Following yesterday’s magazine advertisement, here we have the next ‘big sky, small world’ image, this time advertising how a career in the regular air force would allow you to bestride the world like a colossus. Generally the Aircraftsman Second Class was treated as the exact opposite, so a classic example of oversell, too! But there’s…
The World’s Your Westland
A magazine advertisement today, featuring a Westland Whirlwind helicopter. But more it’s a classic ‘big sky, small world’ image, one which comes up again and again as a trope, and we’ll see another tomorrow. Aeronautically, it’s a strong advert, pulling a ‘global’ reach globe together with the groundcrew man signalling the helicopter to come in…
RAAF Roundel – Red Gone
In recognition of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) History & Heritage Symposium this week, let’s take a look at two aspects of the RAAF roundel. Originally the RAAF’s roundel design was based on the British Royal Air Force’s, itself a derivative of the French air arm’s roundel, featuring red white and blue. The red…
Love Your Cobra
Today’s magazine cover. The focus is obviously on the young woman, but the story is her flying outfit and the aircraft behind – it’s Bell P-39 Airacobra time! Evidently a wartime American magazine featuring one of the Women’s Air Service Pilots (WASPs) ferrying military aircraft in World War Two. Love it. James Kightly, Vintage Aero…
Soviet Glory
Today’s Poster by V. Solovyov, ‘Glory to Soviet Aviation!’ is the title in English. Ranks of Soviet bombers (top Myasishchev M-4 ‘Bisons’, with, possibly the Ilyushin Il-30 or Ilyushin Il-54 in the middle – neither type going beyond prototypes) with escorting Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15 or 17 fighters soaring to the heavens, you can almost hear…
Fine Frobisher
Today’s Poster is one of a series of Imperial Airways posters of the late thirties featuring their notable fleet of aircraft types, presented in cutaway form, a previous example shown on the blog, the Shorts C.30 flying boat being seen here. This time its the remarkably elegant de Havilland DH 91 Albatross four engine airliner,…
Bomber Blackened Sky
A remarkable print today, thanks to regular correspondent Gregory Alegi. A very evocative, dark (literally and figuratively) image of Caproni Ca.3 trimotor bombers approaching an industrial centre. So dense are they they’ve achieved the cliche of ‘turning the sky black’. Initially, due to the use of the black block I thought it was a woodcut,…
Orange Spit
A modern California fruit shipping box today! Aircraft are regularly used as a marketing differentiator, even where there’s no aviation connection. Here’s is a box for California mandarins, ‘Air One’ (Registered Trademark) brand, which has a monoplane fighter on the box – the five blade prop and curves in the fuselage and wings sort of…
Posters of Interesting Times
Today’s Posters are a set of Chinese aviation instructional posters, an to western eyes, a very different mix of style, content and approach to anything we’ve seen here before. This one below of ‘Active Air Defences’, with the Smithsonian’s source detail here. Is it meant as a ‘how to behave?’, or ‘how you are being…
Strap in Boys
Today’s Poster. Sex can be used to save, and here getting the aircrew’s attention with a dame’s strap is obviously meant to make them think twice about taking their straps seriously too. In the modern era, it’s generally good that we take for granted the use of safety harnesses, in a way that wasn’t so…
A Year of Aviation Illustration & Art 