Aviation History Books Collection

Discover 20 authoritative aviation history books by Charles E. MacKay. From WWI fighters to modern jets, Scottish aviation heritage to global military aviation.

📚 Complete Book Collection

20 books available • Expert research • Academic references • FREE shipping worldwide

£15.95

This Was the Enemy: Aeroplanes Guns Bombs Downfall Volume Two

With the destruction of the German Air Arm after the Treaty of Versailles, Germany sought new ways to increase the size and complexity of the Luftwaffe. Volume Two of This was the Enemy explores the chaos behind the failure of the Luftwaffe. Coming Soon - Pre-order available.

Era: WWII (1939-1945)Focus: FightersRegion: Germany

WWII AviationPre-Order

📦 Weight: 300g • 🏷️ ISBN: Coming Soon

£12.91

Beardmore Aviation: The Story of a Scottish Industrial Giant's Aviation Activities

How Scotland’s great engineering house went airborne. Drawing on original company archives and Admiralty papers, this study traces Beardmore from Sopwith shipboard fighters and Handley Page bombers to HMS Argus—the first true flat‑deck carrier. It documents the W.B. aircraft family, the Inflexible, and the Typhoon/Cyclone/Tornado engines of the R101 era, with production totals, contracts, and rare factory photography.

Era: Pre-WWIFocus: AirshipsRegion: Scotland

Scottish Aviation HistoryNew

📦 Weight: 378g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9780957344303

£16.08

Clydeside Aviation Volume One: The Great War

The first source‑driven account of Clydeside aviation in WWI. From Vincent Lunardi and Percy Pilcher to RFC training fields, RNAS coastal stations, and the industrial mobilisation that turned shipyards into aircraft factories, it maps pilot training at Montrose, home‑defence flights, and shipboard fighter trials using squadron diaries, factory records, and local archives.

Era: WWI (1914-1918)Focus: WWI FightersRegion: Scotland

Scottish Aviation HistoryNew

📦 Weight: 482g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9780957344389

£15.54

Clydeside Aviation Volume Two: Between the Wars

Clydeside between the wars: airlines at Renfrew, the Scottish Flying Club, engineering breakthroughs at Beardmore and Weir, and the build‑up to rearmament. Using timetables, club logs, and engineering papers, it traces routes, aerodromes, and accidents, follows 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron to the edge of the Spitfire era, and charts early Scottish helicopter experiments.

Era: Inter-War (1918-1939)Focus: Commercial AircraftRegion: Scotland

Scottish Aviation HistoryNew

📦 Weight: 545g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9780957344372

£13.93

German Aircraft in the Great War 1914-1918

A primary‑source study of German aviation in WWI—from Johannisthal and the rise of Fokker to the factory floor, supply chains, and frontline units. Using Allied intelligence, translated German records, and Inter‑Allied Control Commission inspections, it explains how Germany built and fielded aircraft from Albatros and LVG to giant Staaken bombers—and why the Fokker D.VII was singled out in the Armistice.

Era: WWI (1914-1918)Focus: WWI FightersRegion: Germany

WWI AviationNew

📦 Weight: 378g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9781838056742

£12.91

British Aircraft of the Great War: Fighters, Bombers, Seaplanes, Trainers, Flying Boats

A concise reference to British airpower in WWI. It follows the RFC, RNAS, and RAF from procurement and training to squadron deployment—fighters, bombers, seaplanes, trainers, and flying boats—explaining how machines were ordered, delivered, and formed into units. Includes O/400 and V1500 heavy bombers and shipborne Sopwith operations built by Beardmore.

Era: WWI (1914-1918)Focus: WWI FightersRegion: Britain

WWI AviationNew

📦 Weight: 228g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9781838056704

£12.86

The Sycamore Seeds: The Early History of the Helicopter

Britain’s rotorcraft beginnings—from autogyros to the nation’s first production helicopter. Tracing a line from Denny Mumford and Juan de la Cierva to Weir’s W.5/W.6 and the Bristol Sycamore, it uses company files, drawings, and test notes to explain breakthroughs in tail‑fans, tailless rotors, and control systems, as well as setbacks such as the Air Horse.

Era: Inter-War (1918-1939)Focus: AutogyrosRegion: Britain

Helicopter HistoryNew

📦 Weight: 300g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9780957344334

£6.98

Captain Eric "Vinkle" Brown, Captain of the Clouds, Test Pilot a Biography

A concise life of Britain’s greatest test pilot—487 aircraft types flown. From pre‑war Germany to jet and rocket aircraft, Brown’s own accounts, rare photographs, and trial notes cover Me 163 Komet flights and the steam‑catapult revolution that transformed carrier aviation, with timelines and type lists for quick reference.

Era: WWII (1939-1945)Focus: Experimental AircraftRegion: Britain

Aviation BiographyNew

📦 Weight: 300g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9780957344365

£12.92

Sabres from the North: F-86 Sabre in RAF, RCAF, Luftwaffe Service

The F‑86 Sabre—NATO’s swept‑wing spearhead. Tracks RAF, RCAF, and Luftwaffe service from delivery to frontline units, Canadair development and CT‑33 training through Cold War operations. Includes RAF RB‑45 overflights, UK aircrew in U‑2 missions, and British carrier trials, illustrated with period photography and route maps.

Era: Cold War (1945-1991)Focus: Jet FightersRegion: Britain

Jet Age AviationNew

📦 Weight: 404g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9781838056735

£16.08

This Was the Enemy: The Luftwaffe 1945

Luftwaffe 1945: collapse, technology, and the race for what followed. From post‑Versailles rebuilding and the Condor Legion to defeat, it charts organisation, factories, fuel, pilot training, and the late jet gamble, with newly assembled statistics and rare photography explaining how—and why—the final year unfolded.

Era: WWII (1939-1945)Focus: FightersRegion: Germany

WWII AviationNew

📦 Weight: 387g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9781838056780

£12.86

Flying for Kaiser Wilhelm 1914-1918: ACES, AEROPLANES & DEFEAT

A study of German fighter organisation and culture in WWI. Using captured documents and newly translated records, it explains Ernst von Hoeppner’s reorganisation, the rise of the Jagdgeschwader and the “ace”, and follows the Western Front to collapse and Armistice, with a likely first complete list of aircraft transferred to the Americans at Coblenz.

Era: WWI (1914-1918)Focus: WWI FightersRegion: Germany

WWI AviationNew

📦 Weight: 234g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9781838056759

£15.01

Soaring with Wings: Percy Pilcher wants to Fly- Biography

Percy Pilcher—Scotland’s Icarus. Based on family papers, university records, and contemporary journalism, this biography follows his advanced hang‑gliders of the 1890s, Glasgow lectures, meetings with Lilienthal and influence on the Wrights, and recounts the fatal Cardross demonstration, with restored images and site maps of Auchensail and Cardross.

Era: Pre-WWIFocus: GlidersRegion: Britain

Aviation BiographyNew

📦 Weight: 294g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9781838056766

£14.52

Mother of the Few-Lucy Lady Houston, Schneider Trophy Mount Everest Flight

Lucy, Lady Houston—the patron who bought Britain speed. This three‑part biography links her support for the Schneider Trophy, the Everest flight, and the Supermarine/Rolls‑Royce partnership that led to the Merlin, blending society history with hard engineering and flight, illustrated from private albums and archives.

Era: Inter-War (1918-1939)Focus: Racing AircraftRegion: Britain

Aviation BiographyNew

📦 Weight: 415g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9781838056711

£12.39

Dieter Dengler, Skyraider 04 Down, the Man the Ship the Plane NEW

The life of Dieter Dengler, from German childhood to US Navy attack pilot. Covers A‑1 Skyraider operations from USS Ranger, the shoot‑down over Laos, brutal captivity, and the first successful escape from a Laotian prison camp, with a concise Skyraider history (including UK/Swedish service) and Carrier Air Wing context.

Era: Cold War (1945-1991)Focus: Attack AircraftRegion: USA

Aviation BiographyNew

📦 Weight: 180g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9781838056773

£12.86

Modern Furniture Shavings for Breakfast: the Morris Furniture Company

A Glasgow industrial story from luxury liners to wartime innovation. Morris furnished the Queen Mary and major hotels, produced rifle furniture for nearly a million Lee–Enfields, and built Highball/Upkeep components, Weir/Cierva rotor blades, and advanced aeronautical models—richly illustrated with factory photography and drawings.

Era: 20th CenturyRegion: Scotland

Industrial HistoryNew

📦 Weight: 300g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9780957344310

£12.86

Birth of the Atomic Bomb-Statements from Churchill, Truman, Pash etc. German Alsos

The atomic bomb in the words of those who built and used it. Presents the first‑published Allied statements of August 1945—Churchill, Truman, and Canadian ministers—together with MAUD and Quebec Agreement texts, Silverplate integration details, and Alsos findings on the German programme, carefully restored from primary sources.

Era: WWII (1939-1945)Region: USA

Military HistoryNew

📦 Weight: 300g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9780957344396

£12.91

Aircraft Carrier - Beardmore's HMS Argus - ex Conte Rosso

The world’s first true flat‑top. Built as Conte Rosso and completed as HMS Argus at Beardmore, this ship proved deck‑landing and re‑armed the fleet with aviation. Follows Argus from 1918 trials and “club‑runs” to Operation Torch, covering training at sea, aircraft types, and battle damage, from Admiralty papers and rare photography.

Era: WWI (1914-1918)Focus: Aircraft CarriersRegion: Britain

Naval AviationNew

📦 Weight: 300g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9780957344358

£7.55

Dorothy Wordsworth Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland 1803

A clear, illustrated pocket edition of Dorothy Wordsworth’s 1803 Scottish tour—the ideal companion for the Highlands and Borders. Modern typography and restored prints retain the original charm while removing 19th‑century print flaws, offering a vivid window into Scotland as the Wordsworths saw it.

Era: 19th CenturyRegion: Scotland

Travel LiteratureNew

📦 Weight: 300g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9780957344327

£12.86

Adolf Rohrbach's Metal Airplanes: Rohrbach Metall-Flugzeugbau GmbH

Adolf Rohrbach and the all‑metal revolution. Explains stressed‑skin monocoque design, charts Roland flying boats and ambitious transports, and reproduces factory drawings and specifications from primary sources—essential reading on German innovation between the wars.

Era: Inter-War (1918-1939)Focus: Metal AircraftRegion: Germany

Aviation HistoryNew

📦 Weight: 226g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9781838056728

£13.95

Sonic to Stand Off – The Evolution of the British Nuclear Deterrent

From V‑bombers to Trident, a declassified history of Britain’s nuclear deterrent. Covers the V‑Force, the Blue Steel standoff weapon, Polaris submarines, and the modern Trident posture, with aircraft, missiles, bases, and doctrine explained in plain language and grounded in primary documentation.

Era: Cold War (1945-1991)Focus: Strategic BombersRegion: Britain

Military HistoryNew

📦 Weight: 324g • 🏷️ ISBN: 9780957344341

⬢ What Customers Say

Trusted by aviation historians, museum curators, and enthusiasts worldwide

✓ Verified Purchase

"Very good communication, exactly as described, extremely well packaged and protected."

Recent eBay Buyer

Verified Purchase

Source: eBay Feedback

✓ Verified Purchase

"Excellent overview of the worlds greatest pilot."

Aviation Enthusiast

April 2023 Purchase

Source: eBay Review

✓ Verified Purchase

"VERY QUICK DELIVERY, REALLY GOOD BOOK AND GREAT PRICE"

Book Collector

Recent eBay Buyer

Source: eBay Feedback

✓ Verified Purchase

"it nevertheless makes a very worthwhile companion to 'Wings On My Sleeve'. Am very delighted."

Aviation History Reader

Recent Purchase

Source: eBay Review

✓ Verified Purchase

"Excellent biography which I highly recommend"

eBay Customer

Recent Buyer

Source: eBay Feedback

✓ Verified Purchase

"Amazing pilot, all those 'planes, amazing"

Aircraft Enthusiast

Verified Purchase

Source: eBay Review

1,718+

Items Sold on eBay

100%

Positive Feedback

12+

Years Experience

All testimonials are from verified eBay purchasers of Charles E. MacKay's aviation books

Aviation History Books Collection

📚 Complete Book Collection

This Was the Enemy: Aeroplanes Guns Bombs Downfall Volume Two

Beardmore Aviation: The Story of a Scottish Industrial Giant's Aviation Activities

Clydeside Aviation Volume One: The Great War

Clydeside Aviation Volume Two: Between the Wars

German Aircraft in the Great War 1914-1918

British Aircraft of the Great War: Fighters, Bombers, Seaplanes, Trainers, Flying Boats

The Sycamore Seeds: The Early History of the Helicopter

Captain Eric "Vinkle" Brown, Captain of the Clouds, Test Pilot a Biography

Sabres from the North: F-86 Sabre in RAF, RCAF, Luftwaffe Service

This Was the Enemy: The Luftwaffe 1945

Flying for Kaiser Wilhelm 1914-1918: ACES, AEROPLANES & DEFEAT

Soaring with Wings: Percy Pilcher wants to Fly- Biography

Mother of the Few-Lucy Lady Houston, Schneider Trophy Mount Everest Flight

Dieter Dengler, Skyraider 04 Down, the Man the Ship the Plane NEW

Modern Furniture Shavings for Breakfast: the Morris Furniture Company

Birth of the Atomic Bomb-Statements from Churchill, Truman, Pash etc. German Alsos

Aircraft Carrier - Beardmore's HMS Argus - ex Conte Rosso

Dorothy Wordsworth Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland 1803

Adolf Rohrbach's Metal Airplanes: Rohrbach Metall-Flugzeugbau GmbH

Sonic to Stand Off – The Evolution of the British Nuclear Deterrent

⬢ What Customers Say

Secure & Trusted Shopping

Authoritative Aviation History Resources

Scottish Aviation Timeline - Interactive History

Aviation Glossary - Technical Reference

Aviation Bibliography - Research Sources

Charles E. MacKay - Aviation Historian Biography

Research Guides for Aviation History

Beardmore Aviation - Scottish Industrial Giant's Aviation Activities

HMS Argus - First Aircraft Carrier Operations