Druid's Circle by Gp Capt H.W (Dixi) Dean A.F.C.
ISBN 0-9523023-3-0
Trained in the halcyon days of the '30s on Tigers, Atlas' and Siskins, Dixi Dean was posted to a bomber squadron equipped with the ludicrous HP Hinaidi and subsequently Heyfords. Specialising later in armaments he found himself at Martlesham Heath as the Second World War broke, as a Weapons Development Engineer.
At the end of Chamberlain's historic broadcast his CO told him to "get into that Blenhiem over there, go low level to Boscombe Down, and say nothing to anyone"...Despite protests that he'd never flown a Blenhiem before he did so, and set a trend that he'd follow for the rest of the war.
There followed a hectic five years taken up with solving the problems of fitting, sighting and operating eight guns into the thin wings of the new fighters, the even harder problem of making canons fit and work in that same space, the endless problems with feed machanisms that were so crucuial to the air war, and the long development of RPs, the unguided Rocket Projectiles that turned the Hurricane into, effectively, a 4 inch artillery battery, and the later Thunderbolt into something resembling a small battleship in terms of hitting power. The triumphs, disappointments, coincidences and miracles that all contributed to the Allied success in the war from the air are carefully documented, as well as the people involved.
All this with constant flight testing of his developments in new aircraft with never a check-out, just jump in, study the "taps" and go straight into a weapons test routine. He flew virtually every type the RAF operated, one engine or four, (and quite a few they didn't, including captured Luftwaffe types) and worked constantly at Boscombe and elsewhere, including a highly successful trip to the USA to co-ordinate the development of his beloved RPs and other weapons, flying all their new types as he went, as well as learning the new-fangled "radio range" system of navigation in corridors called "airways"...He even flew (illegally) on Operations in P47s, splashing Tiger tanks in Normandy to see how his weapons worked in the field!
This is a superbly well written book done with humour and panache, it has enough technical detail to fascinate, but not so much as to baffle or bore. His zest for flying, his family and the Service shines throughout.
This is a highly unusual book, a story of the back-room boys and how they interfaced with the front line. It's not short, 400 pages with notes and Bibliography, but irritatingly no index. It is, however, a ripping good read.
Last edited by Agaricus bisporus; 22nd Jun 2010 at 18:04.