Books by "John Walter Wilson"
9 books found
This scholarly and clear-sighted book … is a happy marriage of history and technology and deserves to become standard reading for serious students of the First World War.' Prof. Richard Holmes 'Fascinating. Excellent pictures and a readable text as well. A wonderful story well told.' Military Illustrated 'The Devil's Chariots is the best single work on the development, from concept to fielding, of British armour in the First World War… Glanfield is also entertaining in addition to being enlightening… The Devil's Chariots is a decent read, and for specialists in the field it will be required reading… The research is both broad and solid, and it appears that this will be the last word on this topic for some time to come.' Robert L. Bateman, contributor to The Journal of Military History, Lexington VA, and a member of the Society for Military History 'This book is in a class of its own … it brings a new maturity to the study of the tank, most particularly from the human perspective, and best of all, it is very readable'. David Fletcher, Senior Archivist, Tank Museum, Bovington, author of The Tank 'This volume would be a great addition to the library of anyone wishing to try to understand World War 1 better. I greatly enjoyed this evidently well-researched and highly interesting book… It taught me much. I am grateful.' Royal Naval Sailing Association Journal 'Fascinating … all military procurement officers should read it… All this is excellently set out, especially the people who made [the tank weapon] possible and those who resented such new ideas.' Brig Fraser Scott, contributor to The Journal of the Royal Artillery Institution 'John Glanfield sheds new light on the tank's pioneers, their bizarre experimental machines and later triumphs… This intensely researched work … is drawn from previously unpublished primary sources.' Gun Mart 'This is classic research by a world authority.' The Driffield Post 'The author has a sharp eye for detail … an exemplary history of a pivotal aspect of the First World War.' Worcester Evening News 'The Devil's Chariots can fairly claim to be the most intensively researched and detailed account of the tank's origins yet to appear.' Classic Arms & Militaria 'John Glanfield has combined meticulous historical research with a gift for narrative to present a story that both students of the Great War and the general reader will find fascinating. I thoroughly recommend this book.' John Gregory, contributor to The Journal of the Henry Williamson Society The Devil's Chariots is the product of six years of research by author John Glanfield, who wanted to tell the story of the birth of the tank in World War I, and, importantly, the men behind it. Based on personal recollections and official reports Glanfield uncovers the British tank pioneers and their odd machines, the men who supported the new weapon, those who refused to accept their worth and the brave crews who took them into battle.
Early in 1973 I was flying a normal Variable Stability System (VSS) flight at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. The student in the right seat of the converted B-26 aircraft was Lieutenant Commander George White. He was flying his third consecutive VSS flight. George had successfully completed all his upper air work in the vicinity of 10,000 feet. He commenced making a series of approaches to the active runway, which was oriented northeast/southwest (04/22)1. Each approach was made with a different stability configuration dialed in by me. His task was to fly and for me to evaluate his reaction to increasingly unstable conditions. As George lined up the B-26 on Runway 04 one could see the beautiful blue waters of the Patuxent River beyond the end of the 10,000-foot runway. When the aircraft had descended to about 50 feet and was ready to be flared for landing I told him I had the airplane and simultaneously disconnected the variable stability system. After clicking off the VSS I raised the landing gear and applied go-around power to both engines. For a few seconds increased power was felt but then the left engine sputtered and completely lost power. The emergency response for such a failure is to immediately “feather” the propeller on the affected engine. The purpose for feathering is to align the propeller blades into the wind stream. This action provides minimum drag from the failed engine. The aircraft would then be more controllable with thrust from the “good” running engine. However, just as I was reaching for the left feathering button the right engine started losing power and it also completely failed. There was insufficient runway remaining to attempt a so called “dead stick” landing (terminology indicating a landing without power). Plus the landing gear was in the process of retracting into the wheel wells and there was little time to reverse the process and lower the gear back down. My next alternative was to make a belly landing in the waters of the Patuxent River straight ahead. 1. 04/22 refers to the direction of the runway heading. 04 means 040 or 40 degrees from magnetic north; and, 22 means 220, or that number of degrees from magnetic north.