Bibliographic Information

England and the aeroplane : an essay on a militant and technological nation

David Edgerton

(Science, technology and medicine in modern history)

Macmillan in association with the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Manchester, c1991

  • : pbk

Available at  / 11 libraries

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Note

Bibliography: p. 117-129

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

ISBN 9780333550229

Description

This essay argues that 20th century England should be seen as a technological, industrial and militant nation. It is a refutation of many of the arguments of "declinists" like Martin Wiener, Correlli Barnett and Perry Anderson. Contrary to myth, English aviation and the aircraft industry were strong, due to the vital place that technology had in English "liberal militarism", as well as English enthusiasm for, rather than fear of, the aeroplane. This enthusiasm was predominantly right-wing and sometimes pro-Nazi. The book also shows how many firms opposed central elements of 1930s rearmament policy, and that a famous aircraft firm was nationalized during World War II, and how the 1945-51 Labour government "privatized" aircraft plants and jet engine design. In the 1950s the aeroplane remained central to the "warfare state" but also became the symbol of a new manufacturing England, a situation which Harold Wilson's "White Heat" sought to change.

Table of Contents

  • The strange birth of aeronautical England
  • technology and empire
  • going up for air
  • the many and the few
  • the sonic boom of the scientific revolution.
Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780333569214

Description

This essay argues that 20th century England should be seen as a technological, industrial and militant nation. It is a refutation of many of the arguments of "declinists" like Martin Wiener, Correlli Barnett and Perry Anderson. Contrary to myth, English aviation and the aircraft industry were strong, due to the vital place that technology had in English "liberal militarism", as well as English enthusiasm for, rather than fear of, the aeroplane. This enthusiasm was predominantly right-wing and sometimes pro-Nazi. The book also shows how many firms opposed central elements of 1930s rearmament policy, and that a famous aircraft firm was nationalized during World War II, and how the 1945-51 Labour government "privatized" aircraft plants and jet engine design. In the 1950s the aeroplane remained central to the "warfare state" but also became the symbol of a new manufacturing England, a situation which Harold Wilson's "White Heat" sought to change.

Table of Contents

List of Tables - List of Figures - List of Plates - Preface - Series Editor's Introduction - List of Abbreviations - The Strange Birth of Aeronautical England - Technology and Empire - Going up for Air - The Many and the Few - The Sonic Boom of the Scientific Revolution - Conclusion - Notes - Bibliography - Index

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Details

  • NCID
    BA18613422
  • ISBN
    • 0333550226
    • 0333569210
  • Country Code
    uk
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Basingstoke
  • Pages/Volumes
    xx, 139 p., [16] p. of plates
  • Size
    22 cm
  • Classification
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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