Bill Gunston
Bill Gunston was a British aviation and military author. He flew with Britain's Royal Air Force from 1945 to 1948, and after pilot training became 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, Gunston was educated at Pinner County Grammar School. 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.Royal Air Force
Gunston joined the Royal Air Force in 1945 and went to University College, Durham on an RAF cadetship. In 1946 he moved to No 4 Flying Training School in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia to train as a pilot. He later moved to No 5 Flying Training School at Thornhill where he continued training and then became an instructor flying the North American Harvard. He later flew the de Havilland Vampire F3 a single-seat jet fighter before he left the RAF in 1948.Author and editor
Gunston attended the Northampton Engineering College until 1951 then he joined the staff of Flight International magazine, where, writing as "W.T.G.", he was appointed Technical Editor in April 1955. 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. He was editor of Jane's Aero-Engines from 1995 to 2007.Family life and death
Gunston married Margaret Jolliff, who had been his secretary, and they had two daughters. He died on 1 June 2013.Honours and awards
- 1 January 1996, Bill Gunston was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to aviation journalism.
Books
Early Supersonic Fighters of the West, London: Ian Allan Ltd, 1973 Bombers of the West, London: Ian Allan Ltd, 1973 Attack Aircraft of the West, London: Ian Allan Ltd, 1974 Submarines in Colour, Blandford Colour Series, Blandford, 1976 The Encyclopedia of the World's Combat Aircraft, New York: Chartwell Books Inc., 1976 Hitler's Luftwaffe: A Pictorial History and Technical Encyclopedia of Hitler's Air Power in World War II, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1977 Transport, Pan Macmillan, 1978 The Encyclopedia of the World's Airpower, New York, New York: Crown Publishers, 1979 An Illustrated Guide To Bombers Of World War II, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1980 Technology at Work, Facts on File, 1980 Coal , Franklin Watts, 1981Fighters of the Fifties, Specialty Press, 1981 An Illustrated Guide to Allied Fighters of World War II, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1981 An Illustrated Guide to Military Helicopters, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1981 An Illustrated Guide to the Israeli Air Force, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1982 Motorcycles, Rourke Punlishing, 1982 Water, Silver Burdett Press, 1984 An Illustrated Guide to Future Fighters and Combat Aircraft, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1984 The Illustrated History of Fighters, 1985 World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines, Patrick Stephens, 1986 Mikoyan MiG-21, Osprey, 1986 Canal and River Transport, Silver Burdett Press, 1986 Railways, Hodder Wayland, 1987 Water Travel, Rourke Publishing, 1987 An Illustrated Guide to Modern Fighters and Attack Aircraft, Prentice Hall Direct, 1987 Modern Air Combat, 1988 An Illustrated Guide to Modern Bombers, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1988 Stealth Warplanes, Osprey Combat Aircraft Series, 1988 Grumman Sixty Years Of Excellence Crown, 1st USA edition, 1988 Plane Speaking, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1991 Chronicle of Aviation, London: Chronicle Communications Ltd / Paris: Jacques Legrand / Dortmund:Harenberg Kommunikation, 1992 Faster Than Sound: The Story of Supersonic Flight, London: Haynes, 1992 Development of Piston Aero Engines, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1993 World Encyclopaedia of Aircraft Manufacturers, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1993 https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781557509390The Development of Jet and Turbine Aero Engines, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1995 Fighter! A Pictorial History of International Fighter Aircraft, Bristol: Parragon, 1997 Fedden – the life of Sir Roy Fedden, RRHT, Historical Series Nº26, 1998 Soviet Air PowerThe US War MachineThe Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Modern Military Aircraft The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Rockets and Missiles- ''Modern Fighting Aircraft''