Forthcoming:British Secret Projects Vol 3 : Fighters 1935-1950

ov-101

ACCESS: Confidential
Joined
17 February 2013
Messages
91
Reaction score
33
The British Secret Projects series covers the design and development of UK military aircraft since the mid-1930s with strong emphasis on designs that were never built, particularly those types generated by the various design competitions held. The original Volume Three (Fighters and Bombers 1935 to 1950) has now been split into separate volumes with this book covering fighters and a new Volume Four in preparation solely devoted to bomber designs. This split has allowed space for the inclusion of much new information and many new photographs.

This book describes the design and development of the British fighter from the end of the biplane fighter to the start of the jet era. The projects and programs which feature in its pages begin with those prepared in the mid-1930s in the knowledge that war was coming and go through to some which appeared after the war had ended. During this period the art of fighter design took some big and important steps forward and here can be found fixed-gun fighters and turret fighters, in both single and twin-engine form, plus the first generation of jet fighters. Types such as the Folland Fo.118 and the Westland P.13 and many more which were designed to meet the requirements of both the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm are included.

As with the companion volumes, the author has undertaken extensive research and made full use of primary source material. Three-view drawings plus photographs of models or original artist's impressions combine to show how these unbuilt designs would have appeared. Data and appendices summarize the projects, contracts and specifications and provide a detailed insight into many fascinating aircraft.

Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Crecy Publishing (December 15, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1910809179
ISBN-13: 978-1910809174
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.8 x 11 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
 

Attachments

  • 71Ze3tPGuoL.jpg
    71Ze3tPGuoL.jpg
    133.2 KB · Views: 343
Finally! I didn't manage to pick up the original when it was in print - so this is very exciting!
 
At least this time they're splitting the fighters and bombers into two separate volumes.
 
Definitely one to put on the Christmas list. I do rather hope that it is not too skewed towards the later years though as there is plenty of scope to expand the 30s part. Personally I would have like to have seen the start year pushed back to +/- 1930 to capture the first moves to encourage 'modern' designs, even more so for the bombers where the Geneva peace talks had such an influence on designs.
 
At 208 pages compared to the 240 for the previous edition which had both bombers and fighters promises some deeper coverage, though I guess larger image reproduction will automatically have bumped up the page requirements.
It would be interesting to know whether the text has had substantial rework in places or whether Crecy's focus has been prettier images (I'm hoping both).
 
Schneiderman said:
Personally I would have like to have seen the start year pushed back to +/- 1930 to capture the first moves to encourage 'modern' designs, even more so for the bombers where the Geneva peace talks had such an influence on designs.

I agree that it should at least go back to specification F7.30 and the aircraft it produced, like the Supermarine 224, which to some extent was the precursor to the Spitfire.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom