RAF HELICOPTERS : The First Twenty Years by Dowling, Wing Commander John, RAF

London 1992, HMSO, UK first edition , hard bound in dust jacket, 8x10, VG/VG CONDITION, , Light DJ wear, xv, 489 pages, appendices, index. --------------------------------------------------------------- This is a British Air Ministry Official History. The history of helicopters in the Royal Air Force starts at the point when they were first employed operationally in 1950 in Malaya. The earlier period, when autogiros gave way to helicopters with no real operational capability, is outlined in the Prologue.'-------------------------------------------------------- Thereafter the history is divided into four phases, the first (1950-52) dealing mainly with the Casualty Evacuation Flight in the Far East, which proved the readiness of the helicopter to enter the field of military operations and laid the foundation for the subsequent expansion.--------------------------------------------------------------- In the second phase (1953-60) an enthusiastic growth of the helicopter forces was nevertheless restricted by financial constraints and also by the limited operational capability of the available aircraft, many desirable roles for the helicopter being excluded simply because they were beyond the scope of the aircraft then in service. Even so, their contribution to the campaigns in Malaya and Cyprus was crucial. At the end of this second phase however there came a significant breakthrough with the arrival of turbine engines with their great advantage in power/weight ratio. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The third phase (1960-70) thus belongs to the Whirlwinds Mk 10, the Belvederes and later the Wessex, with the Borneo and South Arabian operations occupying the centre of the stage. Phase 3 is extended into 1972 in the Far East in order to complete the withdrawal of the last RAF helicopters in Malaysia.----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The fourth phase (1971 onwards) is only introduced here and will in due course cover the formation and operations of the Puma/Wessex/Chinook squadrons as tactical helicopter army support force in the NATO context, with the Northern Ireland operations as the main example of various other activities undertaken after 1970, detachments in Oman, Belize and the Falklands. Running continuously from 1953 and in parallel with operational aircraft type developments is the Search and Rescue helicopter force in the UK maritime environment, and also, after 1954, the Central Flying School Helicopter Unit. Both of these appear in each phase after the first, as do the communications helicopters of The Queen's Flight and the Metropolitan Communications Squadron. In each phase an outline is given of the policy considerations at Ministry level which affected the choice and procurement of helicopters, and incidentally dictated the scope of role development, and so ultimately the rate of helicopter type development.