American Secret Projects: Fighters, Bombers and Attack Aircraft 1937-1945

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Recently found on amazon.com a new book by Tony Buttler, apparently available in november

http://www.amazon.com/American-Secret-Projects-Fighters-Bombers/dp/1906537488/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395906703&sr=8-1&keywords=american+secret+projects+bombers+fighters

F_T
 
OMG, really, really great news!!!!!

If some unbuilt designs from the 30's could be included that could fulfill one of long awaited desires.


Many Thanks to the authors and good luck with the sales.
 
Thank you Ford,


and we are thirsty for this period on everything,all helpful from the God,and all best wishes
from us,Mr. Tony Buttler .
 
There is indeed a gap to fill for this
part of U.S. aviation history.
And since Mr. Tony Buttler is working on it , we may be sure that not many
unsolved mysterys will be left...
 
Dear All.
Delighted to hear that ASP: WW2 is attracting interest.
I must say first that this has been a joint effort between myself and Alan Griffith. All I have had to do is put the text together - Alan has redrawn a large number of poor quality drawings, and before that did a great deal of research at NARA and elsewhere. Tommy has done a lot of research for us as well, particularly on the Navy side. Between them they have found plenty of projects, and at the end there are not too many big gaps I think.

Starts around 1937 - roughly when the US began to re-equip for war. Had to remember of course that WW2 for America is 1941-45. Plan is to have it on sale at IPMS in November. I handed the final text over about 3 weeks ago.
I believe Alan is planning to post 2 or 3 of his drawings to wet your appetites.

You may also be interested to know that The History Press is publishing my 'Design and Development of the Hawker Hunter'. I have just received the proof pages this week and it looks good. Not sure when it is due to be published but it is well down the line.
There are some projects, but also one-off airframes like the Fireflash and Firestreak carriers.

Hope there is something here that will appeal to many of you.

Very Best wishes,
Tony.
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A joint effort between Tony Buttler and Allan Griffith !
What else can an enthusiast wish more...
Good luck Gentlemen..
p.s. It will be a long 'dry' Summer...
 
On my wish list. B) :)


Here a preliminary cover, found at Amazon.de
 

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Glad to see it's progressing, but why an XF-11 on the cover? It was neither type.......
 
famvburg said:
Glad to see it's progressing, but why an XF-11 on the cover? It was neither type.......
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True, but in an earlier part of its development it was the XA-37, and then almost became the XP-73. The plan to have attack and fighter variants of it existed from the start. This being said, I agree it's not the best choice for the cover. I guess the idea was to take an exotic type that was less known than the XB-35, XP-54, XP-55 and XP-56 that have constantly appeared on the covers of such books. The XP-60 series is less known but it's also less spectacular. If I'd had to choose I would have picked the XP-71 mockup as a first choice. The Chain Lightning could have been a second choice.

Also, I'm of the opinion there ought to be more projects and a smaller picture for the prototype photo. But, hey! What really matters is what's INSIDE the book, right? ;)
 
XP67_Moonbat said:
My money was on the XP-67 Moonbat for the cover!
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How could I possible forget this one in my list?!? :-[ Of course this would be N°1, a nice color photo too!!! ;)
 
This will be a nice companion to go alongside the British Secret Projects book of the same era. Can't wait!
 
Maybe we'll get a little something on Lockheed's Model 30 as well. Also one of my favorites
 
From Tony


Actually, I rejected that cover about 2 months ago for exactly the reason you point out. I do like it but the XF-11, gorgeous though it is, is not a fighter or a bomber and so does not belong on the front.

Not sure what will go on the front now, although I did send a nice colour of the Boeing XF8B-1 to Ian Allan yesterday which might do.
Very best wishes, Tony.
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It would be nice if this volume of ASP could keep the same "look" as the others. Any possibility of that? Those cover pics were gorgeous.
 
The cover is so ugly! I like old style.
And the XF-11 was neither a fighter nor a bomber.
 
I agree with the criticism of the cover style. This is a continuing series, and the cover should follow the style of the previous volumes, including the font used for the titles. The same criticism applies to the currently-shown cover design for the upcoming Japanese Secret Projects volume.

I hope that someone at Ian Allan reads this and complies.
 
Agree with the above 110%...

cheers,
Robin.
 
I agree too, but you see, the "old" style painted covers were done under a different publisher. A new publisher will usually try to affix their own graphic identity (or lack thereof, in this case) to a series like this instead of trying to carry on from the original publisher.
 
The old painted covers were also specially commissioned from well-known artists and were an expense the new publisher may not feel like incurring.
 
Well, consistency of style maybe. Keith Woodcock did the AaAaAaAaAa Secret Projects covers until 2007, Tim O'Brien did them until recently, Japanese Secret Projects cover was by Ronnie Olsthoorm (and I particularly like that one). Older readers might recall that the Luftwaffe Secret Projects had a hybrid colour/charcoal cover artwork, so has there really been standard AaAaAaAaAa Secret Projects style?

As ever in these straitened times, it comes down to costs and time. I have the time and the opportunity to design the covers for my books, most writers don't have either.

As Paul points out, the costs of producing new artwork and/or paying for the use of imagery on a cover is quite possibly an expense a publisher won't want. Slap a nice colour photo on a cover and the usage cost goes way up! Which of course eats into the author's payments at the end of the day.

Also remember that covers go through many iterations and what appears on Amazon or the publisher's catalogue is not necessarily what appears e.g. see the evolution of The Air Staff and AEW shown on this forum.

Are people willing to pay, say, up to an extra fiver for a cover they like? Are authors happy to have their return similarly reduced for a nice cover?

Chris
 
I wouldn't mind seeing the use of a photo or photos instead of artwork, provided that the title, and the font used for it, is the same as used for earlier volumes, both on the cover and on the binding.
 
gatoraptor said:
I wouldn't mind seeing the use of a photo or photos instead of artwork, provided that the title, and the font used for it, is the same as used for earlier volumes, both on the cover and on the binding.
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Yes, this.
 
Greetings! First let me say what a tremendous pleasure it was to work with Tony Buttler on this project. It is always a joy to meet and work with a serious researcher rather who looks for the original facts rather than the disturbing number of "gatherers" who continue to repackage incorrect and misleading "information" about aircraft projects. Tony is a gracious gentlemen and I'm looking forward to the possibility of working with him on other projects in the future.
As Tony mentioned earlier, not only did I provide data on numerous projects, but I also did over 240 drawings for the book (80+ 3-views). I am attaching two 3-views from the book and hope you enjoy them. One is the November 4, 1941 version of the Curtiss XP-71. The other is the Martin production version of the Northrop B-35. You will note that on the latter there are a number of interesting changes in the design from the original Northrop creation, most notable the shape of the nose and the propeller shaft extension housings. The leading-edge air intakes are also a different configuration.
If you like to learn about projects you've never heard of, then you will definitely like this book! As for the cover, as they say "that ain't my department" so I won't get involved in the debate on that one.
I hope you enjoy these!
Alan Griffith
 

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ACResearcher said:
I hope you enjoy these!
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As the Brits would say... "Is the Queen English??" Of COURSE we enjoy these (at least I do, can't speak for the others but who wouldn't appreciate stuff such as that, really?). Congratulations, and looking forward to purchasing this book!
 
Here is an updated cover scan on Ian Allan's website. At least the XF8B is a little more germaine to the title.
 

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With due respect, surely there must be a better XF8B image floating around. That one looks at first glance to be a Skyraider on takeoff. Here's one that has a little more impact...the dual props grab your eyes.
 

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Just got an email from Amazon.de (Germany), that you can now pre-order the book, which will be published on November 13th, 2014. :)
 
aim9xray said:
With due respect, surely there must be a better XF8B image floating around.
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Its also a backlit image. 2/3s of the aircraft is in shadow and you can't see any detail.
 
I see where Crecy bought all of Ian Allan's aviation titles, including this one. Wonder if that will delay the release?
 
... and Specialty Press is getting back into airplane book publishing. It's getting hard to keep track of it all...
 
Has Specialty Press announced any titles yet?
 
AL said:
I see where Crecy bought all of Ian Allan's aviation titles, including this one. Wonder if that will delay the release?
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Does that mean I'll be able to buy these books in the U.S. again, without having to buy them from the U.K. and paying a huge fee to have them shipped here? I wanted to get the Ju-88 books, but when I saw the price in the U.K. and the shipping costs I decided I didn't really need them. I also wanted the Do-335 book as well. I'm talking about the Luftwaffe books done in the style like the four volume Me-262 series by Smith & Creek.

I'm also looking forward to this S.P. book as well.
 
The covers for the upcoming books on the Boeing C-97 & Stratocruiser and the Douglas B-18 & B-23 that Crecy has announced always looked to me like Specialty Press covers; perhaps that's where they originated?
 
Hello Mr. Butler,


Really appreciate your books! In fact I have everyone of them since 1978 because it was your book "Combat Aircraft" that I read as a child that caused me to go to school for Aerospace Engineering! In particular I've greatly enjoyed your "Secret Projects" series. Have all of them and pre-orders for the new volumes on Japan and the USA. Might I propose some volumes on the aviation industries of Argentina, Brazil, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia and others? There are some fascinating secret projects from these countries also! Argentina did some very interesting aircraft and proposals under Juan Peron as did Brazil under Eurico Gaspar Dutra. And there are some great post-war projects from Germany, Italy and Japan too!


Best regards,


Zane R Nobbs


PS We also have a website for the International Resin Modellers Association at www.internationalresinmodellers.com where we make some very unique kits in 1/72.
 
Dear Zane.
Many thanks indeed for your kind comments about my books. They are much appreciated, although I must say that I have only been publishing books since 2000 (the "Combat Aircraft" series came from someone else) and not all of the 'Secret Projects' series were mine. The Japanese titles, for example, have been produced by another excellent researcher Ed Dyer.

You are correct in saying that the South American countries and East European countries have produced some excellent unbuilt designs, but I would guess that their projects alone would not be sufficient to complete a book. I would suggest magazine articles would serve many of these subjects best, although I'm afraid I have little in the way of material of my own.

Very best wishes,
Tony.
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I believe that was Bill Gunston's "Encyclopedia of the World's Combat Aircraft".
 
Greetings Tony,


My deepest apologies, you and Bill Gunston are my two favorite authors, hence the temporary mix-up. I highly value your books and his and keep them on my reference shelf. This is meant as a compliment to both of you, especially in the detail and information that so many others gloss over or leave out altogether.


Best regards,


Zane
 

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