AN AIRLINE CAPTAIN 1929–1945

Original unpublished typescript memoir of Captain S.T.B. Cripps, DFC, covering a pioneering career in civil aviation from Canadian bush flying and early airmail operations through Imperial Airways, BOAC, and wartime North Atlantic ferry operations.4to. Typed manuscript of 362 pages, including contents, appendices, bibliography/books consulted, and a full index. Original ring-bound presentation in black binder. Numerous carbon-typed pages throughout. Dated at conclusion: "Montreal 30-6-68 S.T.B. Cripps." A detailed first-person account beginning with flying club and bush operations in Eastern Canada in 1929, progressing through Canadian Airways airmail services, American Airways routes, Imperial Airways flying boats, European commercial air routes of the 1930s, wartime BOAC operations, transatlantic ferry flights, and B-24 operations between Montreal and Prestwick during the Second World War. Extensive appendices record BOAC volunteer flying staff, Hudson delivery crews, Return Ferry Service personnel, and related operational staff.The author is identifiable as Captain S.T.B. Cripps, DFC, a documented BOAC pilot and veteran airman who flew transatlantic routes during the Second World War. The Imperial War Museum records Captain Cripps as one of the senior airmen operating BOAC Liberator crossings between Scotland and Canada. A substantial and apparently unpublished aviation memoir combining autobiography, operational history, personnel records, and contemporary observations of commercial aviation during its formative years. The inclusion of appendices, bibliography, and a comprehensive index suggests preparation as a finished historical work rather than a preliminary draft. Condition: Good. General age toning, occasional marks and creasing, ring-binding holes to margins, some handling wear and edge wear throughout. Complete and entirely legible. A rare surviving aviation manuscript of considerable historical interest, apparently unpublished.