Bill Gunston (1 March 1927 – 1 June 2013) was a British

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and

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. He flew with Britain's

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

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,"William Tudor Gunston." ''

Contemporary Authors Online ''Contemporary Authors'' is a reference work which has been published by Gale since 1962. It provides short biographies and bibliographies of contemporary and near-contemporary writers. ''Contemporary Authors'' does not have selective inclusion cr ...

.'' Detroit: Gale, 2001. ''Biography in Context''. Web. 21 February 2013. Gunston was educated at

Pinner County Grammar School Pinner County Grammar School was a grammar school in Pinner, Middlesex, from 1937 to 1974. From 1974 to 1982 it became Pinner Junior College and then Pinner Sixth Form College. Pinner County Grammar School was built to accommodate 508 boys and gir ...

. In his spare time, he was Flight Sergeant in the school

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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 were 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 ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's old ...

'' 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 ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft'' (now stylized Janes) is an aviation annual publication founded by John Frederick Thomas Jane in 1909. Long issued by Sampson Low, Marston in Britain (with various publishers in the U.S.), it has been published b ...

'', editing the 2015/16 edition. He was editor of ''

Jane's Aero-Engines Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informat ...

'' from 1995 to 2007.

Family life

Gunston married Margaret 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

* ''Plane Speaking'', Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1991 * ''Mikoyan MiG-21'', Osprey, 1986 * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Modern Military Aircraft'' * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Rockets and Missiles'' * ''Modern Air Combat'', 1988 * ''Soviet Air Power'' * ''The US War Machine'' * ''Submarines in Colour'', Blandford Colour Series. Blandford, 1976 * ''Modern Fighting Aircraft'' * ''The Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II'' * ''Fighter! A Pictorial History of International Fighter Aircraft'', Bristol: Parragon, 1997. . * ''Fighters of the Fifties'', Specialty Press, 1981 * ''Early Supersonic Fighters of the West'' London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1973. . * ''Bombers of the West''. London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1973. . * ''The Encyclopedia of the World's Combat Aircraft''. New York: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1976. . * ''The Encyclopedia of the World's Airpower''. Consultant Editor. New York, New York: Crown Publishers, 1979. * ''Faster Than Sound: The Story of Supersonic Flight''. London: Haynes, 1992. . * ''Attack Aircraft of the West'' London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1974. . * ''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. . * ''An Illustrated Guide to Future Fighters and Combat Aircraft'', London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1984. . * ''Hitler's Luftwaffe: A Pictorial history and technical encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in World War II'', London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1977. * * * * * ''Development of Piston Aero Engines'', Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1993,

Notes

References

Jane's Information Group

External links

a 1956 ''Flight'' article by Bill Gunston
Search OBE at London GazetteOBE History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunston, Bill 1927 births 2013 deaths Aviation writers Aviation historians British aviation historians British historians Alumni of University College, Durham British military writers English aviators Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society Officers of the Order of the British Empire