Welcome to The Aviation Historian, the print and digital annual journal (formerly quarterly) for seasoned enthusiasts who want to explore the lesser-known paths of flying history.

About TAH Annual No 2

It has been an absorbing and rewarding task to assemble the second annual issue of The Aviation Historian, in which we bring you another hangarful of high-quality content from the best researchers, writers and illustrators the world of aviation history has to offer. Once again, we've concocted a brew of the unusual and little-known – Cuban "war balloons" and pre-Great War hydrofoil seaplanes, anyone? – spiced with some fascinating "what-ifs" (swing-wing Folland Gnats; the possibility of Vanguard instead of Nimrod for RAF maritime patrol, perhaps?), adding a dash of in-depth investigation into some enduring myths. One such says the development of the Spitfire Mk IX enabled the RAF to turn the tables on the Luftwaffe's fearsome Focke-Wulf Fw 190 after the latter's arrival into battle in late 1941 – but did it? Andy Saunders looks at the facts and figures.

We also have some extraordinary artworks – and these really are works of art – detailing how the ubiquitous ADEN cannon works, devised by our chief technical artist Ian Bott to accompany Chris Gibson's history of the evolution of Britain's last word in aerial gun weaponry. The other Aden – the historic port city on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula – provides the backdrop for the recollections of Air Marshal Robert Saundby, who flew Bristol Fighters there in the 1920s; his entertaining memoir of operating from this dreaded and ill-equipped barren rock, with restive tribesmen constantly "redefining" the local borders, was discovered by Andrew Thomas while researching No 8 Sqn RAF, and we're delighted to be able to publish it here for the first time.

On the civil-aviation side, Prof Keith Hayward examines the politics behind the development of the Bristol Britannia turboprop airliner; we join the Polytechnic Touring Association's trip from Croydon to Switzerland by Imperial Airways Handley Page H.P.42 in 1932; we explore the evolution of the Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner, the world's first airliner with a pressurised cabin; Ralph Pegram looks at post-WW2 developments (or lack thereof) in dedicated bulk-freighter aircraft in Britain; and Maurice Wickstead traces the fluctuating fortunes of East African Airways.

Lesser-known subjects always provide fertile ground for fresh exploration, and in this Annual – as well as the ones mentioned above – we turn the TAH spotlight on Argentina's FMA IAe.27 Pulqui, Latin America's first indigenous jet aircraft (designed by France's Émile Dewoitine and once flown by Focke-Wulf designer Kurt Tank); Boeing P-26 Peashooters in Hawaii and the Philippines; and French aviatrix/engineer/Olympian Sébastienne Guyot.

All of the above, and further substantial articles in addition – plus book reviews, readers' letters and more –— make up yet another rich and satisfying feast of "aviation history for connoisseurs". And if you're still hungry for more, almost all of our 50 quarterly back-issues, as well as our first Annual, are still available and highly collectable.

As always, I'd like to offer my profound thanks to all our contributors, who have once again been overwhelmingly generous with their time and material, with a special nod to Chris Gibson, who consistently went above and beyond the call of duty to provide artworks, information and inspiration, often very late in the day, during the production of this bumper TAHA2.

I hope you enjoy our second annual outing!

Nick Stroud, Editor