A Pride Of Eagles: The Definitive History of the Rhodesian Air Force 1920 - 1980

1002 pages, illustrated throughout, pictorial laminated boards, issued without a dust jacket, a very good copy. Weight is more than 3.5 kg.

'This is the story of military aviation in Rhodesia from the romantic days of "bush" flying in the 1920s and 1930s when aircraft were fueled from jerry-cans and landing grounds were often the local golf course. In 1939 the tiny Rhodesian Air Force became the first to take up battle stations even before the outbreak of World War II. The three Rhodesian Squadrons served in East Africa, the Western Desert, Italy and Western Europe. At Home Rhodesia became a vast training ground for airmen from Britain, the Commonwealth and Greece. After the war Rhodesia, on a tiny budget, re-built its air force- equipping it with Ansons, Spitfires, Vampires, Canberras, Hunters and Alouettes. Following UDI, sanctions were imposed resulting in many remarkable innovations. The bitter bush war followed in the 1970s, with the RhAF in the vanguard of counter-insurgency operations.' (Editor’s note)