z Air World Hawker’s Early Jets Dawn of the Hunter Christopher Budgen $49.95 • Hardback • 296 pages 6.7x9.6 • 100 black and white illustrations • March 2022 • HIS027140 978-1-52-679217-4
On 2 September 1947, Hawker Aircraft Ltd figuratively and literally took to the air with their first jet design, the P.1040. As this project slowly wound its way through the government bureaucracy against a background of national insolvency, Hawker continued their research into more potent forms of jet travel with their first swept wing aircraft, the P.1052, their first rocket powered example, the P.1072, and, finally, the sleek, all swept P.1081. These essentially research aircraft gave the company the experience and expertise it required to produce a powerful, transonic fighter. That aircraft, the P.1067 Hunter first flew in 1951 and was, at the time, the fastest fighter in the world. Such was the haste with which this occurred that many teething problems remained to be resolved, as detailed here, but eventually the aircraft would become the day fighter of choice for many of the world’s air forces and remain in service for decades to come.
Barnstormers, Wing-Walking and Flying Circuses Peter Brown $49.95 • Hardback • 224 pages • 6.1x9.1 50 black and white illustrations May 2022 • TRA002010 978-1-52-679418-5
While large numbers of airplanes had been produced in America for the war effort overseas at the Western Front, it was found that that the British, French and Germans were far ahead of them when it came to flight technology, which led to a huge surplus of airplanes in the United States. The government’s solution to recover some of the money was to sell the surplus stock off for as little as $200 dollars each. With no license being required to fly a plane, the offer attracted many ex-fighter pilots as well as civilians, who developed a new American pastime known as barnstorming. Part entertainers, part thrill-seekers, the barnstormers made their way across the country as solo acts and in groups called ‘Flying Circuses’. The American flier Ormer Locklear wowed the crowds by climbing out of his airplane and walk along the wing, and it wasn’t long before flying circuses held less appeal for spectators if it didn’t have a wing-walking act.
Commando Helicopter Aircrewman
Fighter Pilot: From Cold War Jets to Spitfires
51 Years in Action with the RN and RAF
The Extraordinary Memoirs of a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Pilot
John Sheldon $49.95 • Hardback • 256 pages 6.1x9.1 • 45 mono illustrations April 2022 • BIO034000 978-1-39-909379-8
Having joined the Royal Navy in 1968, as a fifteen-year-old boy entrant not long out of school, John Sheldon was recruited into the Fleet Air Arm as a junior electrician. He went on to become a Commando Aircrewman and flew in all types of service helicopters and in all of their roles, from Arctic training in Norway to the balmy Mediterranean and the wilds of Canada. Having initially been involved in the evacuation of Cyprus and the Turkish invasion in 1974, in which his helicopter had to recover bodies from the water with a sprawl net, John went on to serve in Northern Ireland, was deployed to the South Atlantic in the Falklands War, where he operated from HMS Fearless and helped lift survivors from the RFA Sir Galahad tragedy, undertook a tour in Lebanon, and then saw action during the First Gulf War, in Bosnia, Sierra Leone and then in Afghanistan. This unique memoir covers the military action that John encountered, the many incidents and close shaves he was involved in and the friends he lost during his long and illustrious career.
Christopher Coville $49.95 • Hardback • 248 pages 6.1x9.1 • 32 black and white illustrations January 2022 • BIO034000 978-1-39-901557-8
While this is a book about a young man from Liverpool who joined from grammar school and became a three-star Air Marshal, it is also, above all, a story written by a passionate aviator, whose affection for flying leaps out of every line, in a book which is full of excitement, deep knowledge of flying and affection for his fellow servicemen and women. But it is also a wonderful narrative about people, the great characters forged by military life, and honed by fear, exhilaration, and occasional tragedy. Fighter Pilot: From Cold War Jets to Spitfires is a unique perspective on aviation, written by a talented and dedicated pilot at the very top table of the RAF. This book culminates with his retirement, as the No.3 in the RAF, and being invited to have lunch with The Queen.
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