The Dragonflies: The Story of Helicopters and Autogiros 1919-1970 by Yorkshire-born British author Robert Jackson (
Wikipedia), a former pilot turned prolific author of military & aviation thrillers and history, is his vintage aviation history about Exactly What It Says In The Title, actually starting a little before the time period given, with early medieval and Renaissance attempts at envisioning this form of flight, and then going on to the actual 20th century development of viable versions of it and various uses up until the then-present day (circa 1971), free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.
This was originally published in 1971 by Arthur Baker Ltd under the dateless variant title
The Dragonflies: The Story of Helicopters and Autogiros.
Currently free @
Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK and pretty much everywhere else Amazon sells worldwide, since this is being done via their KDP Select exclusive-or-else program)
Description
So begins Robert Jackson’s incredible book on the history of helicopters.
It is an epic tale that begins in the 4th Century B.C. and travels to ancient Greek physicists and great men like Da Vinci. Dreams of fantastical flying creations that either soared magnificently or crashed to the ground. Their designs evolved until, centuries later, the helicopter's potential was recognised by the military.
In combat, the helicopter's story goes from the early dreams of flight to daring searches and rescue missions.
Complex and compelling, The Dragonflies explores man’s relationship with flight in an extraordinary way.