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Above and beyond Palestine (Annotated)

An account of the work of the East Indies and Egypt Seaplane Squadron, 1916-1918

C E Hughes Ian M Burns

$41.95   $35.52

Paperback

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English
Little Gully Publishing
09 March 2025
""The work of the East Indies and Egypt Seaplane Squadron was very seldom mentioned in published official reports and its record is accordingly very little known, yet without its story the familiar one of the campaign in Palestine and Syria is incomplete.""

A unique first-hand account of the East Indies and Egypt Seaplane Squadron during the First World War by its intelligence officer. Through personal anecdotes and original line sketches, C.E. Hughes captures both the military operations and daily life of naval airmen based at Port Said. The book details their reconnaissance work over Palestine, raids on Turkish positions, and leisure time in Cairo, offering valuable insights into the war in the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea.

The book features 63 of Hughes' elegant black-and-white sketches depicting locations across the region, including Alexandria, Cairo, Port Said, Gaza, Askalon, Ramleh, Ludd, Tul Keram, El Fule, Haifa, Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, and Damascus. Hughes also illustrates several Royal Navy seaplane carriers-HMS Anne, Raven, Ben-my-Chree, Empress, and City of Oxford-along with a Short floatplane stationed at the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) base in Port Said.

Originally published in 1930 by Ernest Benn Limited, London, this new annotated edition faithfully reproduces the original text and illustrations. An afterword by aviation historian Ian M. Burns gives biographical details of Hughes's life and career.

Ian Michael Burns, a British aerospace engineer turned aviation historian, has dedicated his career to documenting early naval aviation. His published works include a 2008 history of HMS Ben-my-Chree and a 2014 examination of Royal Naval Air Service North Sea operations, alongside numerous contributions to military aviation journals. Burns' upcoming 2025 release, Floatplanes Over The Desert, chronicles the little-known operations of French and British floatplanes behind enemy lines during WWI, covering activities from the Palestinian coast to the Maldives, Gallipoli, and Salonika, enriched with rare photographs and meticulous research.
By:  
Afterword by:  
Imprint:   Little Gully Publishing
Edition:   2nd With New Biographical Afterword ed.
Dimensions:   Height: 216mm,  Width: 140mm,  Spine: 17mm
Weight:   345g
ISBN:   9781763626867
ISBN 10:   1763626865
Pages:   296
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Ian Michael Burns was born in 1950 in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, UK. Growing up under the flight path of the Avro factory at Woodford, his early exposure to aircraft - particularly the thunderous take-offs of newly built Vulcans - sparked a lifelong passion for aviation that would shape both his professional career and scholarly pursuits.Following his education at public and grammar schools, Burns completed an engineering apprenticeship at A V Roe in Woodford. His subsequent career in aerospace spanned over four decades, beginning with Avro (later Hawker Siddeley Aviation/British Aerospace) where he specialised in structural test engineering until 1981. He then relocated to Toronto to join DeHavilland Canada in a similar capacity, later transitioning to the design of structural repairs for in-service aircraft. Burns retired in 2012, allowing him to devote himself fully to research and writing.Burns' historical interests have coalesced around early British naval aviation, with particular emphasis on the First World War period. This specialisation has resulted in two significant books: a 2008 history of the WW1 seaplane carrier HMS 'Ben-my-Chree' and a 2014 examination of Royal Naval Air Service operations over the North Sea. His expertise is further evidenced by numerous contributions to respected aviation publications, including Aeroplane Monthly, and the journals of Cross and Cockade International, the Australian Society of WW1 Aero Historians, League of WW1 Aviation Historians, Society of Friends of the Fleet Air Arm Museum and Salonika Campaign Society. Burns maintains that he finds the beginning of any enterprise to be more interesting than the continuing of it, which explains his fascination with aviation's pioneering era.2025 will see the publication of his latest work, 'Floatplanes Over The Desert'', chronicling how the French AƩronautique maritime and British Royal Naval Air Service operated floatplanes far behind enemy lines. The narrative covers operations along the Palestinian coast, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Akaba, ranging from the Maldives to Gallipoli and Salonika. Drawing on extensive research and rare photographs, this work promises to shed new light on these seaborne squadrons' vital yet little-known role in the First World War.

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