The “short” in the title refers to the airplane’s maker, Short Brothers, but short, too, was this plane’s—or rather boat’s—production run and airline service. “The truth that lies behind the romantic myths of the flying-boats is a wondrous tale of politics, dreams, engineering triumphs and the people who brought it all to life.” And that is exactly what this book tells. Sims paints a proper picture by explaining the need for long-distance transport to keep the far-flung British Empire together.

A point not often made in such books, and not often appreciated by people outside the seaplane community is that some of the very things that made flying boats feasible and attractive—water, water everywhere: you don’t need to build runways etc.—also caused some of the greatest problems. From corrosion to chop, nothing is simple in and on the water, not even at bases specifically created for flying boats.

A thorough book and, for the price, a lot of book!

speedreaders.info

“Remains the best overall book on the subject.”

Unknown

It is a very comprehensive and readable account. quoting from contemporary sources to good effect, with a host of fascinating photographs from private collections. I would love to have flown in one of the C Class to Africa, India or Australia but as this pipedream is impossible to fulfil, this excellent book is a more than useful compensation.

Flying in Ireland

This is a very detailed book, with a great deal of useful information on these impressive flying books, and takes the reader back into the early glamorous world of air travel, before that world was shattered by the outbreak of war.

History of War

There are many illustrations of the C-boats and this is a good history of the pioneering of the long routes to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Bookshelf

Must be considered the definitive work on the Short Empire flying boat. There have been a number of excellent works but none have provided the depth of detail that the late author achieved. The crisp text is ably supported by some excellent and rare photographs. For anyone wanting to learn more about the Short Empire, this is a very good place to start and to see how the Empire led to the wartime Sunderland that was to prove an immensely capable maritime patrol and anti-shipping aircraft that provided vital service to RAF Coastal Command in Norway, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

Firetrench Reviews