Manned
aviation started in Britain in1784, when James Tyler took to the skies above Edinburgh in a balloon. Tragically, the first fatal accident took place only a couple of years later, when 22-year-old Ralph Heron fell from an ascending balloon as he helped to launch it.
With the outbreak of the Great War, British civil aviation, still in its embryonic state of development, came to an abrupt halt. This state of affairs endured until it was once more permitted in May 1919. For the duration of hostilities, non-service flying was mostly confined to the testing and manufacture of increasingly complex machines. Whilst in no way as hazardous as operational flying, this task was not without risk. From 1919 onwards, British civil aviation once again threw up challenges, with bigger, more powerful, aircraft, and experienced pilots to fly them. Accidents were bound to happen and they did. As the toll mounted, another science was developed, that of air accident investigation.
God Gave Them Wings is a compendium of the first two volumes of the British Air Accident Record series. This second edition details every recorded civil aviation accident between 1786 and 1920 in Britain, or involving British aircraft and pilots overseas, along with its investigation, and the lessons learned. It draws on official documents and contemporary accounts. Copiously illustrated with photographs from the time, the series is the most comprehensive work covering this vital aspect of aviation history.
God Gave Them Wings stands alone as a record of the pioneering era in British aviation.
