Books we would like to see produced

uk 75 · 2 April 2012

Rather than load other threads I wonder if it would not be a useful thread to have a place where people could suggest the books they would like to see produced, or perhaps monographs or online stuff?

I will kick off with my hoobyhorses

The Jumping Jeep BAC P35 and Project Prodigal

CVA 01 A design history

Stargazer · 2 April 2012

Very good idea for a topic! Some ideas of mine:

I would love a definitive book on American general aviation in the pre- and post- Wall Street crash years. There were so many wonderful and little known aircraft designs that never got a chance because of the financial crisis... There is a lot to be said also about how the various designers moved from one company to the next and changed the shape of aviation in the next decade.

A chronological book on British military specifications and all the submissions for each would be awesome. One double page for each spec, and pics and profiles for each submission, info on when the spec was issued, how the competition went, who was declared the winner, and the future of each design.

An encyclopedia of airfoils, building on the work of David Lednicer and others, presenting for each airfoil a selection of aircraft that used it and a critical assessment of that airfoil design in the view of their operational history.

A coffee-table book on the forgotten geniuses of aviation, those engineers or entrepreneurs whose names have been forgotten, but who revolutionized the way things were done.

A heavily illustrated book on fantasy aircraft in popular culture, all those imaginary aircraft that have been seen in movies, from the model biplanes in King Kong to the CGI fighters in Stealth. Some experts could give one- or two-line opinions for each type as to whether the designs were realistic or not.

That's all for now!!

lucamax · 2 April 2012

Hi, I suggest also a book about military and civil aircraft, even projects and prototypes, of the '20! It's always very difficult to find good informations about theese aircraft..

gatoraptor · 2 April 2012

To repeat some suggestions I made on an earlier thread:

The C-74 is certainly an enigmatic aircraft that deserves to be heard from. That might be a natural for Steve Ginter's "Air Force Legends" series.

Someone mentioned the XB-45 through XB-48; another good topic might cover the XB-29 thru XB-33. And I'd like to know more about the DC-5/R3D and its relation to the Model 7 bomber.

Maybe a book about the mixed-powerplant aircraft that were popular for a time around the end of WW II. The FR-1 Fireball is the best known, but don't forget the XF15C, the XTB3F (which lost the jet when it became the AF), the P4M Mercator, the Mikoyan I-250, and others of that type.

Archibald · 3 April 2012

A biography of that man - from his personal notes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Low

George Low was pretty much the exact opposite of Von Braun, yet his role in the Apollo program, and beyond, was huge.

taildragger · 3 April 2012

a few more ideas:

Putnam-quality coverage of the French and Italian aircraft industries in English - I think these are the biggest gaps in aviation literature

a book on the post-WWII diaspora of German aircraft designers to Argentina, Spain, Italy, Egypt, USA and USSR

a book on blimps, rigid airships seem to get all the attention

Secret airliner projects - or "unsold airliners" if "secret" is too big a stretch

book length coverage of the first generation (up to 1974) American SST effort

Hano · 3 April 2012

uk 75 said:
Rather than load other threads I wonder if it would not be a useful thread to have a place where people could suggest the books they would like to see produced, or perhaps monographs or online stuff?

CVA 01 A design history

Problem with the CVA-01 design history is that there isn't a great deal of surviving documentation. The only substantive article on the subject is by the historian Tony Gorst, check out 'CVA-01' in 'The Royal Navy 1930-1990: Innovation and Defense - Richard Harding (ed)' (Frank Cass 2004). you can find it on Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Royal-Navy-1930-1990-Innovation/dp/071468581X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3JLRLGZH2TKO4&colid=1AKDPDY65M8LF
(full disclosure, Tony taught me as an undergraduate)
More generally, I know that Dr Ed Hampshire at the The National Archive is working on a book about Healey and the big ticket cancellations of the mid 60s, with luck it should be out by the end of the year. The best book the period is Saki Dockrill's 'Britain's Retreat From East of Suez' (Palgrave Macmillan 2002):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Britains-Retreat-East-Suez-between/dp/0333732367/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333441903&sr=1-7
which will I suspect, remain the last word on the subject for many years to come
cheers
H

Stargazer · 3 April 2012

Oh, and what about a book on the giant Habbakuk aircraft-carrier project?

stealth-uk · 3 April 2012

I 2nd "•A chronological book on British military specifications and all the submissions for each would be awesome"

Also I book covering all the aircraft designs of Barnes Wallis with more info on his swing wing designs and hypersonics would be nice to see.

foiling · 3 April 2012

I would love to see a detailed coverage of French aircraft & projects since WW II.
An easily available & quality book on Myasishchev projects, especially M-18 & M-20, (preferably in English).
And, yes, a good coverage of the SST proposals - ideally including the European & Japanese projects.
All, with plenty of high quailty 3-views, which are my passion.

Stargazer · 3 April 2012

foiling said:
An easily available & quality book on Myasishchev projects, especially M-18 & M-20, (preferably in English).

Myasishchev, of course!! How could I even forget? But there has been a series of limited run, high quality books on Myasishchev in Russia, I believe it would be enough to just find an able translator and willing publisher for a Western release — perhaps condensed into one or two volumes with fewer photos for marketing purposes?

robunos · 3 April 2012

Let's see................
" Putnam's 'Vought' ", " Putnam's 'Ryan' ", " Putnam's 'Cessna' ", " Putnam's 'Piper' ", 'Putnam's 'Sikorsky' ", " Putnam's 'Martin' "," Putnam's 'Dassault' ", " Putnam's 'Myasishchev' " (or translate the Avico Press books), " Putnam's 'Auster' ", (maybe in a combined book with Miles and Beagle)...
I'd like to see Jared pick the 'American Aerospace Archive' series up again, there's some good stuff on RetroMechanix.com that needs to be in print.
Would also like to see the J.M.Bruce authored WWI aircraft books re-issued, preferably in a larger format......

cheers,
Robin.

phil gollin · 4 April 2012

Stargazer · 4 April 2012

Thanks for the links Phil.

As for old second-hand books, they have their virtues of course, but what we are talking about here is newly-made books taking into account the latest research made possible by newly-made access to some aviation archives.

uk 75 · 5 April 2012

Hano

Thank you for your suggestions. I have indeed read the first article you mention and have a photocopy of parts of it somewhere in my morass of papers. I will check out the other two.

The National Maritime Museum has the ships drawings for CVA 01 which I was fortunate enough to see about 14 years ago while doing a job in London. They are completely different from anything published and in particular they shown a much less modern looking island and hull when compared with the usually shown artists impressions. These drawings should now be published woth some background to the design issues from the participants, who must now be very old, but may have left diaries or notebooks.

The Jumping Jeep project is mentioned in "Project Cancelled"(this must be the most important British book on What-if ever written) and the BAC P35 is described in some detail. However, as the files on Project Prodigal are now available in the NAO.

I have no technical knowledge (failed Physics O level!) and rely on others for this.

GeorgeA · 5 April 2012

Personally, I'd love to see the definitive work on the arc of US tactical, strategic, and ISR systems development, from the end of the Vietnam War to the end of the Cold War. I think there are more than a few gaps in our knowledge and understanding of ATA, AOA, AARS, AAV, ASTEI, ATF, and a lot of the other acronyms that represented the technical and financial commitment to maintaining the American lead in air power.

Firebee · 5 April 2012

I would love to see (probably slim) volumes on the NASA HIMAT project, and more detailed info on the D-21 drone program. Another topic I'd like to see more detail on, is an up-to-date development/operational use history of the V-22 Osprey.

XP67_Moonbat · 15 April 2012

Like to see a monograph on Fairchild's bomber designs like the M-121. Or better yet, a reproduction of the XB-53 brochure.

Skyraider3D · 17 April 2012

XP67_Moonbat said:
Like to see a monograph on Fairchild's bomber designs like the M-121.

Do you have Jared's book "The Incredible Attack Aircraft of the USS United States"? It covers this project very nicely.

One I'd like to see is a dedicated book on the XF-103.
And of course be the illustrator on that title!

XP67_Moonbat · 18 April 2012

Jared's book is definitely on my "to buy" list. On a good check, one day. As for that XB-53 brochure Clioman's holding on to, I am so standing by for that.

Steve Pace · 18 April 2012

Speaking of the XB-53 - Code One mag put this out the other day. -SP

mz · 18 April 2012

A higher level book on operational, political and technical issues that caused the aircraft that were built to actually be built.

I find histories to be far too narrow to actually give any meaning to the list of facts given, only concentrating on that one aircraft and perhaps sometimes a little on the manufacturer's other models. Why is it better than its predecessor or this or that competitor? How does it differ?

Often times you just see things like "speed was improved". How? Or "Engine thrust was increased". Again, how was that possible, why didn't they have that engine produce just as much in the first place? I think such overly simplistic history is a reason why many people take technological progress for granted!

You could look at different eras, for example "the first jet fighters" to narrow down the scope.

I find Tartle's discussions about British jet engine history extremely interesting because they construct real technical mechanisms for the reader to understand. We have metallurgical problems because of heat, or aerodynamical ones like stalled blades or mechanical ones like whirling shafts that then actually are shown in the design of the turbines (complex air path to keep the shaft short). Showing the "why is it like that?" is so fascinating. Almost nobody ever does that!

Compare and contrast and build a real web of reasons and it all comes alive. You can even have in the people if you make it right and concentrate it on what they did and not as a "human interest" piece where everybody just describes how anxious or amazed they were for page upon page. Keep editors and journalists as far away as possible as they want to simplify the text so much that you can not construct the real relations of various factoids any more.

XB-35 · 26 April 2012

Hi All,

I would like to see books like the "Secret Projects" series but about Tanks/AFV's and ship subjects from different countries. There are indeed very few books about Secret/Projected AFV's and ships.

A detailled book with drawings related to Allied Secret Weapons of WWII (including unknown declassified subjects), more complete than the old Putnam one.

All the Best,

XB-35

Hoo-2b-2day · 27 April 2012

I do find this thread perplexing in that so many of you are listing books you like to have published when only a few weeks ago there was a thread "looking for authors".

Rather than go on writing wish lists and complaining about the lack of books you would buy why dont you have a go at putting together the information and submiting it to a publisher as a few esteemed members of this site have already done. I'm sure there would be advice on how to go about this within this forum as well as at appropriate educational institutions and there are plenty of topics to choose from. many of you are in the countries that hold the records that would be needed to put together many good books.

So instead of vainly hoping and expecting some-one will put together the books you keep listing as needing to be published contact the person who started the looking for authors thread have a go at it yourself. It is probably the only way the "books" listed above will ever come about.

overscan (PaulMM) · 27 April 2012

The Presidio R.P. Hunnicut books have quite a lot of US AFV projects in them.

mz · 27 April 2012

Hoo-2b-2day said:
I do find this thread perplexing in that so many of you are listing books you like to have published when only a few weeks ago there was a thread "looking for authors".

Rather than go on writing wish lists and complaining about the lack of books you would buy why dont you have a go at putting together the information and submiting it to a publisher as a few esteemed members of this site have already done. I'm sure there would be advice on how to go about this within this forum as well as at appropriate educational institutions and there are plenty of topics to choose from. many of you are in the countries that hold the records that would be needed to put together many good books.

So instead of vainly hoping and expecting some-one will put together the books you keep listing as needing to be published contact the person who started the looking for authors thread have a go at it yourself. It is probably the only way the "books" listed above will ever come about.

One problem with this is that I'd like to read books by people who are much smarter and more knowledgeable than myself yet can write in a clear way so I learn a lot of new stuff easily. Oh and hard working and diligent, doing all the research.

But your comment is certainly inspiring, and worth thinking about. I think this site could benefit by becoming more wiki-like. There is a lot of value in the community here, and it wouldn't perhaps be so good for many of the single persons to write books by themselves if their knowledge base is not wide enough or if they simply don't have enough time. But they can still spread knowledge by commenting on the forum, on the little bits that they do know.

Stargazer · 27 April 2012

Hoo-2b-2day said:
I do find this thread perplexing in that so many of you are listing books you like to have published when only a few weeks ago there was a thread "looking for authors".

Rather than go on writing wish lists and complaining about the lack of books you would buy why dont you have a go at putting together the information and submiting it to a publisher as a few esteemed members of this site have already done. I'm sure there would be advice on how to go about this within this forum as well as at appropriate educational institutions and there are plenty of topics to choose from. many of you are in the countries that hold the records that would be needed to put together many good books.

So instead of vainly hoping and expecting some-one will put together the books you keep listing as needing to be published contact the person who started the looking for authors thread have a go at it yourself. It is probably the only way the "books" listed above will ever come about.

I certainly would LOVE to go about doing just that, but simply wouldn't know where to start! Also I live in France, and most of the subject topics I'm specialized in would require for me to travel overseas on a more or less regular basis...

Skyraider3D · 28 April 2012

Stargazer2006 said:
Also I live in France, and most of the subject topics I'm specialized in would require for me to travel overseas on a more or less regular basis...

You might want to ocnsider specialising in a French topic?

There are a vast amount of French experimental aircraft yet to be covered in detail. With that in mind, is there any good book about French immediate post-war projects - you know, all the various planes which had clear German roots. Pretty much Luft'46 made real by the French.

phil gollin · 28 April 2012

.

Some people might be aware of a book by Philip Pugh called "The Cost of Sea Power" which covered the rise in costs associated with the post-war Royal Navy and its ships. Pugh was an Operational Analysis specialist first with MOD and then as a consultant to Whitehall and "knew of that about which he spoke".

A similar book on the RAF (and another on the British Army) would be interesting in exposing SOME of the complexity behind the rational, irrational and political decisions made in choosing certain aircraft and systems over other ones (particulary in terms of the "highness" or "lowness" of any mix.

.

uk 75 · 28 April 2012

The point about trying one's hand at writing a book is of course a good one. However, in the words of Inspector Harry Callaghan (Clint Eastwood) "A man's got to know his limitations". In my case, the short threads I post here show up my lack of knowledge and derivation of what I do know from published sources. That said, this website is a great way of teasing out useful bits of knowledge and discussion from others. I have learnt as much here over the last few years as I have from numerous books and magazines. This site has shown how valuable the Net is for exchanging knowledge and ideas.

BigRIJoe · 1 June 2012

The Birds That Never Flew".........a book detailing launch vehicles that were on paper only, from 1957 to the present

Sferrin · 1 June 2012

Missile Defense - Secret Projects.

The US
Russia
China
Europe.

bobbymike · 1 June 2012

sferrin said:
Missile Defense - Secret Projects.

The US
Russia
China
Europe.

"All the Worlds Missiles - IRBMs, SLBMs, ICBMs" I think is kind of covered by 'Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems' but at $1,200

And mine would include unbuilt projects as well, page count 'a lot'

Skyraider3D · 1 June 2012

Not very secret projects related, but the book I'd like to see is:

Bomber Pilot Aerial Victories (of World War 2)

A detailed compilation of all aerial victories scored by bomber pilots (during WW2). So little attention has been given to this and I know not a single book dealing with this topic. But bomber pilots shot down plenty of aircraft and the record of certian pilots and aircraft is quite amazing. Hans-Ulrich Rudel for instance became a double ace with his slow Stuka and sluggish beasts like the SB2C Helldiver scored more aerial kills (by the pilot) than they suffered losses due to enemy fighters! Fascinating stuff, I find.

Any recommendations on this topic would be greatly appreciated!

gatoraptor · 2 June 2012

Skyraider3D said:
Not very secret projects related, but the book I'd like to see is:

Bomber Pilot Aerial Victories (of World War 2)

A detailed compilation of all aerial victories scored by bomber pilots (during WW2). So little attention has been given to this and I know not a single book dealing with this topic. But bomber pilots shot down plenty of aircraft and the record of certian pilots and aircraft is quite amazing. Hans-Ulrich Rudel for instance became a double ace with his slow Stuka and sluggish beasts like the SB2C Helldiver scored more aerial kills (by the pilot) than they suffered losses due to enemy fighters! Fascinating stuff, I find.

Any recommendations on this topic would be greatly appreciated!

This one certainly looks like a candidate for Osprey's "Aircraft of the Aces" series.

Skyraider3D · 2 June 2012

Well aces are aces... not sure if a book could be filled with bomber pilot aces.
Plus from a profile artist point of view, it would be a very elaborate project with many different aircraft types to be drawn.

And who would write it. There seem to be no experts on this topic, as it's so niche yet broad.

lucamax · 8 June 2012

Hi! What do you think about a complete book of Heinkel Aircrafts? Searching on the web I found poor informations about a lot of Heinkel's airplanes, specially in the '20 and early '30... It should be great to have a definitive book about that important factory: what do you think?

richard · 8 June 2012

lucamax said:
Hi! What do you think about a complete book of Heinkel Aircrafts? Searching on the web I found poor informations about a lot of Heinkel's airplanes, specially in the '20 and early '30... It should be great to have a definitive book about that important factory: what do you think?

The unexpensive books :

Heinkel Flugzeugwerke (Volker Koos) Vol 1 & Vol 2
Heinkel , an aircraft album (P.St.John Turner)
Heinkel Flugzeuge (Axel Zuerl)

should be a good beginning ...

lucamax · 10 June 2012

richard said:
The unexpensive books :

Heinkel Flugzeugwerke (Volker Koos) Vol 1 & Vol 2
Heinkel , an aircraft album (P.St.John Turner)
Heinkel Flugzeuge (Axel Zuerl)

should be a good beginning ...

Thank You!
I know the book "Heinkel, an aircraft album" but I was thinking about a complete job like Putnam series. I searched the other title you posted but they are in german and unfortunatly I don't know german :'( Do you know some book in english?

richard · 11 June 2012

Sorry , nothing in english ... The most comprehensive books are the Koos's ones ( two for the aircraft , one for the Ernst Heinkel's live...) : the 3 could make a fine big volume about Heinkel

: It's a call for an english or american editor

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