About: Publications

"The Admiralty and AEW", by Chris Gibson

Royal Navy Airborne Early Warning Projects

This book will concentrate on the Admiralty's efforts to equip the Royal Navy with that ultimate crow's nest: an airborne early warning type capable of meeting the changing needs of naval warfare. From countering the "Scourge of the Atlantic" in 1941, learning the lessons of "Operation Corporate" forty-one years later and the evolution of battlespace management in the Twenty-First Century, the Admiralty and AEW is a fascinating tale.
Coming soon.

"Vulcan's Hammer", by Chris Gibson

Just published by Crecy, this fscinating book charts the attempts to develop advanced weapons for Britains V-Force.

Chris has really gone to town on the research, and not kust on the aircraft and missiles, but also the politics, economics and thinking at the time, that led to the decisions to cancel or proceed with various schemes. It's this that adds a whole new dimension to the book, and makes it a thoroughly engrossing read. Even if you have only a passing interest in the subject it's highly recommended, but if it's a period or subject that you have a passion abot, then this book is indispensable. Packed full of line drawings, photos and of course, my illustrations.

"Vickers VC10 - AEW, Pofflers and other Unbulit Derivatives" by Chris Gibson

First in the"Project Tech" series from Blue Envoy Press, this book details the various schemes devised to make use of the marvellous VC-10 airliner. Still in service today, this aircraft could have fulfilled a wide variety of roles, from an AEW platform to a missile-carrying patrol aircraft, and much more besides.

Again packed full of photos, line drawings and contemporary artwork, and written in Chris' inimitable style.

"BAe P.1216: Supersonic ASTOVL Aircraft"

by MIchael Pryce

Second book in the"Project Tech" series from Blue Envoy Press. The British Aerospace (BAe) P.1216 project of the 1980s was a supersonic Advanced Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) fighter, designed by the same team that had originally designed the Harrier. It was the last major attempt at an independent British fighter aircraft project, and was developed in many versions over the course of a decade.

This book tells the story of the P.1216, looking behind the political, technical and business aspects of its design and testing, using access to previously secret documents, interviews with key personnel involved in the project and illustrated with original technical diagrams and colour artwork.

"British Secret Projects 4: Hypersonics, Ramjets and Missiles "

by Tony Buttler and Chris Gibson

The fourth volume in the 'British Secret Projects' series shows how the hopes of the time failed to see fulfillment. Following a scene-setting introduction, chapters will deal with test vehicles and guided weapons. This includes those developed for air defense, ballistic missile defense, anti-tank weapons, anti-ship ordnance, and stand-off weapons. The book also covers the so-called 'Super Bloodhound' surface-to-air guided weapon, a ramjet-powered development which was designated Blue Envoy. Also included are ramjet-powered projects like the Hawker P.1134 high-speed research aircraft, the English Electric/BAC P.42 and HSA APD.1019 proposals, and the HS.1034 swing-wing strike fighter.

Features a range of my images as chapter headings, and more.

"Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination"

Today's scientists are taking Star Wars fictions and turning them into fact; travel entrepreneurs are making plans for commercial space flight, and high-tech mag-lev trains defy gravity to zoom along like Luke Sky-walker's landspeeder. As the beloved C-3PO observes in his introduction to the book, robots are now a reality, and microscopic nanobots are already performing surgery internally. In the next twenty years, human soldiers will wear exoskeletal armor like Imperial stormtroopers and carry laser weapons as lethal as any light-saber, while orbiting satellites spy on the enemy and accurately pinpoint targets thousands of miles away. These exciting advances, often fraught with peril, are explored by the book's technological experts, who consider the risky implications and possible consequences of their inventions.

Features two of my illustrations - Daedalus & Nerva.