Martins Seaplane book and collectables shop

A History of Marine Aviation, 1911 - 68

American Flying Boats, a pictorial survey

An Illustrated History of Seaplanes and Flying Boats
Description: An excellent short history of seaplanes and flying boats Illustrator: Photos Publisher: Barnes & Noble Place of Publication: New York Date of Publication: 1993 **** Click here for enlarged cover pic

An Illustrated History of Seaplanes and...Could be same as above

Black Cats and Dumbos : Wwii's Fighting PBY's

Black Cat Raiders of World War II
Thanks to the PBY's daring pilots and their effective tactics, the slow outdated Catalina patrol bombers became the scourge of Japanese shipping in the South Pacific during World War II. Painted black and hunting at night, the Black Cats, as they were called, are credited with sinking or disabling hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo vessels, troop transports, and warships. Curiously their exploits were known to few outside the naval aviation community until the publication of this book in 1981. This testimonial to their magnificent performance is told by an experienced flying boat pilot, who has pieced together the fascinating story from reminiscences of the men who flew the long, arduous missions and from official navy records. It is an inspiring tale of fearless men in machines ill-designed for combat who wreaked havoc on a dangerous and merciless adversary. Illustrated with more than sixty photographs and detailed line drawings, it is a book to be savored by those who like their adventure stories to ring true.

British Flying Boats, a pictorial survey

China Clipper. The age of the great Flying Boats
Hardcover - 214 pages (September 1991) United States Naval Inst.; ISBN: 0870212095 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.97 x 9.24 x 6.23 ***
Excellent book, was worth the money spent for it., August 23, 1998 Reviewer: moorouel@clic.net from Quebec City, Canada The book was full of interesting details, not only about the China Clipper itself but about some other airlines and seaplanes like the German DO-X, etc. Interesting pictures. Brings to light unknown facts about the race that was raging on during that period between United States, Great Britain and Germany.

Die deutschen Flugboote : Flugboote, Amphibien-Flugboote u. Projekte von 1909 bis zur Gegenwart .

Die deutschen Seeflieger 1935-1945

Flying a Float Plane (Practical flying series)
I can reccomend this book *****
Paperback - 274 pages 3rd edition (1996) McGraw-Hill; ISBN: 0070213046 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.58 x 9.23 x 7.26
Editorial Reviews Book Description The definitive, comprehensive book for aspiring floatplane pilots is now updated with new and expanded coverage addressing the increasing popularity of turbines, kitplanes, and amphibians. This heavily illustrated guide also devotes a full chapter to maintenance-an invaluable feature in view of the increasingly age of the world's lightplane fleet. Covering both basic and advanced techniques, the book examines floatplane safety, preflight inspections, launching, taxing, taking off, flying, and landing. A new chapter on flying turbine-powered floatplanes examines Beta propeller management, docking techniques, engine washout, and more.

Flying a Floatplane

Flying the Alaska Wild: The Adventures and Misadventures of an Alaska Bush Pilot.
Book Description "Flying the Alaska Wild" is true grit stuff: a collection of fascinating stories about the rough-and-tumble life of an Alaskan bush pilot--straight from the pilot's seat. Recounting twenty-plus years of adventures, skilled storyteller Mort Mason presents his own death-defying tales, and also tells the legendary stories of other old-time bush pilots. Flying through the wildly unpredictable weather conditions and unforgiving terrain of the Big Empty--where bush pilots find few paved runways, control towers, friendly voices on their silent radios, navigational aids, and few places to drop in for coffee and fuel for their flimsy planes--Mason honed his skill--and his luck--in a profession that just a few have the stamina to endure. Here, he recounts his more memorable flights and the conditions, circumstances, and admitted errors that made them so. For pilots and airplane buffs; Alaska buffs; hunters, guides, and outdoors enthusiasts.

Flying Boats and Seaplanes. A history from 1905
Hardcover - 192 pages (November 1998) Motorbooks International; ISBN: 0760306214 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.80 x 10.31 x 10.34 *****
Seaplanes: Pioneers to Present, April 19, 2000 Reviewer: Bill Devins (see more about me) from Lancaster PA Originally published in France, this large format volume is the best of all the recently published pictorial seaplane historical surveys. Layout, typesetting and photo reproduction were absolutely outstanding in the original and have suffered only slightly in this version. The text is well organized and authoritative; it is enhanced by a complete index. Some effort has gone into the translation which reads smoothly and has had all of the measurements converted to the English system. The over 300 photos are well chosen and accurately captioned. I only noticed two errors: a photo of a Laté 631 was inserted where a Potez-CAMS 161 should have been, and the author was fooled by a propaganda shot of the "ersatz Wölfchen", an FF33J, labeling it the original FF33E. This book really shines in its coverage of pre-1919 seaplanes, the era which is usually the weak link of seaplane general histories. Excellent photos, some quite uncommon, are accompanied by complete entry lists for a number of pre-war hydroplane meets. As he takes us through seaplane history, the author avoids the temptation to use poor contemporary color photos or to substitute color pictures of restored current seaplanes for authentic period shots, thus presenting an accurate look at seaplane aviation until after WW II. Color is first introduced with the jet 'boats and the entire final section is a full-color look at modern seaplanes, including some museum examples and "warbirds". The book's true value is actually in its superb selection of black and white photos; for each familiar shot there are three unique or unusual views, often of rarely illustrated types. Some of my favorites are Pixton's Sopwith Tabloid in flight during the 1914 Schneider, Christiansen's Brandenburg W.29 actually attacking the submarine C.25, a bevy of bathing beauties balancing on the wings of a Loening C-2 Air Yacht in Avalon Bay (this shot was on the rear cover of the French version!), and a Gourdou-Leseurre GL 812 leaving its catapult cart. The Curtisses, Consolidateds, Dorniers, Macchis, Shorts and Sikorskies are all there too. Overall, this is the most accurate, neatly presented and well balanced seaplane survey yet published...I can't recommend this title highly enough!

Flying Boats for Recreation
Paperback - 120 pages 1 edition (December 15, 1997) S.P. Hamilton; ISBN: 1890939013

Flying Boats and Seaplanes since 1910

Go to hull : the gospel according to Saint Stephen
Steve Reep is a pilot and flight instructor, not a writer. Yet he has managed to produce a masterpiece of knowledge and experience that many 'professional writers' aspire to. What Steve Reep lacks in literary whit, he fully makes up for in plain understandable language, anecdotes and lessons learned the hard way. Go To Hull is a culmination of over fifty years of experience in flying and teaching others to fly seaplanes, or more precisely, 'Flying Boats'. The book is geared towards the excellent, although somewhat eccentric Lake Aircraft four and six seat flying boats, but the techniques that Steve describes just as much apply to smaller and larger boat hulled flying machines. First published in 1996 by Eastern Dakota Publishing, Go to Hull has already established it's self as mandatory reading for everyone that currently flies a flying boat or aspires to do so in the future. The aviation community at large has long underrated the Lake Aircraft amphibians. This is still somewhat reflected by the current marketplace. At the same time they fill a unique niche that no other aircraft has been able to fill so effectively. Discarded by many pilots as funny looking marginal flying machines they are held in high regards by those who actually fly and own them. Part of the image crisis surrounding the lakes has been that relatively little was known and published on them. Steve Reep has respectfully changed all that and produced a reference that has been fully endorsed by the owners of Lake Aircraft. If the saying: Unknown makes Unloved applies to aircraft, Steve has made a giant leap forward in the rediscovery of these fine flying (and boating, fishing, hunting, camping, search and rescue, law enforcement and general FUN) machines.

Grumman Hu-16 Albatross (Naval Fighters Series No 11)

Grumman Albatross : A History of the Legendary Seaplane
The Albatross was the premier fixed-wing rescue aircraft for the U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard. Its very colorful history begins in 1946 and spans nearly a quarter of a century, including service with twenty-two foreign nations. With a total of 466 built by Grumman, more than eighty examples still thrive on the civil register. The Albatross also saw extensive service in the Korean and Vietnam wars. The fascinating history of this unique aircraft is complemented by over 200 photographs including many in color showing the great variations in color schemes and markings.

Heinkel He 115 :Torpedo/Reconnaissance/Mine Layer Seaplane of the Luftwaffe

Howard Hughes and the Spruce Goose

Jericho Beach and the West Coast flying boat stations

Last of the Flying Clippers. The Boeing B-314 story (Schiffer Military/Aviation History)
Great photos, but very poorly written and edited., June 20, 1999 Reviewer: A reader from FLorida Any 314 or Pan Am fanatic will undoubtedly enjoy this book for its terrific photo coverage of the aircraft. But the writing is so poor that it is hard to discern what the author is trying to say most of the time, and the editing was non-existant. It is sheer torture trying to sit down and read the text, which is a shame because the author unquestionably was in possession of a significant amount of good research material. And typical of most Schiffer books, there was not even an attempt at editing the manuscript for typos, misplaced punctuation, or other errors. ***

Multiengine and Seaplane flight maneuvers and handbook

Naval Fighters Number Twenty-Three Convair XF2Y-1 And YF2Y-1 Sea Dart

Notes of a Seaplane Instructor. An instructional guide to seaplanes
Designed to help pilots transition from landplanes to seaplane flying-gives pilots the information needed to add-on this rating to their certificate, provides insight into the differences between land and seaplanes. The author has an affinity for the "feel of the floats on the water," as well as a sensible, professional approach, and communicates this effectively. All the seaplane maneuvers, starting with preflight, proceeding through taxiing, takeoff, landing, and postflight procedures; also operating in various water conditions, stability of the aircraft on the water, step-taxi and -turn, and much more. Many illustrations, which were inspired by the author's original seaplane notebook sketches, are included to further explain the concepts.

Pan Am Pioneer. A Managers memoires from Seaplane Clippers to Jumbo Jets
Hardcover - 256 pages (January 1996) Texas Tech Univ Pr; ISBN: 0896723577 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.92 x 9.29 x 6.36

Pan Am : An aviation legend
Hardcover - 200 pages (November 1999) Woodford Publishing; ISBN: 0942627555 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.83 x 11.82 x 10.41 *****
Pan Am and American Panache, May 12, 2000 Reviewer: Mark Hugh Miller (see more about me) from Los Angeles This book is really about what America once was and could be again, perhaps. The author tipped his hand a few years ago when he wrote a genuine masterpiece of a coffee table book, THE MARTINI. Like that book, a delight to read (and as beautiful designed by Tom Morgan as PAN AM is), this book is about an aspect of American elegance that seems to have been replaced by a crude kind of arrogant upscale consumerism. But on a simpler level this book is just about the sheer joy of luxury travel in a time when the world was much bigger than today, and a white shirt, a bow tie, and leather shoes not considered the mark of the White Male Oppressor. Today we live in the age of tourism; this book celebrates the Age of Travel, which ended in the years after World War Two. Since when did a dozen airplanes -- production of the last clipper model B314 built by Boeing was a mere twelve -- inspire nostalgia like these? Like Elvis, Pan Am was purely American, and one of a kind.

Pan American's Ocean Clippers (Flying Classics)

Pan American's Pacific Pioneers: A Pictorial History of Pan Am's Pacific First Flights 1935-1946
Best and most complete pictoral account of Pan-Am's flights, May 23, 1998 Reviewer: A reader from Fort Lauderdale, FL and Seattle, WA This book wonderfully commmerates the Yankee Clippers, Pan-Am's historic aircrafts, that united the Pacific Rim from 1935-46.
The author, Jon Krupnick jonpac@aol.com , March 2, 1999 award winning- ready for second printing This history of Pan Am' Pacific flight told through the vintage flight covers-brochures-posters and photos is a visual delight that has now won awards as the best book of the year by the airmail society.We are getting ready for a second printing. Thanks for your support a nice comments. The book gives complete coverage of this exciting era of pioneering air travel and discovery. Never before had aircraft bridged the Pacific and never has a book covered the era so well.

Pby : The Catalina Flying Boat
Hardcover - 351 pages Reissue edition (January 1986) United States Naval Inst.; ISBN: 0870215264 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.27 x 9.33 x 6.41

Pby Catalina in Action

Pocket Encyclopedia of Seaplanes and Flying Boats

Sailors in the Raf : The Story of the Marine Branch of the Royal Air Force I am guessing that this one has a bit of Seaplane stuff in it

The Schnieder Trophy. a history of the contests for la coupe d'aviation maritime Jacques Schneider

Schneider Trophy aircraft 1913-31

Schneider Trophy aircraft 1913-31  could be same as above

Schneider Trophy Racers

Schneider Trophy Races

Seaplanes-Felixstowe : the story of the Air Station 1913-1963

Seaplane Operations : Basic & Advanced...

Seaplanes at War : A Treasury of Words...

Seaplanes of the world. A timeless collection from aviations golden era
Beautiful book about the glamorous seaplanes but many errors., July 29, 1999 Reviewer: A reader from Portola Valley, CA, USA This is a big beautiful book about the glamorous seaplanes that flew the oceans. The illustrations are excellent. However, the text contains many errors. For example: the aircooled Bristol Jupiter engine is listed as watercooled, Martin and Osa Johnson had one S-39 and one S-38, not two S-38's, the Sikorsky S-42 was not designed to be appreciably larger than the S-40, the S-42 was designed with much lower drag so that it could go faster and farther. While a matter of opinion, the choice of planes did not include the Aeromarine Curtis 75, the first Flying Boat in regular America-Overseas service, nor the VS-44, that joined the Boeing 314 Clippers in providing flying service between Europe and America early in WW11. Also it would have been nice to have some illustrations of the later Latecoere's, not just the early 300 model.

Seaplanes
Hardcover - 120 pages (November 1999) Metro Books; ISBN: 1567998798 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.70 x 11.61 x 11.58 ***
Seaplanes 'n' Coffee, April 21, 2000 Reviewer: Bill Devins (see more about me) from Lancaster PA A true "coffee table" book, this large format volume features a lot of big color photos and text which is best described as a colloquial history. The book is well laid out and very attractively typeset, and includes an index and a short but interesting list of on-line seaplane references sources. The text is rather lightweight, but contains some interesting anecdotes, including three crewman reminiscences in separate inset boxes. Several quirks show up in the narrative: all Empire 'boats are called "Canopus", designer Dr Richard Vogt ends up as "Ingemar", the Hughes "Spruce Goose" is rather overexposed, and Langley's Aerodrome is described as "well designed and constructed". The black and whites are all sepia tinted, an unnecessary affectation which always annoys me. Almost half of the photographs are color shots; this means that many of the seaplanes depicted were recently flying. Quite a number of these are lightplanes, while a few more are restored "warbirds". Unfortunately, the restorations (and some paintings) are generally not noted as such in the captions, which themselves are the weakest feature of this title. The captioning is short and superficial, and often at odds with the text. For instance, the Do 18 is said to have been designed to fulfill the same patrol mission as the PBY, although the body text correctly notes its origin as a transoceanic mailplane. A very interesting photo of a Mariner resting on a vertical flotation base (sort of a mini "Texas Tower") results in a comment about deteriorating flying characteristics, when it's clear the contraption was never meant to fly. A misplaced Kingfisher shows up where a Curtiss CS should be, Solents are identified as Empires, the DH 60M is dubbed D 460M, etc. It's best to sit back, relax and enjoy this book for its handsome layout and big, clear pictures, overlooking its quaint misconceptions and outright errors. Look elsewhere for hard historical, technical, and detail data about seaplanes.

   Seaplanes of the World : A Timeless Collection from Aviation's Golden Age
This is a big beautiful book about the glamorous seaplanes that flew the oceans. The illustrations are excellent. However, the text contains many errors. For example: the aircooled Bristol Jupiter engine is listed as watercooled, Martin and Osa Johnson had one S-39 and one S-38, not two S-38's, the Sikorsky S-42 was not designed to be appreciably larger than the S-40, the S-42 was designed with much lower drag so that it could go faster and farther. While a matter of opinion, the choice of planes did not include the Aeromarine Curtis 75, the first Flying Boat in regular America-Overseas service, nor the VS-44, that joined the Boeing 314 Clippers in providing flying service between Europe and America early in WW11. Also it would have been nice to have some illustrations of the later Latecoere's, not just the early 300 model.

Seawings; the romance of Flying Boats

The American Flying Boat. An Illustrated history

The early birds. A history of Pan Am's clipper ships (Florida History Series)

The early birds : a history of Pan Am's clipper ships.. could be the same as above

The Illustrated history of Seaplanes and Flying Boats

  The Long Way Home
Why another version of this story? Despite the fact that the flight has been mentioned many times in various books and articles, it was always as a "sidebar" to the broader subject areas of those publications. The bare facts of the flight are well known. But it has always been my desire to enhance the reader's sense of what it was really like to fly on board those wonderful flying boats. By combining my own first hand experience as a flight crew member on board the flying boats with information gained from personal interviews with Captain Ford and others, I have created what I hope will be a true "your are there" experience for the reader.

   The worlds civil marine aircraft

   Tracking MacKenzie to the Sea : Coast to Coast in Eighteen Splashdowns

  U-Boat Versus Aircraft
I would guess this would have Seaplanes in it as they where involved in chasing U boats but no promises

Vi fl²y Catalina

Water Flying

World Flying Boats. A pictorial survey

  Wings over Water
Hardcover - 224 pages (September 1999) BookSales; ISBN: 0785810439 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.71 x 11.48 x 10.69 ****
Big Beautiful 'Boats in Color, March 15, 2000 Reviewer: Bill Devins (see more about me) from Lancaster PA USA This is a big, colorful seaplane survey; some floatplanes sneak in, but the vast majority of the illustrations are of flying boats. Printed on heavy glossy stock, the book is beautifully laid out and superbly typeset. Color is used to the fullest, with poster reproductions, new maps and artwork, and many photographs appearing in full color. B&W photos are alternately tinted in blue, green, pink and yellow, a technique I usually dislike, but its subtle use here is not unattractive. Text is authoritative and generally accurate, although there are a few errors, particularly in the WW I section. The chronological format often spreads coverage of long-lived aircraft like the Sunderland and PBY over a number of chapters, making tracing a single type somewhat time-consuming. This task is aided by a full index. An offshoot of the concentration on color is the reliance on photos of replicas and models in some situations. Unfortunately, these "substitute seaplanes" are not noted in the captions, so beware. Each of the nine chapters is introduced with a page-and-a-half color photo topped by six small insets; these six pictures are reproduced at full size elsewhere in the chapter. It appears that some poor last-minute changes by the art director have replaced the main photos of the last three chapters with one of the insets. Not only does this result in the large photos being the repeated and the loss of the original heading photos in all but inset size, but the original captions were not changed. The intended heading shots are also seen unchanged on the contents page. Each chapter also has a panel featuring a color 3-view painting and description of a seaplane representing the era addressed by the chapter. Some of these drawings are inaccurate or mis-labeled or both. The few "new" color paintings are not that good, either. Larger reproductions of some of the lovely period posters would have made better use of that space. I would have traded some of the size of the nice color maps for the posters, too. All in all, this an excellent and appealing volume which is not merely a rehash of tired old pictures. It is marred only by a few poor choices in illustrations and captioning. Recommended to all seaplane fans.

Waffen Arsenal Arado 196

Fiction

Night over Water
I have read this one myself while flying from Australia to Brasil and enjoyed a lot. It is a suspense/espionage type fo story set on one of the last Clipper flights at the beginning of WW2

Toys

Seaplane (Go Books)

< Buzz the Little Seaplane (Grosset &...

I'm sure this is just a small part of what is available and if you know of anything thats not listed here please let me know about it and where to find it.

Want to look for something else ???

Happy hunting

Home