Most of the hoopla about project aircraft in recent years has centered around those paper projects that were designed for the Luftwaffe. They all caught our imagination because they were pretty fanciful and some were down-right bizarre. Very few actually made it to the prototype stage and a great majority never made it off the paper on which they were planned. They were, for the most part, the pipe dreams of a desperate country.

Well, the Germans didn't have monopoly on project aircraft of the weird and wonderful, for nearly every major combat power had aircraft that were little more than plans, though some did actually make it to mock-up and even fewer to flying prototypes. This particular book covers those aircraft as designed by the British and covers Fighters and Bombers designed from just before to just after WWII, probably one of the more productive times for unusual designs.

The book covers fixed gun fighters, turret fighters, twin-engine cannon fighters, light, medium and heavy bombers as well as torpedo bombers and flying boats.  Many of the designs are covered in depth because the author's research was able to find a lot. Others are not so lucky as the companies that designed the aircraft either went out of business or were taken over and their own materials lost or destroyed.

Fortunately, quite a few models and drawings have survived to make this the ultimate reference for the subject. To round things out a bit, the author has included several aircraft types that did see production as a result of earlier design studies. This type of information is most helpful and welcome to give a complete picture of the types.There is a most helpful appendix that provides a summary of project types by manufacturer.

It is obvious that the author has put a great deal of work into this book and I found it quite a fascinating read. I'm sure you will as well and recommend that you seek this one out.

Review book courtesy of , where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books. Visit their website at the link above or call them at 1-800-895-4585

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that has nearly 300,000 visitors a month, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.