Aviation History Books

News & views at Canadian Aviation History Online

NORTH ATLANTIC CROSSROADS:
The Royal Air Force Ferry Command Gander Unit, 1940-1946
by Darrell Hillier

Reviewed By Fred Hutcheson
posted November 2021

This book is the history of a very specific unit during the Second World War. It covers the activities and people of one unit in one airport over six years. The Unit was part of the RAF “Ferry Command” (ignoring preceding/succeeding Command identifiers) which had its North American Headquarters in Saint Hubert and Dorval, PQ, and included units in many other airports along the routes to the UK. The airport is the one at Gander, Newfoundland…

Red Star Over Canada
by Chris Weicht

Reviewed by Doug Rollins
posted May 2021

Mention the current Russian Federation, or its predecessor, The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and what images come to mind? Russia, which Winston Churchill once famously characterized as "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma", is renowned for its spies, espionage networks and in more recent years, misinformation campaigns and international election meddling.

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D-ring from Ian M Macdonald's Dad's parachute

FLYING TO EXTREMES:
Memories of a Northern Bush Pilot

by Dominique Prinet

Reviewed By Brian Cotter
posted April 2021

As a long time aviation buff and especially a reader with a strong knowledge of aviation of all sorts including Canadian bush flying... I have to share that I was “blown away” by the scope and quality of the soon to be released:
FLYING TO EXTREMES: Memories of a Northern Bush Pilot, Hancock House Publishers, Surrey, 2021 280 colour paperback.
I just couldn’t put it down!

Airlift to the Top of the World
The Royal Air Force and the British North Greenland Expedition 1951-1954
by Guy Holroyd

reviewed by Fred Hutcheson
posted October 2020

For the first time between any single set of covers, author Guy Holroyd details this little known aspect of early postwar RAF operations, based almost exclusively on primary source materials. One of the great true stories of the trials and tribulations of Arctic aviation, with a few interesting Canadian aircraft, personality, and locale connections to boot!

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Cover image – published by Linden Hill Ltd (Summer, 2020)

Guelph Air Park
by Cindi Canlon

Review By Gord McNulty, CAHS Vice President
posted August 2020

Cindi Conlon, a resident of the Royal City, was really impressed with her first visit to the famous Tiger Boys vintage aircraft restoration works at Guelph. In fact, she was inspired to write a book about the entire airport. She dedicated the publication to the pilots --- past and present --- who have called Guelph Air Park their aviation home, and to its visionary founder, Len Ariss. As Cindi says, the generosity of Ariss led to the Air Park becoming “a jewel in the crown of the Royal City” over the past 65 years.

80 Years, A Tribute to the PBY Catalina
by Hans Wiesman

Les Oystryk
posted November 2019

Hans Wiesman has truly put his heart and soul into publishing what is, “The ultimate colour photo album of the best flying boat ever made”.

Many of the 400 photos have never been published before. This aircraft has, over time, become part of the “Jurassic Park of Aviation” as the last of the wartime-made flying dinosaurs.

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Cover image – published by Avion Ventures B.V. (May 1, 2018)

Un gamin dans le Ciel
Larry Lesh
The Flying Lad
by Pierre Thiffault

CAHS Aviation History Online Staff
posted May 2019

This is the story of the first known aviator in Canada... a boy of only 14 years of age. In the summer of 1907, Laurence J. Lesh (1892-1965) performed in Montreal a series of soaring flights in self-made fragile gliders towed... by a galloping horse ! The lad also set a world record by staying aloft for 24 minutes over the St. Lawrence River, tracted for ten kilometers by a motor boat.. Read more…

Cover image – self published by author, Pierre Thiffault.

Rotary Wings over the Arctic - The Diaries of HMCS Labrador’s Flight Operations, 1954-1957
by Don MacNeil

Review as published in Airforce Magazine, Vol 43 No 1, June 2019
by T.F.J. Leversedge
posted June 2019

HMCS Labrador, Canada’s only naval (Wind-class) icebreaker, provided the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) with a true Arctic ice capability and, from 1955 to 1957, it was the Canadian government’s most visible presence in the far North. A critical and under recognized element in Labrador’s success was its embarked helicopters consisting of the single-rotor Bell HTL-4 (Bell 47) and tandem-rotor Piasecki HUP-3 designs. By performing ice reconnaissance and performing numerous other utility missions, these early helicopter types enhanced the ship’s overall effectiveness, range, and impact. Read More...

Cover image of the book,
published by Mulroney Institute, St Francis Xavier University

Canada 150 Books
by Jim Bell

CAHS Aviation History Online Staff
posted June 2019

On July 1, 2017, Canada will mark its Sesquicentennial – our country’s 150th birthday. To help celebrate, the Canadian Aviation Historical Society hopes to publish a list of 150 recommended aviation books by Canadians, about Canadians.
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