British Secret Projects: Hypersonics, Ramjets and Missiles Released!

Mike Pryce

Mike Pryce

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Got my copy today. I may live right in front of the beach, and the sun may have been shining, but I had a great day indoors reading it cover to cover.

BSP4 shows just how wide these areas of UK activity were, and has answered many questions I have had for a long time regarding missile developments. It has also opened my eyes to the world of UK hypersonics, and I love the way it closes by hinting that this work may have passed to the US, and may be flying!

It also illustrates a number of aircraft that were intended to carry weapons featured in the book (P.1154RN, Sea Harrier 'FRS.3', TSR.2, Vulcan variants etc.) that add to those in previous BSP's. It is worth it for those alone, yet these are just a 'by product' of a great book.

Highly recommended to all interested in 'secret projects'!
 
I got mine to-day. Seriously good stuff. With this and APR in one week I'm in Secret Project heaven!

RP1
 
This book is now out, a culmination of more than ten years of dedicated research. Post your comments here.
 
The book still isn't available in the United States. Even the retail price hasn't been announced, yet.

Previous £25 "British Secret Project" titles were priced at $40US and were discounted by reputable online retailers to as little as $25US, sometimes with free USPS shipping.

From the American standpoint, with current $2US:£1 exchange rates, it doesn't make economic sense to have the book shipped directly from the UK.

It will be interesting to see when American retailers start carrying the book. My guess is that it might become available for order sometime before Thanksgiving?
 
Yesterday I got an e-mail from Amazon saying it was delayed, today I get one saying I will have it next week.....
 
Amazon.co.uk is shipping like mad. I'll got mine on Sept 3rd - Sept. 5th.
 
Got my copy today :)

Excellent book, packed with drawings and details of all manner of projects I had never heard of.

Spent most of tonight reading through it...

cheers

O.K.
 
Crap. $50 from Amazon and it won't ship until Sept 24th. :'(
 
Got my copy this morning and have just finished going through it on the bus home. It is outstanding and answers so many questions that I have put on this site. John Hall's models are magnificent (shame they cannot be made available for sale-sigh!).

I may be an old grump but a book is so much more convenient than downloads and discs (sorry Aerospace Projects Review- that is still why I have not placed a sub!). You actually have something free standing that you can use as and when you need, and even put extra copies of notes/cuttings inside.

Finally, the greedy bit. Any chance of a further volume to cover British Transport aircraft and helicopters (including the Jumping Jeep)?

UK 75
 
Finally, the greedy bit. Any chance of a further volume to cover British Transport aircraft and helicopters (including the Jumping Jeep)?
Click to expand...

Sorry Ralph these books are created from the Authors area of interest, Tony's is Fighter & Bomber projects, Chris's is Missiles and hypersonics. The only possible author could be Richard Payne who did the civil stuff in 'Stuck on the Drawing Board'.

Unless of course your offering to do the reserch and write it up of course ;)

Cheers

Geoff
 
uk 75 said:
I may be an old grump but a book is so much more convenient than downloads and discs (sorry Aerospace Projects Review- that is still why I have not placed a sub!). You actually have something free standing that you can use as and when you need, and even put extra copies of notes/cuttings inside.


UK 75
Click to expand...


i prefer books too, i find them easier to read than off the screen, but i still subscribe to eAPR, and download the various PDFs mentioned on this site. If you want them in hard copy, print them out, a decent printer only costs about 40 quid now, and even adding in the costs of ink cartridges and paper, a self-printed book works out at around the same cost as a bought one. Or, you could take the PDF to somewhere like Staples, or Prontaprint, and get them to print it out for you, it's even possible to have them bound as well. i certainly wouldn't forgo things like eAPR, or that PDF on the development of the B-52, just because it's not available in printed form. And i'm a printer by trade, so i've got a vested interest in paper documents, :p.

cheers,
Robin.
 
Loren said:
Available from US Amazon today! ;D
Click to expand...

Amazon has already discounted the book to $31.58 or the equivilent of £15.66!

http://www.amazon.com/British-Secret-Projects-Chris-Gibson/dp/1857802586/ref=sr_1_2/104-0900108-7623126?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188604725&sr=8-2

Normally, the prices seem to fall when other retailers start selling a book. Since there is 4-6 week wait, I'll wait.

Amazon.co.uk is still selling the book for £18.74 or the equivilent of $37.79!!!

The British consumer alway pays more.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1857802586/ref=s9_asin_title_1-1966_g1/203-5286877-0471939?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1B6DV5WGHFKX6T8XAE2M&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=139042191&pf_rd_i=468294
 
#$%&!!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: I ordered it literally less than 24 hours ago and I got billed for the full fifty bucks.
 
sferrin said:
#$%&!!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: I ordered it literally less than 24 hours ago and I got billed for the full fifty bucks.
Click to expand...

Cancel your order. You should be able to cancel at any time before the book ships. Then you can reorder at the new price. I would be very surprised if your projected Sept 24 shipping gets move back much, if at all. Maybe the ship date would be moved forward.

You should never get billed until the book ships, anyway. I can't believe that a credit card would be charged until a book actually ships. I can't believe that Amazon.com would do something like that.

If you've actually been billed and the book hasn't been shipped, could you let us know?
 
too late. I ordered last night, got home from work today and saw that it had shipped, came here and discovered they'd dropped the price 40%. :'(
 
TinWing said:
Loren said:
Available from US Amazon today! ;D
Click to expand...

Amazon has already discounted the book to $31.58 or the equivilent of £15.66!

http://www.amazon.com/British-Secret-Projects-Chris-Gibson/dp/1857802586/ref=sr_1_2/104-0900108-7623126?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188604725&sr=8-2

Normally, the prices seem to fall when other retailers start selling a book. Since there is 4-6 week wait, I'll wait.

Amazon.co.uk is still selling the book for £18.74 or the equivilent of $37.79!!!

The British consumer alway pays more.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1857802586/ref=s9_asin_title_1-1966_g1/203-5286877-0471939?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1B6DV5WGHFKX6T8XAE2M&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=139042191&pf_rd_i=468294
Click to expand...

£16.49 with free supersaver delivery when i ordered mine three weeks ago - should get it next week.
 
I actually paid £24.99 at Ian Allan shop in London. Just supporting the publisher direct....

Chris Gibson has done an amazing job. Interesting projects, great illustrations, well written text. I'm not sure if it won't be my favourite in the series so far - sorry Tony! ;D ;D
 
Yeah, its arrived, so much for my list of 'things to do'.

:)
 
Hyper-researched, bespoke models/artwork. Fire the cat, car, wife, pay full fare, don't worry about it -just superb.

Thoughts: 1. Hyperthings. While their Advanced Projects Groups were scheming these darts and wedges, industry's Experimental and Production Shops were not proving and delivering dull things, to Spec., on time, on budget, or at all. That's why no-one funded them.
2. GW: despite all these projects UK still bought in so much, not all mentioned here: AS.30, BGT/BAeD Sidewinder 9L, Bullpup, Ikara, Maverick, Shrike, Tomahawk...If exports are taken as a measure of a business sector's success, or value to us, who paid for it all, UK GW did not sweat its privileged use of our scarce assets. Bloodhounds, Rapier, Indian Sea Eagles...then...erm?

So, to provoke: Ministers cancelled much GW. How would UK Defence Capability have fared if they had chopped the lot? Hawks, not Bloodhound/Thunderbird; AIM-9s, not Firestreak/Red Top; Terrier, not Seaslug; Hound Dog, not Blue Steel. Everybody else was happy to inter-operate US/French kit. Gibson/Buttler note that many "UK" products utilised US data, from Kearfott gyros for our "independent" stand-off Bomb, to Corporal aiding Sister Firm BAC into Blue Water. Licenced production and in-service support of US AAMs gave as much employment to BGT as indigenous design did to HSD. Should we have relied on US not just for battlefield SSMs (Honest John/ Lance). All GW off-the-shelf (some licenced if you wish to pay the short-order premium: it was 30% for UK's Milan): quicker, cheaper? The book says TV Martel disappointed, Sea Eagle and Skua were good...but, I submit, not unique - various Kongsbergs do the job, too.
 
No just can't agree. It would do monumental damage and we'd might as well give up providing for our defence.
The logic of this is not licensed production it is simple purchase, that is where the real savings where.

Country after country has tried and in varying degrees succeeded in gaining indpendance on various missiles, aircaft etc...
They engage in this expensive business primerly for that very important word 'independance', because 'independance' does'nt come cheap, but dependance can come at the very highest of prices.
But you advocate the reverse.
The only security in dependance is to have multiple suppliers in mutliple countries and this is not cheap, especialy as the most secure option is multiple weapons for the same type of job.

Belgian shells, thats all I have to say to you.
We relied on Belgium for shells for a certain gun, on at least one occaision they stopped supply when we fought a war they disagreed with. Imagin if that had happened over a wider range of products. Our abilty to fight a war, we thought in our interests would be heavily undermined by foreign states who clearly care little about our interests.

Licensed production, depends on the license, the better the terms, the more expensive it is, the cheaper it is, the less worth the effort it is.
 
Checked Amazon order and book hasn't shipped. Good news is that part of my order is cancellable. Cancelled. Says in stock. Order for $31. Order processed "will ship October 3 -24" Order cancelled. Trying TinWing's Superbookdeals.com as they say they have it in stock. We'll see. :(
 
Got my copy last week. Chapter 15 mentions plans to launch vehicles into orbit from Norfolk, which were scuppered by the development of the North Sea oil and gas fields. Does anyone have any information on this e.g possible launch sites that were considered etc?
 
Got mine today, had a day's leave due, so went down to MCP's warehouse in hinckley and picked one up. Counted four boxes full in the stock area, and probably more downstairs in the warehouse proper, so if you're stiil waiting for yours, don't worry, they've got plenty.
Also, while i was there, picked up an interesting DVD, 'planes that never flew'.
To quote the blurb,'they could have changed the world, combat and civil planes so far ahead of their time that the world would now be a very different place had they been built'
The projects covered are the Lockheed L133, Convair WS-125, SR.177, and US SST. 2 DVDs, haven't had chance to watch them yet, but look interesting.

cheers,
Robin.
 
Just to add to my previous praise for this book, it really does cover the whole range of British missile development and the drawings/models are great.

What does emerge from the book is how really closely the UK and US have worked together. But, there is a whole further book to be written on the two-way street aspect.

For example, the Typhon missile does not get a mention in this book, but it is clear from the mentions in Friedman's British Destroyers and Frigates that Typhon and the NIGS missile were answers to the same spec. I always though that Seadart looked a lot like the smaller version of Typhon.

Mauler and PT 428: Now that I see PT 428 I am not at all surprised that we chose Mauler for both the Land and Sea requirement. But equally it is clear that much British expertise went into trying to save Mauler. When Mauler died, we got Rapier and Seawolf, the US got Chaparral and Sea Sparrow. Who did better?

Blue Water: Lance was not in service for a whole decade after we cancelled Blue Water. Blue Water died to save TSR 2, not because it was a lemon, though again, all the tactical nuclear missiles of the period were political rather than military weapons.

UK 75
 
Having now read my copy, I must thank the authors - excellent.

Are there a "few" missiles missing (unless I "speed-read" too much), i.e. Vigilent, and of course Ikara and Malkara could/should have crept in under the wire (?)
 
Have been reading it for two weeks now, really smashing stuff!

What cracked me up though, was the quote from a ship captain stating ( during Seawolf tests, shell interception trials):
" It appears we have shot down your missile."
Lovely.
 
It seem that the book will now become fully available in the United States as of February 15, 2008 with a (wish)list price of $39.95!

B&N is already offering the book at $31.96 (or $28.76 for B&N members), so there is a good chance that the book will be discounted even more at a significant number of online retailers this spring.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?r=1&ean=9781857802580
 
I was happy to place an order with Amazon for this book at $31.32 with free shipping, which seems a fair price based on the previous editions of this series.
 

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