Aircraft Archive (Volume 3: Post-War Jets), 1988, 1988

Document Type: Publication (Historical Study).

Purpose: Informational.

Authority: Author Expertise.

Document Number: Volume III (dated 1988).

Scope: This book, subtitled "A Detailed Collection of Original Scale Aircraft Drawings", was published in 1988 by Argus Books for readers interested in aviation history, especially model builders. The following illustrators are credited for their scale drawings in this volume: Arthur Bentley, J. F. Henderson, A. H. Butler, B. Hygate, D. H. Cooksey, Pat Lloyd, Peter G. Cooksley, R. G. Moulton, George Cull, Ian R. Stair, J. R. Enoch, and J. Wenstedt.

From the back cover: "Since the earliest days of aviation, the ever-changing shape of the aeroplane has held a special fascination. Over the years, this has led draughtsmen and designers to produce superb, detailed 3-view scale drawings, generally to 1/72 scale, of a whole variety of aircraft from the first biplanes to the modern jet fighter bombers.

The purpose of this AIRCRAFT ARCHIVE series is to bring together, in a thematic and organized manner, selections of some of the best of these designs, many of which are hailed as masterpieces of the draughtsman's art. Each book covers a number of aircraft of a particular period or type and, although the emphasis is firmly on the drawings and detailed aspects of these drawings, each aircraft section includes information on technical data and numerous black and white photographs."

From the Introduction: "This third volume covering Post-War Jets complements those which ranged over the exciting period of early supersonic fighters and revolutionary shapes. In Volume 1, one can find the French Griffon, American Starfire and British Boulton Paul P.111 alongside the Canberra, Thunderstreak, Super Sabre and Sukhoi Su-7 'Fitter. On the 'heavy' side, the Victor bomber represented new aerodynamic approaches, contrasted with the Lightning, Starfighter and Draken.

For Volume 2, there was an emphasis on the cleanliness of prototypes in comparison with eventual active-service production versions. The smooth F-86 Sabre, Baroudeur and Leduc were milestones of aeronautical form. The twenty-two subjects in Volume 2 ranged from the Jet Provost trainer, which could be called the only 'conventional' type in the book, to the deltas, swing-wings and VTOL designs which have made plane-watching such a fascinating subject to follow.

Now, in Volume 3, we record more prototypes, intermixed with a few aircraft which have gone into large scale production as, for example, the MiG-21, surely the most widely used jet fighter yet created. One can compare the early adventure of the DH 108 Swallow, a most beautiful aeroplane by any standard of judgement, with the current F-15 Eagle. Was there ever a more challenging task than to design a flying boat fighter?

The Saunders Roe SRA/1 proved the specification to be possible. Better known types- the Meteor, Comet, Vampire and Skyhawk-are mixed with Swift prototype, Stratojet and Skyrocket. For detail and supreme accuracy in research, study Dr JF Henderson's drawings of the Vulcans, while, as a monument to a political disaster, Barrie Hygate's TSR2 records an engineering achievement which was cast on the scrap heap by a sad error of Government judgement but is thankfully not oblivious.

For the modeller, the student of aircraft shapes and the collector, this archive of post-war jets is a tribute to the manufacturers- and the draughtsmen who pieced together the accurate outlines. Each drawing is a typical example of the skill and dedication applied by an amateur researcher over countless hours of transiting measurements and photographic interpretation into a scale drawing which, in fact, no manufacturer could ever provide!"

Contents: Includes articles about: - De Havilland DH 108 - Saunders-Roe SRA/1 - Mikoyan/Gurevich MIG-15 (Fagot) - Douglas D.558 Skyrocket - Gloster Meteor F MK 8 - De Havilland Vampire T Mk 11 - Douglas F4D-1 Skyray - Supermarine Type 541 - Vickers Valiant B Mk 1 - Sud-Aviation SO4050 Vautour - Supermarine Type 525 - Boeing B-47E Stratojet - Douglas XA4D-1 Skyhawk - Armstrong-Whitworth Meteor NF Mk 14 - De Havilland Comet 1 and 4B - Avro Vulcan B Mks 1 and 2 - Saunders-Roe SR53 - Mikoyan/Gurevich MIG-21F and PF (Fishbed-C and -D) - Vickers VC10 C Mk 1 - BAC TSR2 - McDonnell Douglas F-15A and B Eagle