Boulton Paul Aircraft Books - History and Construction

Boulton Paul Aircraft Since 1915

The ancient Norwich firm of Boulton & Paul were brought into aircraft construction in 1915, and quickly became one of the great innovators. They pioneered metal construction and built the frame of the largest aircraft ever built in Britain, the R.101 airship.

The Overstrand, the last of their superlative medium bombers, was the first aircraft in the world to feature a power-operated gun turret, and after their move to Wolverhampton in 1936 and change of name to Boulton Paul Aircraft their gun turrets became a vital component of the war effort, not least in their own Defiant, which fought in the Battle of Britain and was the most successful night fighter in the dark nights of the Blitz.

Their post-war Balliol trainer was the World's first single-engine turboprop and their last production aircraft, because the technology of their gun turrets was translated into their world lead as manufacturers of power operated control units, and then fly-by-wire.
Becoming part of the Dowty Group and later GE Aviation, their advanced aerospace product line is now invested in the firm of Moog, still in Wolverhampton, still innovating.

Boulton Paul 1917-1961: Aircraft, Projects and Studies

A prolific sub-contractor building airframes during the First World War, Boulton & Paul entered the field of design and manufacture in 1917 with the formation of an Aeronautical and Research Division under John Dudley North.
Never destined to be one of the big players, they produced a relatively modest output of prototype aircraft and then in 1937 a series of bombers and a small batch of civilian two seaters. The relatively unsuccessful Defiant was their best known aircraft.

However, hidden from public view was a prolific output of proposals, trials and inventions. From biplane fighters through the novel turret fighters and into the supersonic age with VTOL lift-fan jets, Boulton Paul were always at the forefront of development.

Based upon over 60 years of research, this book recounts many of these radical and innovative projects using development layouts, final schemes, drawings and photographs of mock-ups, models and prototype airframes.
Many projects are recreated in CAD and other drawings by the author previously an apprentice and a technical engineer with the company and archivist of the Boulton Paul Association.

This book sheds much new light on the activities of an often overlooked company which was in many respects at the forefront of aeronautical innovation in Britain for several decades.

Boulton Paul Aviation Advertisements 1915–1961

This compilation of British aviation industry advertisements comprises the listings for Boulton Paul Aircraft and aviation related products from 1915 to 1961 including gun turrets, airfield buildings and power flying controls. It is one of a series of compilations providing a unique source of reference for researchers, enthusiasts and anyone interested in the timelines of British aviation industry companies.

The advertisement images are reproduced at one per page and without any accompanying narrative. Each item includes the source, title and original date of publication.

Boulton Paul Defiant - An Illustrated History

Fighting over the beaches of Dunkirk and in the Battle of Britain, guarding the night skies during the perilous months of the Blitz, pioneering electronic countermeasures, and serving air-sea rescue roles all around our coasts, the Boulton Paul Defiant played a vital part through most of the Second World War, finishing it in the important target-tug role.

The Defiant is rightly considered Wolverhampton's highest profile contribution to the war, and the most important product of Boulton Paul Aircraft. This book celebrates the contribution of the Defiant to the war in over 200 illustrations, most from Boulton Paul's own archives, and many never published before.
It exposes some of the false myths attached to an aircraft held in great affection by many of its crews.

The Boulton Paul Balliol - The Last Merlin-Powered Aircraft

The Boulton Paul Balliol was the last British aircraft powered by the iconic Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Also, the Balliol was the last piston-powered advanced trainer in both the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm, and yet it began life as the world's first turbo-trainer.
Conceived in the last days of the Second World War as a new trainer to be powered by a revolutionary turboprop engine, it became the first aircraft to be powered by a single prop-jet, beating the rival Avro Athena into the air by just two weeks.
Policy was to change and it went into production powered by the trusty Merlin and Boulton Paul hoped for huge orders with a second production line opened at Blackburn Aircraft. Yet, policy was to change again and in the end only 200 planes were built as the RAF decided to switch to all-jet training.
A dozen were sold to the Royal Ceylon Air Force and as yet another footnote in aviation history, the Balliol became the last aircraft built by Boulton Paul who were world leaders in the production of power controls such as its famous machine-gun turrets that saw action in the Second World War.

Alec Brew is an aviation author with over thirty books published, including a dozen on local aviation history. The founder of the Boulton Paul Association, Brew organised the preservation of their Balliol cockpit, serial WN149, now incorporated in a full-scale model of the aircraft at an RAF museum. He is the co-ordinator of Wolverhampton's Tettenhall Transport Heritage Centre where a further two Balliol cockpits have been preserved and are to be restored.