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Fonthill Media announces four forthcoming or recently published titles, dedicated of course to enthusiasts of aviation.

If you will visit publisher website you will be able to find some sample pages of the books listed below.

Tales from the Control Tower

Author: Joe Bamford
ISBN 978-1-78155-041-0
Format: 234 x 156 mm
Paperback, 224 pages, 35 b&w illustrations

”Tales From The Control Tower” is based on the author’s personal experiences of the Royal Air Force. It starts in 1968 with anecdotes about Basic Training at Swinderby where recruits learned drill, marching and given an introduction to service life. From there the Tales move on to Gaydon, a ‘V’ Bomber station where Joe experienced the RAF at its best and its worst, being billeted in a hut with twenty rough necks from the RAF Regiment. At the Air Traffic School at Shawbury Joe was trained in air traffic procedures. During his time there both the piston-engine Provost and the D. H. Vampire were in the final months of service with the RAF. The station was also a storage facility and give details of the many different types of aircraft that were being housed there, awaiting scraping or repair...
Having passed out of Shawbury the story moves on to Manston, where there are various anecdotes about working in the control tower, the foam landings, diversions and one particular incident involving the Red Arrows, that could have lead them to being disbanded.
There are anecdotes about the life style of airmen, the drinking, the women and the strange humour! This period was interesting because it was the ‘Twilight Years’ of the veterans of WWII and of also of piston-engine type aircraft such as the such as the Beverley, Hastings and the DC4.
Joe Bamford has produced an amusing ‘easy read’ about air force life that is very different to the usual ‘Gung Ho’ type story.

Blood, Sweat and Valour. 41 Squadron RAF, August 1942-May 1945: A Biographical History

Author: Steve Brew
ISBN 978-1-78155-193-6
Format: 248 x 172 mm
Hardback, 1088 pages, 350 illustrations

41 Squadron RAF is one of the oldest RAF Squadrons in existence, having celebrated its 95th Anniversary in 2011. The unit has seen service from the First World War through policing duties in the Middle East in the 1930s, throughout the Second World War, and more recently in the First Gulf War. Sadly, however, its history has never been written.
“Blood, Sweat and Valour” is the first comprehensive study of this gallant squadron, concentrating on its Second World War activity between August 1942 and May 1945 with a specific emphasis on the men who earned the enviable reputation the squadron still enjoys today.
“Blood, Sweat and Valour” recounts the unit’s role within battles, operations, offensives and larger strategies, and details experiences made by the pilots and ground crew participating in them. The squadron’s actions are often revealed for the first time, through records that have hitherto never been available.
Sources include over 350 documents from 41 Squadron’s archives, and thousands of pages of data from over 250 National Archives files and hundreds of references from the London Gazette, major periodicals, books and websites from across the globe in both English and German. Personal sources also include 35 pilots’ logbooks, 40 personal accounts and interviews.

Wine, Women and Song. A Spitfire Pilot's Story

Author: Hamish Brown
ISBN 978-1-78155-035-9
Format: 248 x 172 mm
Hardback, 368 pages, 200 mono illustrations

This frank account of New Zealand Spitfire pilot Doug Brown traces his training and action experienced in the RAF and social activities during the war. From ‘signing up’ as a young 20 year old when World War II broke out in 1939, he ventured to Canada on the Awatea with 200 trainees and then on to England.
The first solo in a Spitfire was almost his last and he crashed on his first operation with 485 Squadron. It was a life of contrasts: the thrill of flying; the loss of fellow airmen; anticipation of combat; the boredom of ‘readiness’; indulgent mess banquets; rough conditions; pranks and comradeship; and the unrelenting toil of war. None would deny the effect the intensive active service would have on the mental and physical state of pilots and all servicemen. Boys quickly became men and survivors would claim they were the best years of their lives.

Britain’s Cold War Bombers

Author: Tim McLelland
ISBN 978-1-78155-052-6
Format: 248x 172 mm
Hardback, 336 pages, 200 black and white, 50 colour

Britain’s Cold War Bombers explores the creation and development of the jet bomber, tracing the emergence of the first jet designs (the Valiant and Vulcan) through to the first-generation jets which entered service with the R.A.F. and Fleet Air Arm. Each aircraft type will be examined, looking at how the design was created and how this translated into an operational aircraft.
The basic development and service history of each type will be examined, with a narrative which links the linear appearance of each new design, leading to the present day and the latest generation of Typhoon aircraft.
Other aircraft types explored will include the Canberra, Sperrin, Victor, Scimitar, Buccaneer, Nimrod, Phantom, Sea Harrier, Jaguar, Tornado GR1/4 and Typhoon.


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