The lack of an accredited author for this title is explained by the fact that it was originally published (in softback and on wartime-standard paper stock) by HMSO in 1946 as Merchant Airmen: The Air Ministry Account of British Civil Aviation 1939-1944. What we have here is an updated and hardcover edition, "with text alterations and additions", fronted by an attractive (and presumably hand-coloured) cover shot of a BOAC Boeing 314 landing on water. This is the aircraft in which Winston Churchill flew in the utmost secrecy from Virginia to Bermuda in January 1942. Capt J. C. Kelly-Rogers, BOAC's captain of Boeings, waived protocol and allowed Churchill onto the flightdeck, where he took up the left-hand seat - smoking his trademark cigar - to fly the aircraft for 20 minutes. Chapter 19, 'Priority Passenger', tells the story of this high-priority, clandestine flight, which involved three Clippers and a retinue of 90 passengers that also included Sir Charles Portal and Lord Beaverbrook. No pressure there, eh captain? In doing so, it reveals both this volume's strengths and its weaknesses. The text is excellent and detailed, but the illustrations are of low contrast and exhibit moire patterns that typically result from scanning old magazine photos. Your reviewer's advice? Buy this one for the text and live with the images.
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