Early Supersonic Fighters of the West

{detailed description}In this latest in his series of critical analyses of the design and production of military aircraft, Bill Gunston looks back to a quarter-century ago when supersonic flight was very difficult to achieve, even by a research airplane designed to do nothing else.
By today's standards the fighters in this book are crude, for their methods of employment, and often their equipment, show little advance over many fighters of World War II. Often their basic concept was ill-founded. The fighters included here were designed to exceed the speed of sound merely by pushing the Power lever all the way forward. But it is hard to imagine the rationale of a fighter designed to fly at Mach 2 in the stratosphere with no radar except a gunsight with a range of about a mile.
Yet today's fighters are possible only because of the enormous advances these aircraft did make: in structure, propulsion, systems, and especially in avionics. This study takes a careful look at these advances, as well as at the factors that held initial progress back, including political mismanagement and wildly escalating costs. Once again, Bill Gunston displays his renowned knowledge and expertise in the scientific aviation field.

Aircraft covered: BAC Lightning, Saunders Roe SR53 and SR177, Mirage III and V, Saab Draken, Avro CF-105 Arrow, F-100 Super Sabre, F-102 Delta Dagger, F-104 Starfighter, F4D (F-6A) Skyray, and F-8 Crusader.
{Author / Publisher / Date}by Bill Gunston
Published by Scribners (USA) 1975 (overstamped 1976) 1st edition. 256pp illustrated 16x23
{condition}very good, d/j slightly torn with small loss at head of spine.
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