Some Future Titles of Interest for SPF Members

Arjen said:
Pen and Sword. Search engine https://www.startpage.com in two seconds flat :)
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

Hawker's Secret Projects

Hawker Aircraft Ltd at Kingston was arguably the most successful and long-lasting manufacturer of military aircraft in Great Britain and Europe. In its various evolved…
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
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Got my copy. Well presented book with nice 3 views. At a glance a lot of the illustrations look similar to those in the Blue Envoy Press - Project Tech Profiles but it looks like a good read I would recommend it.
 

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Got mine as well SteveO, not getting it before my birthday though. Looks like it is going to be interesting.
 
Mine is coming from the publisher, bought it as a birthday present for myself (birthday was 11/26).
 

This book was published a few months ago but I thought I'd mention it here. Just received my copy and it's a quite good read on what it was like to fly for Pan Am during its golden era.

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There is an avalanche of books regarding the military aspects of the war in Ukraine coming out very soon. There are the most interesting ones. Helion has also published a 5 volume series regarding different aspects of the conflict if anyone is interested:

Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) | Military History Books | Helion & Company

View Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) military history books available to buy online from Helion & Company.
www.helion.co.uk www.helion.co.uk




 
SteveO said:
Got my copy. Well presented book with nice 3 views. At a glance a lot of the illustrations look similar to those in the Blue Envoy Press - Project Tech Profiles but it looks like a good read I would recommend it.
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It's a good book but I do wish he'd used some different images for the P.1121 section. I don't think he read my Projecttech. Though to be fair, there aren't too many unpublished P.1121 photos, but there are a few.
 
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GTX said:
Bit of a macabre topic.
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Well yes, but fascinating to read about . . .
Also, not to denigrate the author's work, but :-

admiralcloudberg.medium.com

Admiral Cloudberg – Medium

Read writing from Admiral Cloudberg on Medium. Kyra Dempsey, analyzer of plane crashes. @Admiral_Cloudberg on Reddit, @KyraCloudy on Twitter and Bluesky. Email inquires -> kyracloudy97@gmail.com.
admiralcloudberg.medium.com admiralcloudberg.medium.com

cheers,
Robin.
 

U-2 ‘Dragon Lady’ Units 1955-90​

An illustrated account of the early service of the Lockheed U-2, one of the most important and longest-serving intelligence gathering platforms fielded by the US air force.

The U-2 is one of the most recognizable aircraft of the Cold War; nicknamed the 'Dragon Lady' after the codename given to it by the CIA, this powered glider was designed and operated in great secrecy, providing US authorities with photographic and electronic information from areas of interest across the globe. This illuminating new volume dives deep into the U-2's most critical missions, exploring its role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, nuclear reconnaissance in the Soviet Union, and intelligence missions in China and North Vietnam.

Using previously unpublished research, aviation expert Peter E. Davies examines the operations of one of the landmark aircraft of the 20th century from a fresh and engaging perspective, enhanced by more than 50 photos and 21 newly commissioned profile artworks.
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www.ospreypublishing.com

U-2 ‘Dragon Lady’ Units 1955–90

An illustrated account of the early service of the Lockheed U-2, one of the most important and longest-serving intelligence gathering platforms fielded by the U…
www.ospreypublishing.com www.ospreypublishing.com
 
hesham said:
Hi,

a big change I will do,and the two books will be as following,

- Encyclopedia of French Military Aircraft 1919-1945
- Encyclopedia of French Civil Aircraft 1919-1945

I ask my God Almighty to help me in this job.
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A short brief notes about my book,French Military Aircraft 1919-1945,

1- I with my partner strive for honesty to check out from all our entries in the script,we spended more than 30 years for this task.

2- The book contains more than 600 aircraft,which were actually built,and more than 1100 projects and unfinished airplanes,but you must know that,98 % of these 1100 are from reliable sources,no doubts in that.

3- The un-identification concepts are divided into two parts;

A- First group is connected with the projects, which were really existed and confirmed,but we can't find any designations for it, so we put it as we got, and we make some speculations to their series in the companies,and as you read or see in many sources (books or magazines), they made the same to some unknown aircraft,for example;

Fighter was a single seat fighter project,powered by one ..... engine,it was appeared in the year 19xx,then we add our suggesting as following Type-xx ?, after that we showed question mark to inform the readers about,that's only
our opinion in its allocation.

B- Second group is concerned about the projects which are un-confirmed,so we opened an one chapter for them all,(to not be confuse with others real designs),as we can't ID or no confirm about their existing.
 
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hesham said:
A short brief notes about my book,French Military Aircraft 1919-1945,

1- I with my partner strive for honesty to check out from all our entries in the
script,we spended more than 30 years for this task.

2- The book contains more than 600 aircraft,which were actually built,and more
than 1100 projects and unfinished airplanes,but you must know that,98 % of
these 1100 are from reliable sources,no doubts in that.

3- The un-identification concepts are divided into two parts;

A- First group is connected with the projects,which were really existed and confirmed,but we can't find any designations for it,so we put it as we got,and we make some speculations to their series in the companies,and as you read or see
in many sources (books or magazines),they made the same to some unknown
aircraft,for example;
Fighter was a single seat fighter project,powered by one ..... engine,it was
appeared in the year 19xx,then we add our suggesting as following Type-xx ?,
after than we showed question mark to inform the readers about,that's only
our opinion in the its allocation.

B- Second group is concerned about the projects which are un-confirmed,so we
opened a one chapter for them all,(to not be confuse with others real designs),as we can't ID or no confirm about their existing.
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You are taking the correct, responsible approach for creating an accurate historical account. I wish you the best.
 
Just published by Crecy Capture d’écran 2024-03-23 à 09.38.48.png
 

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HOTOL: Britain’s Spaceplane
by
Dan Sharp

Tempest Books
ISBN: 9781911704294
Format: Hardback
Pages: 300

The start of Space Shuttle operations in 1981 marked a new era in spaceflight – with the five orbiters launching numerous satellites, interplanetary probes and the Hubble Space Telescope. But Shuttle was only partially reusable, its external fuel tank being expendable and its solid rocket boosters having to be recovered from the ocean and refurbished. Putting a satellite into orbit using a rocket was even more wasteful – with boosters such as Ariane being one-shot only. The costs were astronomical.

So when rocket scientist Alan Bond and aerospace engineer Bob Parkinson attended a British Interplanetary Society lecture on the proposed non-reusable Ariane 5 rocket in 1982, they began to discuss possible alternatives and concluded that the best solution was… an aerospaceplane.

The concept was deceptively simple – a vehicle able to take off from a conventional runway using airbreathing engines, switch to pure rocket propulsion at high altitude, fly up into space, complete its mission, then fly back down and land. Bond and Parkinson believed it could be done and HOTOL – HOrizontal Take-Off and Landing – was born.

By 1983 both British Aerospace and Rolls-Royce were backing the project. A broadcast on ITN’s New at Ten in 1984 made HOTOL famous overnight, with the whole nation now aware of its existence. The Government agreed to match-fund the companies’ financial commitment in 1985 and the work ramped up into high gear, with some of Britain’s best engineers engaged in making this remarkable vehicle a reality.

Two years later, Minister of State of Trade and Industry Kenneth Clarke declined to renew the project's funding – signalling the beginning of the end of HOTOL. Attempts to continue the project as an air-launched vehicle using the An-225 as its carrier continued into the early 1990s.

HOTOL: Britain’s Spaceplane by Dan Sharp covers the full story of HOTOL’s development in detail from beginning to end, drawing on the BAE Systems archive, the personal archives of the project’s creators and extensive interviews with those involved. It includes new artwork plus hundreds of contemporary diagrams and illustrations, ranging from full colour brochures and publicity material – both used and unused – to previously unseen diagrams and schematics of HOTOL’s numerous configurations and their associated components and technologies.

HOTOL Britain's Spaceplane cover.jpg
 
FighterJock said:
I have been wanting a book about the HOTOL spaceplane for years and now it has become reality thanks Dan.
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It is indeed rapidly becoming a reality. I did most of the research I needed for it five years ago - spending two full days with Alan Bond in his personal archive as well as several days up at Warton and I now have everything I need. I remain in touch with Alan, Bob Parkinson and other members of the HOTOL team.
The chapters covering 1982 to the end of 1985 have now been written and I'm currently working on the 1985-1987 chapter.
The book will have several hundred contemporary images - most of them previously unseen. I have all of them in hand and ready to use. There will also be new artworks which are currently being made.
The goal is to create an appropriately detailed, accurate and fully illustrated followup to my earlier British Secret Projects 5: Britain's Space Shuttle (which, if I'd had my way at the time, would have been called MUSTARD: Britain's Space Shuttle).
 
edwest4 said:
Hi Dan,

What is the release date for this book?
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Hi Ed,
I'd rather not say at present - hence its inclusion in the 'coming soon' section, rather than me posting it up in its own thread. But given that there are no foreseeable roadblocks between me and the finishing line (famous last words), it should be soon.
Often I find that I reach a certain point with a book and I can't go any further because I'm waiting for someone else to do something - create some art, grant me access to particular files etc. But there's nothing like that with HOTOL. The only impediment is how fast I can go, and I can go fairly quickly.
 

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