
Pre-War Covers for Novae Terrae, the Magazine of the Science Fiction Association - benbreen
http://www.htspweb.co.uk/fandf/romart/het/fanart.htm
======
ian0
Couldn't help but notice the very modern looking helicopters in the March and
June 1938 covers. A bit of digging reveals the first modern (large main +
small tail rotor) helicopter was only flown for the first time the following
year [1]. But I guess they must have had renderings of this design to base the
art on.

[1] [https://connecticuthistory.org/worlds-first-helicopter-
today...](https://connecticuthistory.org/worlds-first-helicopter-today-in-
history/)

~~~
benj111
I look at the August one and remember very similar book covers from much more
recently.

I also googled when helicopters were invented and got 1936 for the FW 61.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter)
And the term seems to have originated much earlier.

Your link says "first practical helicopter", I'm trying to match that up with
the rotor and tail arrangement. The Chinook has twin rotors, works, and is a
helicopter. I wonder if the fw61 just didn't get it good enough to be
practical, at that time.

EDIT1: Further digging has pushed back the date to 1932 for the first
helicopter The TSAGI 1-ea with 2 tail rotors.
[http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/brat_1ea.php](http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/brat_1ea.php)

So it would appear wikipedia is wrong

EDIT2: Ok so the 1-ea is listed under 'first flights'. The FW61 is listed as
the first operational, but on it's own page is described the first practical.

So clear as mud.

It does seem there were helicopter shaped things when this magazine came out
though.

~~~
ian0
> pushed back the date to 1932 for the first helicopter The TSAGI 1-ea with 2
> tail rotors.

I spotted that one alright - but the entire shape is quite different from the
single-tail rotor versions (eg in the second pic down). Still doesn't explain
how they came up with the modern design..

Though it seems Igor Sikorsky, who built the VS-300 built at least two
prototype helicopters early in the century. Cant find any pics, perhaps they
were of the modern design. Or perhaps he was just the first to successfully
put it together but the design was well known.

~~~
benj111
Well helicopters only really came into their own when jet engines/gas turbines
were developed. Maybe they were in a similar situation to todays single stage
to orbit shuttle designs. The basic design has been static for over 30 years,
we're just waiting for a rocket (fuel ?) to come, to make it practical.

I find it quite interesting how even with something as 'obvious' (in the what
it is sense, not the inventing and concept sense) as a helicopter, it becomes
very hard to pin down the 'first'.

------
ableal
The artwork looks like it was made on stencil duplicator wax sheets (cf.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph)
), which is almost surely how the fanzines were printed - the most cost-
effective way for runs up to a few hundred or low thousands copies back in the
day.

~~~
benj111
I happened to be looking at my school reports/work from the late 80s/early 90s
recently.

Some of the sheets seem to be copied. They are from hand written originals,
and are in blue ink. I don't think they're carbon copies as they don't have
that tell tale haze of ink where pressure was applied, although there is
certainly that distinct hue that carbon copies have. Paper seems to be
standard.

Could that be from a mimeograph?

~~~
ensignavenger
Or one of these-
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_duplicator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_duplicator)

I'm pretty sure this is what I remember my school using during the same time
frame.

~~~
benj111
Yes that looks about right.

The quoted number of copies (30 - 40) would be about right for a class.

Thanks

Edit: Thanks to retzkek also

------
TomMckenny
The November 1938 cover references "Things To Come"[0] which has an
exceptional look.

[0] [http://streamline.filmstruck.com/2017/02/13/things-to-
come-1...](http://streamline.filmstruck.com/2017/02/13/things-to-
come-1936-william-cameron-menzies-biggest-headache/)

~~~
mirimir
The URL doesn't work. At least, with an IPv4 in Germany.

~~~
blkhawk
its on archive.org - I downloaded it the other day

~~~
mirimir
Thanks :) It was worth the effort.

I saw "things to Come" in the 80s. But I'd forgotten the Samurai-style
costumes.[0] I wonder why Wells (or Menzies) went with that. I doubt that it
was familiar to many in the late 30s (or even in the 80s).

0) [http://www.nodtonothing.com/2018/03/samurai-
rebellion.html](http://www.nodtonothing.com/2018/03/samurai-rebellion.html)

------
8bitsrule
"Maurice K Hanson first edited it for the Nuneaton chapter of the Science
Fiction League, and then, from #10 (February 1937), for the pre-World War Two
Science Fiction Association ... from issue #17 (October 1937) John Carnell and
Hanson's flatmate <b>Arthur C Clarke</b> were listed as assistant editors...."
[http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/novae_terrae](http://www.sf-
encyclopedia.com/entry/novae_terrae)

------
fredley
What amazes me is the depiction of rockets before real rockets existed. The
first modern rockets were V2s launched by Germany in World War 2. The man that
designed them—Wernher von Braun—went on to build rockets that eventually did
take people to the moon.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun)

~~~
Gravityloss
Robert Goddard from USA was pretty far in rocketry. Nobody in his country was
interested much though. But the Germans were...

~~~
dsfyu404ed
The Germans had foresaw a strategic need to lob things at a large island with
very good air defense systems.

The Americans foresaw a strategic need to carry out amphibious invasions of
tropical islands that were great distances apart.

The Germans invested in the technology to lob ballistic missiles.

The Americans invested in the technology to build aircraft carriers and better
aircraft.

Considering the state of technology in the 1930s and 1940s they both made the
correct decisions for their strategics position.

~~~
Gravityloss
That's a great reply! Never thought of that, yet it is almost obvious in
hindsight.

Yet, Goddard was even ridiculed by New York Times.

