50 Years On
by Roger R Marks
(published October 1994)
THE BOOK... (SOON on CD) was A4 size,
284 pages with full colour stiff card cover, 6 analytical Appendices, Bibliography and
comprehensive Index. Inside, the approx 370 photos, map and drawing extracts are
monochrome.
Some people collect old clocks - for others
it can be sporting figure cards, or the lowly postage stamp…Lately, an increasingly
popular focus has settled on restoring old aeroplanes, often to factory-fresh flying
condition. There, even minimal involvement evokes attention to the history of places where
aircraft landed, taxied, were serviced, rested(?) whole or in pieces, were loaded and
dispatched to fly that cycle again. Such places were aerodromes and when the
warrior in us prompts more interest in RAAF Kittyhawks or US B-26 Marauders, than the
placid DeHavilland Gypsy Moth, we are ready to address this reference work on the WW2
Military Aviation History of Queensland,entitled:
This book reviews more than 190 sites of
relevance. It guides you right to them with current day map references. For the 60 most
prominent airfields in the State 1939-1945, a total of some 376 photos, maps and drawing
extracts combine with the often verbatim reports and descriptions either dredged from
Archives or taped from veterans.
The emphasis is constantly on authenticity.
Wherever feasible the author has included the edge detail on surviving photos,
whether he understands it or not! A fascinating list of WW2 period aerial photography of
the sites makes up Appendix 4 in this book. Known sources and/or repositories of
such surviving prints are set out. Regrettably, some such historic photography listed in
old CPE (RAAF Central Photographic Establishment) Master Negative Registers does
not appear to have survived. In crucial cases, the author has listed these too. He hopes
that families poised to bin those old photos Dad had from the War, may pause and check the
sketchy edge detail against Appendix 4.
Look on Queensland Airfields WW2 - 50
Years On as a coffee table standard... Take it with you on that caravan or
bus trip you have planned through
A MAJOR
DEVELOPMENT since producing QAWW2 is
my now enduring interest in a new project to...