Combat Aircraft Prototypes Since 1945

In 1965, amid much fury in the RAF and the British aerospace industry, TSR-2 - described as one of the most potent and advanced weapon systems in the world - was cancelled by the British Government.
Yet how viable was TSR-2? There is no doubt that it was a superb airframe, but its test programme revealed enormous problems with the engines, which had to run up very slowly from a cold start to avoid turbine fractures. This meant that TSR-2 would not have been able to start rapidly under operational conditions - and the problems might have taken years to overcome.
TSR-2 is just one of dozens of aircraft of all nations, from Russia's Ilyushin IL-20 and France's Nord 1402 Gerfaut to the North American B-70 Valkyrie described in this history of military aircraft prototypes since 1945 - aircraft that might have formed the present-day equipment of the world's air forces had they not fallen by the wayside for one reason or another.
Robert Jackson has written more than just a history of jet-age technology. His book gives a fascinating insight into the decisions that lay behind the appearance - or non-appearance - of military aircraft over the past forty years, and into the courage of the men who pushed the boundaries of aviation science to the edge of space.


by Robert Jackson
Published by Airlife 1985 1st edition. 174pp profusely illustrated with b&w photos and 3-view line drawings, index 21x30 fine in price clipped d/j.





Note:
"Long" descriptions, where shown, may have been taken from the book's dust jacket notes, and as such are relevant to the date of publication (e.g. any references to "new edition" "previously unpublished photographs" etc.) and not the present.

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The Modern War Machine: Military Aviation Since 1945 £27.50 find out more