Jet Fighters (since 1945): Books - Royal Air Force (RAF)

Early Jet Fighters : British and American 1944-1954

In almost 200 archive photographs Leo Marriott traces the course of the development of British and American jet fighters during the first pioneering decade of their production.
In many ways the period from 1944 to 1954 was one of the most exciting and innovative in the history of military aviation. Rare images show the first jet fighters flown by the RAF towards the end of the Second World War and takes the story forward to the most advanced designs that played a key role in the war in Korea.

The range of experimental and operational warplanes that were conceived and built during this short time was remarkable. The initial straight-wing jets began with the Gloster Meteor and Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star which were later superseded by the first operational swept-wing fighters such as the Hawker Hunter, North American F-86 Sabre and Grumman F9F-6 Cougar.
Development of all these benefited greatly from German Second World War advances in aerodynamics that were exploited by the British and Americans when the war ended.

Progress was so swift that, by the mid-1950s, the prototypes of the next generation of truly supersonic fighters were starting to appear, and these are featured in Leo Marriott's fascinating selection of images.
He even includes a variety of prototypes which for various reasons did not result in production orders, as well as several unusual concepts such as flying boat fighters and mixed-power designs.

Britain's Jet Age - From the Meteor to the Sea Vixen

The Jet Age began in Britain in May 1941 when the Gloster E.28/39, the first British jet aircraft, made its first flight.
The first British jet fighter was the Gloster Meteor, which entered service with the RAF in 1944 and went on to serve with air forces all over the world, and the RAF never looked back.

This was the start of the first generation of British jet aircraft, from the Meteor and the de Havilland Vampire in the years immediately after the Second World War, through the ill-fated Comet airliner and the Hawker Sea Hawk in the 1950s to the Gloster Javelin, the start of the second generation in the 1960s.

In this book, aviation historian Guy Ellis looks at the development of this first generation of British jet aircraft.

Britain's Cold War Fighters (hard cover)

This book explores the creation and development of the jet fighter, tracing the emergence of the first jet designs (the Meteor and Vampire) through to the first-generation jets which entered service with the RAF and Fleet Air Arm.
Each aircraft type is examined, looking at how the design was created and how this translated into an operational aircraft. The basic development and service history of each type is also examined, with a narrative that links the linear appearance of each new design, leading to the present day and the latest generation of Typhoon aircraft.

Other aircraft types explored will include Hunter, Lightning, Phantom, Javelin and Tornado F2/3. A beautiful and comprehensive study of the UK's design and manufacture of its fighter programme from the end of the Second World War to present, "Britain's Cold War Fighters" is of much importance to aviation and military historians, modellers as well as those interested in the growing popularity of the Cold War.
Highly illustrated with many unpublished photos, interviews and eyewitness accounts.

Britain's Cold War Fighters (paperback)

Explores the creation and development of the jet fighter, tracing the emergence of the first jet designs (the Meteor and Vampire) through to the first-generation jets which entered service with the RAF and Fleet Air Arm.

Each aircraft type is examined, looking at how the design was created and how this translated into an operational aircraft. The basic development and service history of each type is also examined, with a narrative that links the linear appearance of each new design, leading to the present day and the latest generation of Typhoon aircraft.
Other aircraft types explored will include Hunter, Lightning, Phantom, Javelin and Tornado F2/3.

A beautiful and comprehensive study of the UK's design and manufacture of its fighter programme from the end of the Second World War to present, "Britain's Cold War Fighters" is of much importance to aviation and military historians, modellers as well as those interested in the growing popularity of the Cold War.
Highly illustrated with many unpublished photos, interviews and eyewitness accounts.

British Fighters of the 1970s and '80s

Two of the RAF's most memorable aircraft are the English Electric Lightning and the McDonnell Phantom. The Lightning, which flew with nine RAF squadrons before being retired in 1988, is fondly remembered for is astonishing rate of climb, while the Phantom, which flew with three Royal Navy squadrons and 15 RAF squadrons, started out in the ground-attack and reconnaissance roles but became more predominant in the tactical fighter role before being finally retired in 1992.

Illustrated with more than 180 photographs, this book covers in great detail the Lightning and Phantom fighter aircraft and the part they played in the latter stages of the Cold War.