Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Ebook362 pages4 hours
Frank McClean: The Godfather to British Naval Aviation
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
During aviation’s pioneering years Francis Kennedy McClean used his vast inherited wealth to help the now famous Short Brothers company become established as one of Britain’s greatest aircraft manufacturers and, in doing so, he helped the Royal Navy’s first pilots into the air. In effect, he was Godfather to British naval aviation.
But McClean did much more than even that. He was himself a balloonist and pioneer aviator, flying with Wilbur Wright in France in December 1908. He provided the Royal Aero Club with one of the first flying grounds in the UK; personally purchased no fewer than sixteen aeroplanes from Short Brothers before the First World War, and also acted as the company’s unpaid test pilot. Convinced that aviation was destined to play a vital role in the nation’s defence, he made his own aeroplanes freely available for training and ensured that the Navy had a suitable site from which to fly, founding England’s first naval flying school, at Eastchurch in Kent. His flight up the Thames to Westminster on 10 August 1912, during which he flew between the upper and lower spans of Tower Bridge and passed beneath the other bridges, caught the public imagination, but despite all these achievements he remained unassuming, modest and reticent.
This is a fascinating and informative account of McClean’s great influence on early aviation, and his achievements and significant contribution to naval aviation are revealed here for the first time.
But McClean did much more than even that. He was himself a balloonist and pioneer aviator, flying with Wilbur Wright in France in December 1908. He provided the Royal Aero Club with one of the first flying grounds in the UK; personally purchased no fewer than sixteen aeroplanes from Short Brothers before the First World War, and also acted as the company’s unpaid test pilot. Convinced that aviation was destined to play a vital role in the nation’s defence, he made his own aeroplanes freely available for training and ensured that the Navy had a suitable site from which to fly, founding England’s first naval flying school, at Eastchurch in Kent. His flight up the Thames to Westminster on 10 August 1912, during which he flew between the upper and lower spans of Tower Bridge and passed beneath the other bridges, caught the public imagination, but despite all these achievements he remained unassuming, modest and reticent.
This is a fascinating and informative account of McClean’s great influence on early aviation, and his achievements and significant contribution to naval aviation are revealed here for the first time.
Unavailable
Read more from Philip Jarrett
The Royal Naval Air Service in the First World War: Aircraft and Events as Recorded in Official Documents Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrank McClean: Godfather to British Naval Aviation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Frank McClean
Related ebooks
Test Pilots of the Jet Age: Men Who Heralded a New Era in Aviation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnited States Naval Aviation, 1911–2014 Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5On Canadian Wings: A Century of Flight Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Strike from the Air: The Early Years of the US Air Forces Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpitfire: A Test Pilot's Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsZeppelin over Suffolk: The Final Raid of the L48 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Magnificent Mitscher Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wings for the Fleet: A Narrative of Naval Aviation's Early Development, 1910-1916 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flying Canucks: Famous Canadian Aviators Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spitfire Stories: True Tales from Those Who Designed, Maintained and Flew the Iconic Plane Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLetters from an Early Bird: The Life & Letters of Denys Corbett Wilson 1882–1915 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorld War One Aircraft Carrier Pioneer: The Story and Diaries of Captain JM McCleery RNAS/RAF Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Trans-Atlantic Pioneers: From First Flights to Supersonic Jets – The Battle to Cross the Atlantic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBarnstormers, Wing-Walking and Flying Circuses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVulcan Boys: From the Cold War to the Falklands: True Tales of the Iconic Delta V Bomber Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Spitfire: An Icon of the Skies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlying Canucks II: Pioneers of Canadian Aviation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJavelin Boys: Air Defence from the Cold War to Confrontation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCleveland's National Air Races Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChurchill and His Airmen: Relationships, Intrigue and Policy Making 1914–1945 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War Flying Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDowding's Eagles: Accounts of Twenty-Five Battle of Britain Veterans Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNaval Aviation in the Second World War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAviation In Peace And War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSir Alan Cobham: The Flying Legend Who Brought Aviation to the Masses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlane Tales From The Sky Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Way of the Air Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Royal Air Force in the Cold War, 1950–1970 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings5 Minute History In the Air Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Wars & Military For You
The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Art of War: The Definitive Interpretation of Sun Tzu's Classic Book of Strategy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Daily Creativity Journal Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Summary of The 33 Strategies of War: by Robert Greene - A Comprehensive Summary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDoctors From Hell: The Horrific Account of Nazi Experiments on Humans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The God Delusion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unit 731: Testimony Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unacknowledged: An Expose of the World's Greatest Secret Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wager Disaster: Mayem, Mutiny and Murder in the South Seas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Making of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise of the Fourth Reich: The Secret Societies That Threaten to Take Over America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Frank McClean
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews