A series of books is to be published by Tempus under the generic title 'British Built Aircraft'. The first volume, covering aircraft built in Greater London, should be published in early November 2002, and I am currently completing the manuscript for book 2, which will cover aircraft built in South West & Central Southern England. The series itself will probably run to five volumes, to be published over an 18 month to two year period. The volumes planned are:

Greater London
South West & Central Southern England
South East England
Eastern and Central England
Northern England, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland.

The scope of the work extends to all concerns involved in the manufacture of complete aircraft (or at least major assemblies thereof) since the very first aircraft were flown in Britain. The only exclusions are microlights, balloons and gliders. The work has uncovered new, or at least little known, information concerning contract production during the First World War and, I hope, will interest many in the aviation heritage to be found in every area of the country. Compared with many Tempus publications, there will be a greater emphasis on the written word, with the first volume extending to some 160 pages, of which 100 or so will be text, the remainder made up of a mix of photographs and reproduced advertising material.

The picture on the left is a Draft copy of the cover for the first book (ISBN 0-7524-2770-9), which has a target publication date of 8 November 2002. There will be some changes to the cover blurb before publication (currently planned for 8 November). I do not yet know the price, but expect it to be of the order of £16. Contact details for Tempus are on their web site at www.tempus-publishing.com

"Book two of my series on British Built Aircraft is due for publication on 28 March 2003." - (Front cover on the left)

'The third volume of five in the definitive history of the British aircraft manufacturing industry. Every company in South East England (outside Greater London) is recorded here, along with many previously unpublished images of the aircraft designed and built in the South East and Home Counties. From the dawn of aviation over one hundred years ago to the present day, literally hundreds of companies, both large and small, have closed down, gone into receivership, stopped constructing aircraft, been sold or amalgamated. British Built Aircraft: South East England presents the history of every manufacturer from Abbott-Baynes to Wycombe Aircraft Constructors with many other well-known names - and a few surprises - in between.' - Publication date is likely to be early May 2004 (Front cover on the left)

Book 3 of my series has now been published. Additional info. below:

The book covers a number of important sites, including Brooklands/Weybridge (Sopwith/Hawker, Vickers, BAC); Dunsfold (Hawker/Hawker Siddeley/BAe); Hatfield (de Havilland/Hawker Siddeley/BAe); Langley (Hawker); & Leavesden (de Havilland); Radlett (Handley Page); Rochester (Shorts); & Woodley (Miles Aircraft).

The back cover 'blurb' says:
The third volume of five in the definitive history of the British aircraft manufacturing industry. Every company in South East England (outside Greater London) is recorded here, along with many previously unpublished images of the aircraft designed and built in the South East and Home Counties. From the dawn of aviation over one hundred years ago to the present day, literally hundreds of companies, both large and small, have closed down, gone into receivership, stopped constructing aircraft, been sold or amalgamated. British Built Aircraft: South East England presents the history of every manufacturer from Abbott-Baynes to Wycombe Aircraft Constructors with many other well-known names - and a few surprises - in between.'

'A major reference work' - The Aeroplane

(this was the final draft, but I don't expect significant chages)
ISBN Number 0752429930
Published by Tempus Publishing £19.99

Volume 4 covers Central & Eastern England, including contract production by the motor industry in Birmingham & Coventry in both World Wars, and by East Anglian contractors in the First World War. The chief companies covered include Boulton & Paul (later Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd) at Norwich & Wolverhampton; Sir WG Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Ltd at Coventry (Baginton, Whitley Abbey) and Bitteswell; Percival Aircraft Ltd/Hunting Percival Aircraft Ltd and BAC at Luton; and Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Ltd (later Auster Aircraft Ltd) at Thurmaston and Rearsby. All this accompanied by the usual mix of the obscure and interesting across the entire spectrum of the industry.

This fifth book covers Northern England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland and includes many notable companies such as AV Roe & Co Ltd at Manchester, Blackburn at Leeds, Brough and Dumbarton, English Electric/BAC/BAe at Warton, Preston & Samlesbury, Shorts at Belfast and many others.

Ron Smith

Click here and read a review on 'British Built Aircraft – Greater London'
by 'Pilot Magazine' January 2003 edition.

You can purchase Ron's books from Amazon UK
by following the links below:

British-built Aircraft: Greater London...
British Built Aircraft: South West and...
British Built Aircraft: South East...
British Built Aircraft: Central and...