View Full Version : Air Transport Auxiliary: new and old books
The autobiography of Lettice Curtis of the ATA is to be published this month. Diana Barnato Walker spoke recently at Project Propeller and her book "Spreading my Wings" is out in paperback, and Lettice Curtis' "Forgotten Pilots" is still available (for example, in the shop at White Waltham, where she was a member). These women were remarkable pilots: current as single crew on multiple types, and logging time in, for example, a Spitfire, a Blenheim and a Halifax one after another.
astir 8
13th Jul 2004, 14:11
I've got a book called "Fly & Deliver" by Hugh Berghel (I think that's his name)
He joined the ATA with 75 hours on Moths and 75 in gliders and found himself delivering Hurricanes shortly afterwards! He gradually worked his way up to Lancs, Liberators etc.
All weather, no radio, no traffic control, VFR all the way with the sky stuffed with other aircraft. The ATA had something like a 15% death rate (Amy Johnson included) so it wasn't all fun.
But imagine having all that kit to fly!!!!!
Flyer Flier
20th Jul 2004, 18:31
I have just been involved with putting up a plaque to mark the aviation heritage of Ratcliffe Aerodrome just north of Leics. During the war, Ratcliffe was No 6 Ferry Pool of the ATA. As part of the background, I found the website started by Ann Wood-Kelly as a valuable resource for ATA information particularly as she was based at Ratcliffe herself. Her website has good links on the ATA and her book link is very comprehensive also, including the ones mentioned above. The site is at http://www.airtransportaux.org/history.html
The Ratcliffe Plaque is shown here for your info also:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/airclark/25thReunion5_files/image008.jpg
Genghis the Engineer
21st Jul 2004, 09:15
Ann Welch's autobiography "happy to fly" contains a fascinating couple of chapters about her time in the ATA.
The Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington also publishes a copy of the original ATA ferry pilots notes (The "blue book"), based I believe upon Lettice Curtiss' set which she conveniently forgot to hand in or destroy at the end of the war. Absolutely fascinating to anybody with an interest in the operation of old aeroplanes.
G