Bulletin of the British Interplanetary Society
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The British Interplanetary Society was formed in 1933 and during the course of the first 12 months of the organisation's existence monthly reports were issued to the members by Society Secretary Leslie J. Johnson. The monthly report was enlarged into the slightly larger Bulletin of the British Interplanetary Society which may have first appeared as early as July 1934, although the "official" first edition was in October, and was also edited by Johnson. Perhaps five of the informal and numbered issues combined, appeared before the name was changed by committee vote on December 28th 1934 for one issue in January 1935 to "The New Columbus." In his biography Johnson claimed that New Columbus was never circulated officially, although he sent several copies to Edward John Carnell in London. Publication seems to have been suspended until March 1937 during which time the BIS moved its operations from Liverpool to London. Carnell began a new series of Bulletins from London. Carnell edited ten issues before handing it over to Arthur C. Clarke and Maurice K. Hanson. Clarke would edit the Bulletin for 17 issues until just before the outbreak of World War II. The last pre-war edition appearing in August 1939. There is some evidence in Clarke's diary that he was still mailing some form of Bulletin to his colleagues from his evacuation billet in Colwyn Bay North Wales as late as January of 1941. During the war those interested in following astronautics in Britain turned to the Manchester Interplanetary Society journal "Spacewards" edited by Eric Burgess and Trevor Cusack. Cusack was killed in action in 1940 but Burgess would continue to edit Spacewards until the end of the war, completing 20 more issues. The Bulletin of the BIS returned in January 1946 and ran until May 1947 before merging with the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society.
| Date | Issue | Author-Editor | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 1934 | Vol 1 No 1 | Bulletin of the BIS (New Series) | |
| Leslie J. Johnson | Our First Anniversary | ||
| Ing Guido von Pirquet | Letter | ||
| Colin Askham | Radio in Interplanetary Communication | ||
| James Godwin Strong | Letter urging name change of Society | ||
| Leslie J. Johnson | Report on Society Meetings of Oct 5 and Oct 19 | ||
| November 1934 | Vol 1 No 2 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Leslie J. Johnson | Scientifiction and Interplanetary Travel | ||
| Indian Rocket Mail | |||
| C.H.L. Askham | The Growing Interest in Matters Interplanetary | ||
| Notes and News | |||
| Eric Frank Russell | The Astronaut (A Poem) | ||
| Interesting Literature | |||
| Reports of Recent Meetings | |||
| New Members | |||
| January 1935 | Vol 1 No 1 | The New Columbus | |
| Leslie J. Johnson | Editorial | ||
| Society Publications (Name change) | |||
| Interesting Literature | |||
| Thanks Wonder Stories | |||
| Eric Frank Russell | Reason and Emotion | ||
| Sense and Nonsense | |||
| Air Mail Rocket (Zucker) | |||
| A Space Suit (Haldane and Davies) | |||
| Life on the Moon | |||
| Eric Frank Russell | Meetings of the Society | ||
| Correspondence | |||
| The Society Library | |||
| Apr 4 1937 | Vol 1 No 1 | Bulletin of the BIS (New Series 2) | |
| Edward John Carnell | Editorial about Society move to London | ||
| Officers for 1937 | |||
| Bulletin and Journal update | |||
| Hon General Secretary address update | |||
| Treasurer update | |||
| Librarian update | |||
| Members Representative update | |||
| Next Monthly Meeting details | |||
| Formation of Technical Committee | |||
| Apr 25 1937 | Vol 1 No 2 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Edward John Carnell | The Last Monthly Meeting | ||
| The Next General Meeting | |||
| Recent Manchester Rocket Experiment | |||
| Inaugurating Design Competitions | |||
| John Happian Edwards | Special Request to Members | ||
| May 20 1937 | Vol 1 No 3 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Edward John Carnell | Editorial Note | ||
| May Monthly Meeting | |||
| The Next Meeting | |||
| S.H. Smith | Rocketry in India | ||
| Jun 24 1937 | Vol 1 No 4 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Edward John Carnell | Notes from last meeting | ||
| July Monthly Meeting | |||
| William J. Lovejoy | A Three Year Old Mystery | ||
| Jul 29 1937 | Vol 1 No 5 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Edward John Carnell | Special Notice to London Members | ||
| Notes and News | |||
| Manchester Interplanetary Society | |||
| Aug 26 1937 | Vol 1 No 6 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Edward John Carnell | Special Request to London Members | ||
| Model Airplane Contest | |||
| July Meeting | |||
| Books Recommended | |||
| Friedrich Schmiedl | Limitations of Space Travel | ||
| Sep 23 1937 | Vol 1 No 7 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Edward John Carnell | October Meeting | ||
| Model Airplane Contest | |||
| Notes From September Meeting | |||
| Oct 25 1937 | Vol 1 No 8 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Edward John Carnell | October Meeting Debate | ||
| November Meeting | |||
| Definition of the Technical Committee | |||
| Nov 29 1937 | Vol 1 No 9 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Edward John Carnell | November Meeting Report | ||
| December Meeting | |||
| Friedrich Schmiedl | The Temperature of Space | ||
| Jan 27 1938 | Vol 2 No 1 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Edward John Carnell | Apologies and Regrets | ||
| Annual General Meeting | |||
| The Journal | |||
| Feb 21 1938 | Vol 2 No 2 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Edward John Carnell | Annual General Meeting Feb 1 1938 | ||
| Next Meeting | |||
| Mar 21 1938 | Vol 2 No 3 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| General Meeting Mar 1 1938 | |||
| Next General Meeting | |||
| Apr 21 1938 | Vol 2 No 4 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| General Meetings | |||
| Personal Assistance | |||
| May 21 1938 | Vol 2 No 5 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | General Meeting May 3 1938 | ||
| Next General Meeting | |||
| Important Notice | |||
| Jul 7 1938 | Vol 2 No 6 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| General Meeting Jun 14 1938 | |||
| Next General Meeting | |||
| Affiliation with MIS | |||
| August 1938 | Vol 2 No 7 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| Report of July Meeting | |||
| Monthly Notes
| |||
| September 1938 | Vol 2 No 8 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| Agenda of October Meeting | |||
| The 1875 Explosives Act | |||
| Monthly Notes | |||
| William F. Temple | Chingford Chiaroscuro | ||
| News Items | |||
| October 1938 | Vol 2 No 9 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| Report of October Meeting | |||
| Spaceships and Sounding Rockets | |||
| Ralph A. Smith | The BIS Experimental Policy | ||
| Agenda of November Meeting | |||
| November 1938 | Vol 2 No 10 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| Rocketry and the Law | |||
| Report of November Meeting | |||
| The December Meeting | |||
| Correspondence | |||
| December 1938 | Vol 2 No 11 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| Research Progress | |||
| An Appeal by the Member’s Representative | |||
| The Last General Meeting | |||
| The January Meeting | |||
| Photographic Rockets | |||
| January 1939 | Vol 3 No 1 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| Who’s Who at Headquarters | |||
| The BIS Proving Stand | |||
| Annual General Meeting | |||
| The January Meeting | |||
| A Spot of Publicity | |||
| February 1939 | Vol 3 No 2 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| The Next Meeting | |||
| The Annual General Meeting | |||
| More Publicity | |||
| Announcements | |||
| Some Criticisms | |||
| March 1939 | Vol 3 No 3 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| The March General Meeting | |||
| The BIS Research Programme | |||
| Announcements | |||
| The Manchester Interplanetary Society | |||
| Publicity Staggers On | |||
| Rear Containers for Rockets | |||
| April 1939 | Vol 3 No 4 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| The Interplanetary Approach | |||
| Trade Follows the Rocket | |||
| The Next General Meeting | |||
| Notes and News | |||
| Lunar Vegetation | |||
| May 1939 | Vol 3 No 5 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| Lunar Changes | |||
| Our Contemporaries | |||
| The Next General Meeting | |||
| An Outside at a Technical Meeting | |||
| The MAA | |||
| The BIS Library | |||
| June 1939 | Vol 3 No 6 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| The June General Meeting | |||
| The Carver Concentric Feed | |||
| Atomic Power | |||
| The History of the Step Rocket | |||
| Books in the Library | |||
| The Next general meeting | |||
| Notes and News | |||
| MAA Report | |||
| July 1939 | Vol 3 No 7 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| The July General Meeting | |||
| New Members | |||
| Astronautics at the World’s Fair | |||
| Additions to the BIS Library | |||
| August 1939 | Vol 3 No 8 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Arthur C. Clarke | Editorial | ||
| The Planet Mars | |||
| Can Rockets Fly Today? | |||
| Correspondence | |||
| News Items | |||
| The Next General Meeting | |||
| New Members | |||
| Emergency Arrangements (Possible suspension of BIS) | |||
| August 1939 | Vol 1 No 1 | Spacewards | |
| Trevor Cusack & Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Interplanetary Travel | |||
| Stratosphere Flight | |||
| Appeal to members | |||
| Notes and News | |||
| Details of the Association | |||
| Astronautical Terms | |||
| January 1940 | Vol 1 No 2 | Spacewards | |
| Trevor Cusack & Eric Burgess | Diagram of a Stratoplane | ||
| Editorial | |||
| The MAA Stratoplane | |||
| L.S.D. | |||
| Astronautical Handbook Part 2 | |||
| April 1940 | Vol 1 No 3 | Spacewards | |
| Trevor Cusack & Eric Burgess | Photo of Stratoplane | ||
| Editorial | |||
| Stratoplane Launching Rack | |||
| Astronautical Handbook Part 3 | |||
| A Model Spaceship | |||
| MAA Sounding Rocket | |||
| July 1940 | Vol 1 No 4 | Spacewards | |
| Trevor Cusack & Eric Burgess | Photograph of the President | ||
| Editorial | |||
| Further Calculations Regarding the MAA Stratoplane | |||
| Forms of Terrestrial rocket craft | |||
| Astronautical Handbook Part 4 | |||
| September 1940 | Vol 2 No 1 | Spacewards | |
| Trevor Cusack & Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Research | |||
| Plan of Stratosphere Model | |||
| Raymond Moore | Seedcast and Continuity | ||
| Diagram of Steamsling | |||
| January 1941 | Vol 2 No 2 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | Photo of the late secretary (Trevor Cusack) | ||
| Editorial | |||
| Biography of Trevor Cusack | |||
| Raymond Moore | Seedcast and Continuity Part 2 | ||
| Diagram Acceleration equals deceleration | |||
| The MAA Sounding Rocket | |||
| April 1941 | Vol 2 No 3 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Rocketry of the Continent | |||
| Britain Testing Rocket Plane | |||
| MAA Sounding Rocket Part 2 | |||
| Raymond Moore | Seedcast and Continuity Part 3 | ||
| Continuity of Life Diagram | |||
| October 1941 | Vol 3 No 1 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Raymond Moore | Seedcast and Continuity Part 4 | ||
| The Early Days | |||
| Further calculations on the sounding rocket | |||
| Notes on early Manchester Experiments | |||
| January 1942 | Vol 3 No 2 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | |||
| April 1942 | Vol 3 No 3 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | |||
| October 1942 | Vol 4 No 1 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Uranium 235 | |||
| Mars | |||
| Sounding rocket | |||
| Kenneth Gatland & Arthur C. Clarke | Cosmic Radiation | ||
| J.D. Stewart | PRS and MIS Experiments | ||
| Acceleration | |||
| January 1943 | Vol 4 No 2 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Sub Atomic Energy | |||
| Venus | |||
| Memory of a Founder | |||
| Stratosphere Flight | |||
| MIS and MAA Experiments | |||
| Designs of the ADS | |||
| Cartridge injector feed | |||
| Cosmic rays | |||
| April 1943 | Vol 4 No 3 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Will Space Ships Evolve? | |||
| Rocket Construction | |||
| 200” Telescope | |||
| ADS Stratosphere | |||
| Jupiter | |||
| Proving Stand | |||
| MAA Stratosphere | |||
| July 1943 | Vol 4 No 4 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | Congreve and Hale War rockets | ||
| Present and Post War Astronautics | |||
| Altitude | |||
| October 1943 | Vol 5 No 1 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Sounding Rocket | |||
| Reaction Propulsion for Aircraft | |||
| January 1944 | Vol 5 No 2 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Metal Spraying | |||
| Post War Policy | |||
| Powder Rocket | |||
| Reaction Propulsion for Aircraft | |||
| Gyro Control | |||
| New Constitution | |||
| April 1944 | Vol 5 No 3 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Astronautical Navigation | |||
| Sounding Rocket | |||
| Thrust | |||
| 6” Telescope | |||
| July 1944 | Vol 5 No 4 | Spacewards | |
| Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Interplanetary Communications | |||
| Astronautical Biography | |||
| Rockets in War and Peace | |||
| October 1944 | Vol 6 No 1 | Spacewards | |
| Kenneth Gatland & Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| Report of CBAS | |||
| Absolute Motion and the Space Vessel compass | |||
| A contribution to the fuel problem | |||
| Calculations of High Altitude Rocket Trajectories | |||
| December 1944 | Vol 6 No 9 | Supplement to the Official Bulletin of the CBAS | |
| Eric Burgess | Report on meeting of E. Burgess and A.C.Clarke | ||
| A Further meeting between CBAS and BIS Officers | |||
| An appeal | |||
| January 1945 | Vol 6 No 2 | Spacewards | |
| Kenneth Gatland & Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| April-July 1945 | Vol 6 No 3 | Spacewards | |
| Kenneth Gatland & Eric Burgess | Editorial | ||
| A.W. Stockey | The Space Position Indicator | ||
| Arthur C. Clarke | The Coming Age of Rocket Power (Review) | ||
| A.W. Stockey | Why a Space Ship compass? | ||
| Report of the Extraordinary General Meeting of the CBAS | |||
| Robert L. Sternberg | Electronic Spacial Rocket | ||
| Report of CBAS Meeting on Jun 16 1945 | |||
| Report of the Extraordinary General Meeting of the CBAS Jun 23 1945 | |||
| Report of the Ordinary General Meeting of the CBAS Jun 28 1945 | |||
| March-May 1945 | Vol 7 No 1 | Official Bulletin of the CBAS | |
| Kenneth W. Gatland | Forthcoming London General Meeting | ||
| News and Views | |||
| Arthur C. Clarke | Comment on January Journal | ||
| January 1946 | Vol 1 No 1 | Bulletin of the BIS (New Series 3) | |
| Michael Donne | An Editorial Policy | ||
| Eric Burgess | Progress of Astronautics in Great Britain | ||
| Exhibition of German Equipment | |||
| C. Fleisher | Library Notes | ||
| Note to the Bibliography Staff | |||
| Robert Hutchings Goddard Obituary | |||
| February-March 1946 | Vol 1 No 2 | Bulletin of the BIS (New Series 3) | |
| Ralph A. Smith | Editorial | ||
| Review | Feb 16 Meeting at Bream House | ||
| Review of Arthur C. Clarke | Communication in Space | ||
| Review of Eric Burgess | Principles of Rocket Propulsion | ||
| Review of J.G. Strong | Met Rocket build | ||
| Acknowledgments | Library Donations Summary | ||
| Announcement | Apr 24 BIS display at BAS meeting at Burlington house Piccadilly | ||
| Announcement | Frank Whittle Apr 25 lecture at Manchester Royal Aeronautical Society | ||
| Membership list | |||
| Review | Sat March 16 Field House Meeting | ||
| Review G. Brosnan | Stability of Rocket Flight | ||
| Review Max Wholey | Conditions on the Surface of the Inner Planets | ||
| Bibliography process | The Documentation of Interplanetary Travel | ||
| April 1946 | Vol 1 No 3 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Comment | |||
| J.G. Strong | A Rocket Fallacy | ||
| Announcement | Apr 27 1946 meeting at Northampton Arms 205 Goswell Rd Islington to discuss "The Difficulties of Interplanetary Travel" | ||
| Announcement | Additional List of New Members | ||
| Proposal | BIS Model Group | ||
| "Experiments of the Chemical Warfare Service...America" on the American JB2 Flying Bomb | |||
| May 1946 | Vol 1 No 4 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Ralph A. Smith | Comment | ||
| Eric Burgess | An Exhibition of German Aeronautical Developments | ||
| June 1946 | Vol 1 No 5 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| April Meeting | |||
| Library News | |||
| Review of Dawn of the Space Age | |||
| July 1946 | Vol 1 No 6 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Organisation of Technical Groups | |||
| The Firing of Rockets | |||
| Research at GALCIT | |||
| Arthur C. Clarke | Radar and Astronomy | ||
| Television Guided Missiles | |||
| J.E. Spurr | Geology applied to Selenology | ||
| L. J. Carter | An Easy outline of astronomy | ||
| Additions to Membership | |||
| August 1946 | Vol 1 No 7 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| The End and the Means | |||
| H.E. Fielden | Tests on Small Resonance Jets | ||
| Review of Current Periodicals | |||
| Oliver Perry Ferrell | Meteoric Impact ionisation | ||
| September 1946 | Vol 1 No 8 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Science for the Citizen | |||
| H.E. Fielden | Tests on Small Resonance Jets (2) | ||
| Meetings | |||
| German Industrial Developments | |||
| Britain Can Make It Exhibition | |||
| Reviews | |||
| Research Papers | |||
| BAA Exhibition | |||
| Future Possibilities of Astronomical radar | |||
| Interplanetary Travel by Solar Radiation | |||
| November 1946 | Vol 1 No 9 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Editorial | |||
| Panel of Lecturers | |||
| H.E. Ross | Air Conditioning Problems of Rocket Travel | ||
| Aeronautical Committee Reports and Memoranda | |||
| Leslie R. Shepherd | The Problem of Interplanetary Propulsion | ||
| Two Great Men of Science H.G. Wells and Sir James Jeans | |||
| Reviews – Rocket Fuels, The Rocket Power Plant | |||
| January 1947 | Vol 2 No 1 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Editorial Technical Groups | |||
| L.J. Carter | The Physical Condition of Jupiter | ||
| H.E. Ross | Green Plants as Atmosphere Generators | ||
| A. Battersby | A Suggested New Unit of Time | ||
| Research Papers | |||
| Notes and News | |||
| J.C. Tanner | Planetary Photography in the Ultra Violet and Infra Red | ||
| North Western District Centre | |||
| P.E. Cleator | The Moon and Mr. Farnsworth | ||
| Rockets and Orbits | |||
| Reviews & Correspondence | |||
| February 1947 | Vol 2 No 2 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| A.C. Clarke | Astronautics and Poetry | ||
| D.F. Lawden | The Initial Acceleration of a Rocket | ||
| L.R. Shepherd | Le Moteur Nucléare | ||
| H.P. Wilkins, F.R.A.S. | Lunar Topography 1 | ||
| German Industrial Developments | |||
| R.A. Smith & H.E. Ross | Working Formulae | ||
| Aeronautical Research Committee Reports and Memoranda | |||
| Reviews | |||
| April 1947 | Vol 2 No 3 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| D.F. Lawden, M.A. | Some Energy Considerations | ||
| A.V. Cleaver | Aeronautical Review | ||
| Eric Burgess | Technical Notes on German Rocket Development | ||
| H.P. Wilkins, F.R.A.S. | Lunar Topography 2 | ||
| Radiation Hazards and Radiation Sickness | |||
| Publications of Other Societies | |||
| Reviews | |||
| May 1947 | Vol 2 No 4 | Bulletin of the BIS | |
| Editorial: Man and the Moon | |||
| H.P. Wilkins F.R.A.S. | Lunar Topography 3 | ||
| Eric Burgess | Technical Notes on German Rocket Development 2 | ||
| Arthur C. Clarke | A Universal Escape-Velocity Mass-Ratio Chart | ||
| The Problem of Atomic Propulsion | |||
| Supersonic Research | |||
| M.W. Wholey | Astronomical Notebook | ||
| Aeronautical Research Committee Reports |
