Steve Birdsall (born 1944) of
Sydney,
Australia, is an aviation writer who has authored many articles and books since the 1960s. He has been published by
Air Classics,
Flying Review International,
Airpower Historian, and the
American Aviation Historical Society Journal. His wife is Sandra Birdsall.
Birdsall toured briefly in Vietnam during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, as a correspondent for an Australian magazine. He flew several airborne missions including one in the
A-1 Skyraider
The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly known as the AD Skyraider) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age ...
, about which he later wrote an illustrated history.
It was Birdsall who tracked down and confirmed the existence of
91st Bomb Group combat veteran B-17G
Shoo Shoo Baby in the late 1960s, sitting dormant at Creil Air Base,
Creil
Creil is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction.
History
Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belonging ...
, France.
He should not be confused with American travel writer Stephen S. Birdsall.
Published books
*''The A-1 Skyraider'', (January 1970)
[Editors, "Airman's Bookshelf", ''Air Force and Space Digest'', Air Force Association, Washington, D.C., January 1971, Volume 54, Number 1, page 24.]
*''Log of the Liberators: An Illustrated history of the B-24'', (June 1973 hardcover)
*''Hells Angels'', Challenge Publishing Co.
*''Flying Buccaneers: The Illustrated Story of Kenney's Fifth Air Force'', (January 1977)
*''B-17 Flying Fortress'', TAB Books, (May 1979)
*''B-24 in Action'', (October 1979)
*''Saga of the Superfortress: The Dramatic Story of the B-29 and the Twentieth Air Force'', (October 1980 hardcover)
*''Superfortress, the Boeing B-29'' (Aircraft Specials series (6028)), (January 1984 paperback)
*''B-26 Marauder in Action'' (Aircraft No. 50), (February 1982)
*''B-17 Flying Fortress in Color'' (Fighting Colors series (6561)), (August 1986)
*''B-24 Liberator'' (Famous Aircraft series), (February 1986 paperback)
*''Claims to Fame: The B-17 Flying Fortress'' (with Roger A. Freeman), (October 1997 paperback); (March 1995 hardcover)
*''Pride of Seattle: The Story of the first 300 B-17Fs'' (Aircraft Specials series (6074)), (June 1998 paperback)
*''Mackay's Flying Fortress: The History of America's Worst Aviation Disaster in the SWPA during World War Two'', (May 2003 paperback)
References
Living people
Australian non-fiction writers
1944 births
Aviation writers
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