Table of Contents
EDITOR’S LETTER
AIR CORRESPONDENCE
DECLINE & FALL
Professor Keith Hayward FRAeS continues his series on
the political aspects of Britain’s post-war aircraft industry
with a look at the demise of the once-mighty Handley Page
AIRACOBRA: HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION
The British dismissed it; the Americans tolerated it; the
Soviets, however, loved it. Dan Zamansky explains how
the Bell P-39 found a new lease of life on the Eastern Front
IRAN’S WEASEL DIESELS
Iranian aviation historian Babak Taghvaee chronicles the
long career of the F-4D “Diesel” Phantom in Iran, several
of which were converted into anti-SAM “Wild Weasels”
CES HOMMES MAGNIFIQUES: A.P. FILIPPI
In the first of a new series on France’s early aeronautical
personalities, Jean-Christophe Carbonel explores the
work of Antoine Filippi, inventor of the “Cyrnos” rotary wing
OK-JET! THE Tu-104A IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Miroslav Jindra traces the history of the Tupolev Tu-104A
jetliner in service with Czechoslovakia’s national airline ČSA
FROM FLYING TO SPYING: PART 1
By the late 1930s Japan was increasingly showing interest
in Portuguese Timor, only 400 miles north-west of Darwin;
Phil Vabre reveals how Australia’s DCA kept a watchful eye
NATTJAKT!
In 1953 the de Havilland Venom entered service with
Sweden’s Flygvapnet; Jan Forsgren profiles the career of
the J 33, as it was designated in Swedish service . . .
WHISTLING IN THE DARK
. . . followed by former Flygvapnet J 33 pilot Bengt
“Kävlinge” Lindwall’s recollections of what the distinctive
twin-boomed nightfighter was like to fly
THE USAAF’S MEDITERRANEAN FERRETS
Electronic countermeasures specialist Bill Cahill details
the 16th RS’s use of Boeing B-17s as German-radarhunting “Ferrets” in the Mediterranean during WW2
REFLECTIONS ON A TRAGEDY
When we misidentified a Fleet Air Arm pilot recently, his
son, Peter Lavender, got in touch to tell us the story of his
father’s post-war flying career — and tragic untimely death
SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA
Australian civil aviation historian Neil Follett surveys the
(mainly short) lives of the four handsome Ryan B.1
Broughams imported into Australia during the late 1920s
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
With the help of contemporary brochures and data, Tony
Buttler describes Armstrong Whitworth’s AW.58 series of
supersonic research designs, ultimately beaten to the
hardware stage by English Electric’s P.1 and Fairey’s F.D.2
ARMCHAIR AVIATION
LOST & FOUND
SAY CHEESE! PART 2
Ed Wild FRAeS concludes his two-part series on flying
overseas for Hunting Surveys Ltd with another DC-3
expedition; this time a trip to Africa during 1959–60
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK