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Royal Air Force Pilot's Flying Log Book

Royal Air Force Pilot's Flying Log Book

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Royal Air Force Pilot's Flying Log Book

by Stedman, Sgt. J. V

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • Signed
Condition
See description
Seller
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
San Anselmo, California, United States
Item Price
£8,431.50
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About This Item

July 1938 - November 1940. Approx. 150 pages. Square 8vo. Titled blue cloth over boards. Ruled pages as per contemporary log type. Various official stamps to internals. Manuscript in holograph.  The keeper of this precision crafted log remains excruciatingly hidden in his 150 page memoir of war. The reader should not expect to find him anywhere but in the hard tack data and details he so fastidiously records. He was a young man at a tremendous moment. One of many who became known as " the few ". His log breaks history down to numbers and aircraft types and operational duties. The machinery of the Battle of Britain squeezed into columns. He remains anonymous to us - like the wizard behind the curtain. What we know of Sgt. Stedman begins in January 1938 with his first training flights in Tiger Moths. Precisely detailed in wonderful hand, he records months of continued training with specific detail given to Exercise and Duty Results. Quite notable is the progression of planes mastered - Tiger Moth's , DH 82's and on to the Anson. Examination and confirmation stamps with sigs. in holograph summarize his passage over the months. Training at an end , Sgt. Stedman receives Certificate of Qualification As First day and Night Pilot on Anson landplanes " in November 1938 ( to front free endsheet ) His orders attach him to 217 Squadron at Tangmere.   There on the document proceeds to detail operations of an Anson pilot from the Phony War to Dunkirk to the Battle of Britain. As 217 Squadron was a reconnaissance bomber squadron, entries specifying Channel " convoy patrols " and " photo recon ' are prevalent. Further notations of dive-bombing, anti-sub patrols and night searches are scattered. As the Battle of Britain concludes, so does Sgt. Stedman. His last entry is of" Patrol SA 12 ". 16 November 1940. Log closes with stamped and signed confirmation of Monthly ( log ) Summary ( November )by F/L OC 6 December 1940. But the story closes happily with the one personal insight we have of Sgt. Stedman. Evidenced by the cover letter from the R.A.F. Record Office returning his log to him - date 27 April 1960 - ( laid-on to front free endsheet ) - we know he survived the war. Beyond that, he's the clear window glass through which we can glimpse a momentous time. Covers mildly worn, benign cloth rippling mid- spine at gutter due to previous inadequate hinge repair, Author's name in ink to front cover. A handsome and exceedingly rare Battle of Britain Pilot's log.Featured Misc.

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Details

Bookseller
Heldfond Book Gallery, ABAA-ILAB US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
5931
Title
Royal Air Force Pilot's Flying Log Book
Author
Stedman, Sgt. J. V
Format/Binding
Approx. 150 pages. Square 8vo. Titled blue cloth over boards. Ruled pages as per contemporary log type. Various official stamps
Book Condition
Used
Binding
Hardcover
Date Published
July 1938 - November 1940.

Terms of Sale

Heldfond Book Gallery, ABAA-ILAB

The Heldfond Book Gallery is an elected member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers and conforms to all ethical codes and standards of those organizations.Books found to be materially mis-described may be returned within seven days of receipt and all monies will be promptly refunded, if returned to us in the same condition as sent.

About the Seller

Heldfond Book Gallery, ABAA-ILAB

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2005
San Anselmo, California

About Heldfond Book Gallery, ABAA-ILAB

Located just accross the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, California - the Heldfond Book Gallery, Ltd. is one of the oldest and most esteemed Rare Bookstores on the West Coast. Specializations include: Illustrated Books in all disciplines, Fine Bindings and Sets, Important Literary First Editions,Fine Arts, Collectable Children's Illustrated Books, Illuminated Manuscripts and Incunabula,Rare Aviation and Maritime as well as a consistently superb inventory of General Antiquarian Materials.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Cloth
"Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
Spine
The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
Hinge
The portion of the book closest to the spine that allows the book to be opened and closed.
Gutter
The inside margin of a book, connecting the pages to the joints near the binding.

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