FROM HEADLAMPS TO AIRLINERS: BLÉRIOT IN BRITAIN 1899-1927

This book is richly illustrated in back & white (and a few couloured) with over 400 photographs.

Some captions are written in french and english.

Even before his courageous exploit in 1909 of being the first airman to cross the English Channel, an achievement which earned him much acclaim in Britain, Louis Blériot was firmly established in England as the manufacturer and retailer of automotive accessories. After that event he endeavoured to use his popularity to expand his aviation activities, already well founded in France, into the establishment of flying schools at Hendon and Brooklands and aircraft manufacturing at Brooklands. At first he was very successful but even before the outbreak of the First World War his aircraft designs were becoming obsolete and his sales in the both the civil and military markets declined. In France and to a lesser extent in Britain, this decline was reversed by the rescue and eventual purchase by Blériot of the Spad company which manufactured a successful range of fighters during the War.

Following the war Blériot attempted to re-establish his aviation interests in Britain by setting up the Air Navigation & Engineering Company (ANEC) with manufacturing facilities at Addlestone in Surrey. There he made light cars and produced four aircraft designs - three light aircraft and an airliner. These met with very limited success and the company went into receivership, the factory being sold in 1927.

This book describes Blériot's endeavours in setting up his companies in Britain, attempts by others to copy his designs, and the exploits of very brave airmen using his aircraft before the War to compete and to promote public interest in aviation. The service history of Blériot aircraft built in Britain during the First World War is covered in detail. The cars and aircraft types built by the ANEC company are also fully described.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Ray Sanger is a qualified chemist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He spent his career in the petroleum industry, working on quality control and research and development of petroleum products both in the UK and overseas.

He has had a lifelong interest in aviation history and following his retirement became a member of both Air-Britain and The Society of First World War Aviation Historians.

Ray has contributed articles and reviews to several aviation journals and has previously written two books, The Martinsyde File (Air-Britain, 1999) and Nieuport Aircraft of World War One (Crowood, 2002)