Bill Gunston

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Bill Gunston OBE, FRAeS (1 March 1927 – 1 June 2013)[1] was a British aviation and military author.[2] He flew with Britain's Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1948, and was a flying instructor. He spent most of his adult life doing research and writing on aircraft and aviation. He was the author of over 350 books and articles. His work included many books published by Salamander Books.

Early life[]

Born William Tudor Gunston in London on 1 March 1927,[3] Gunston was educated at Pinner County Grammar School.[2] In his spare time, he was Flight Sergeant in the school Air Training Corps squadron and, for several months, the London Philharmonic Orchestra's librarian.[citation needed]

Royal Air Force[]

Gunston joined the Royal Air Force in 1945 and went to University College, Durham on an RAF cadetship.[4] In 1946 he moved to No 4 Flying Training School in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia to train as a pilot.[4] / He later moved to No 5 Flying Training School at Thornhill were he continued training and then became an instructor flying the North American Harvard.[4] He later flew the de Havilland Vampire F3 a single-seat jet fighter before he left the RAF in 1948.[4]

Author and editor[]

Gunston attended the Northampton Engineering College until 1951[4] then he joined the staff of Flight International magazine, where, writing as "W.T.G.", he was appointed Technical Editor in April 1955.[3] From 1969, he was part of the production team on the annual publication Jane's All the World's Aircraft, editing the 2015/16 edition.[5] (This must have been especially challenging, on account of the fact that he had been dead since 2013.) He was editor of from 1995 to 2007.[6]

Family life[]

Gunston married Margaret who had been his secretary and they had two daughters. [4] He died on 1 June 2013.[4]

Honours and awards[]

Books[]

  • Plane Speaking, Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1991 ISBN 1-85260-166-3
  • Mikoyan MiG-21, Osprey, 1986 ISBN 0-85045-652-5
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Modern Military Aircraft ISBN 978-0-86101-010-3
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Rockets and Missiles ISBN 0-8317-7415-0
  • Modern Air Combat, 1988 ISBN 978-0517412657
  • Soviet Air Power
  • The US War Machine
  • Submarines in Colour, Blandford Colour Series. Blandford, 1976 ISBN 0-7137-0780-1
  • Modern Fighting Aircraft ISBN 0-86101-158-9
  • The Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II ISBN 0-7603-0722-9
  • Fighter! A Pictorial History of International Fighter Aircraft, Bristol: Parragon, 1997. ISBN 0-75252-608-1.
  • Fighters of the Fifties, Specialty Press, 1981 ISBN 0-933424-32-9
  • Early Supersonic Fighters of the West London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1973. ISBN 0-7110-0636-9.
  • Bombers of the West. London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1973. ISBN 0-7110-0456-0.
  • The Encyclopedia of the World's Combat Aircraft. New York: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1976. ISBN 0-89009-054-8.
  • The Encyclopedia of the World's Airpower. Consultant Editor. New York, New York: Crown Publishers, 1979. ISBN 0-517-53754-0
  • Faster Than Sound: The Story of Supersonic Flight. London: Haynes, 1992. ISBN 1-85260-317-8.
  • Attack Aircraft of the West London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1974. ISBN 0-7110-0523-0.
  • An Illustrated Guide to Allied Fighters of World War II. London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1981. ISBN 0-668-05228-7.
  • An Illustrated Guide to Military Helicopters, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1981. ISBN 0-86101-110-4.
  • An Illustrated Guide to the Israeli Air Force, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1982. ISBN 0-86101-140-6.
  • An Illustrated Guide to Future Fighters and Combat Aircraft, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1984. ISBN 0-86101-163-5.
  • Hitler's Luftwaffe: A Pictorial history and technical encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in World War II, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1977. ISBN 978-0517224779
  • —— (1986). World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines. Patrick Stephens. ISBN 0-85059-717-X.
  • —— (1993). World Encyclopaedia of Aircraft Manufacturers. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-55750-939-5.
  • —— (1995). The Development of Jet and Turbine Aero Engines. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-618-3.
  • —— (1998). Fedden – the life of Sir Roy Fedden. RRHT. ISBN 1-872922-13-9. Historical Series, Nº26.
  • Development of Piston Aero Engines, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1993, ISBN 978-1-85260-619-0

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ "Bill Gunston, Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. London. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Gething, Michael (9 June 2013). "Obituary: Bill Gunston OBE, FRAeS". Jane's Defence Weekly. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "William Tudor Gunston." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Biography in Context. Web. 21 February 2013.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Gething, Michael J (August 2013). "Obituaries - William Tudor Gunston". Aero Space. Vol. 40 no. 8. Royal Aeronautical Society.
  5. ^ Gunston, Bill (2015). Jane's All the World's Aircraft : development & production : 2015-16. IHS Global. ISBN 978-0-7106-3135-0.
  6. ^ Editorial Team Janes Aero-Engines Archived 17 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "No. 54255". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1995. p. 11.

References[]

External links[]

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