If there's a thread running informally through this issue, it's the entry into a new era - the feeling of finally having escaped from the clutches of brutal hostilities, into an optimistic post-war world. That theme links several of the features, if slightly more by accident than design. Remembering that it was 75 years since the then Lt Cdr Eric Brown's first jet operations on an aircraft carrier was one thing. Coming up with a new angle with which to mark it was quite another. But then our regular contributor Matthew Willis interviewed Geoffrey Cooper, a former Royal Aircraft Establishment engineer who is one of the few remaining eyewitnesses to that day aboard HMS Ocean, and the die was cast. Cooper talked authoritatively to Matthew about how Brown and a DH Vampire came to make history in December 1945, and his own involvement in many trials programmes with which the great test pilot was also engaged. To go with that, and to create more of a salute to 'Winkle' Brown on this anniversary occasion, we commissioned Nicholas Jones to write about Eric's role in reestablishing German naval aviation after the war. The result is a unique insight into not just that specific job, but also the special connection between Brown and Germany that remained largely unaffected by the war. It's a great read.
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