and other hazardous ventures. What they did remains forever a part of Australias heritage.
Very Good in Very Good Dust Wrapper.
Matching Pictorial boards. 240 pages. Index. 12¼” x 9¼”.
Of course, if you don’t like this one, may I entrance you with a variety of books within my Military Air Force catalogue?
BookLovers of Bath 