In Southern Skies: A Pictorial History of Early Aviation in Southern Africa 1816-1940

Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2003, hardcover, large format, illustrated, index, 362 pages, 24 cms x 34 cms , condition: new.

Over 800 photographs acompany a text that took fifteen years to research. Aviation history in Southern Africa from its beginnings to 1940.

John Illsley has compiled a pictorial history of early flight in this country, from its humble beginnings to the aeroplanes that were used at the beginning of World War II. Each chapter has an introductory article, to set the scene for its subject, and the rest of the chapter is made up of pictures with comprehensive explanatory captions.

First flights on man-made wings
Siege balloons in two colonial wars
Balloons on imperial service
Box kites
The first aeroplanes
South Africa\\\'s first true aviator
The brief genesis of SA military aviation
South Africans on the Western Front
First to the Cape and back
An airline for the Union
Aviatrixes
War planes
Air shows
Air races
Aviation history in envelopes and stamps