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British Aircraft Corporation TSR.2
Links, References & Credits

[History] [Survivors & Leading Particulars] [Pictures] [Links, References & Credits] 

This page last updated on 1st January 2006

Links

• Carlo Kopp's Profile - The BAC TSR.2 is an excellent article including a good technical description of the aircraft and two 'What if?' colour profiles.
• TSR-2: The Plane That Barely Flew from Peter Antill is another good article on the type with an impressive list of references.
• Target Lock: TSR.2 from Dave Hastings has a good history and some more references plus a few images.
• Britain's New Weapon: An Assessment by the Technical Editor - copy of a Flight International article from October 1963.
• What If Modellers Forum - TSR2 section - plenty of discussion about building models of TSR2s in speculative in-service schemes.

References - Books & Films

• Historical Series No.15: Olympus - The First Forty Years by Alan Baxter, published by the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust; ISBN 1-9511710-9-7. Includes around 25 pages on the development of the Olympus used in the TSR.2 with several black and white pictures. Also has Vulcan material; well worth getting hold of.
• TSR.2 - The Untold Story is an excellent video/DVD on the TSR.2 affair, worth getting for the sequences of the TSR.2 flying alone. Uses much footage from the time interspersed with interviews with many surviving personalities that were involved. Dennis Healey is the only anti-TSR.2 figure to take part in the film. Highly recommended.

• TSR2 - Lost Tomorrows of an Eagle by Paul Lucas published by SAM Publications; ISBN 978-0-9551858-8-5. An entertaining look at what might have been if the aircraft had entered service, with bags of colour drawings showing wild and wacky weapons loads and various RAF paint schemes (no foreign ones though - a major missed opportunity). Generally well researched but occasionally hard going especially when you get into details like paint formulations. Well worth getting hold of. [Buy from Amazon UK]

• TSR-2 Phoenix, Or Folly? by Frank Barnett-Jones published by GMS Enterprises; ISBN 1 870384 27 X. A detailed account of the TSR.2 programme (from before it started right up to the restoration of XR222) often regarded as the TSR.2 bible, though there are a few errors to be found. The author was involved in the restoration of XR222 at Duxford, and the book is understandably scathing of the treatment the programme received from the government. Includes information on the whereabouts of all known remaining TSR.2 components. Highly recommended. It was reprinted in 1998 but is currently once again out of print. .

• Phoenix Into Ashes by Roland Beamont published by William Kimber; ISBN 7183 0121 8. Long out of print (published in 1968), this is the TSR.2 chief test pilot's account of his flying career, with a third of the book devoted to the TSR.2. If you can find a copy, worth a read.

• Testing Early Jets by Roland Beamont, published by Airlife, 1990. Includes a chapter on the TSR.2 with 6 pictures and a mass of flight log information.
  [Buy from Amazon UK]

• English Electric Aircraft and Their Predecessors by Stephen Ransom and Robert Fairclough published by Putnam; ISBN 0-85177-806-2. Design, development and histories of every English Electric aircraft, including a good but dry account of TSR.2 development from English Electric's side with various pictures and drawings. Recommended generally, but not a book purely on the TSR.2. [Buy from Amazon UK]

• Wings of Fame Volume 4 published by Aerospace Publishing Ltd.; ISBN 1 874023 71 9: Beyond the Frontiers - BAC TSR.2 by Bill Gunston. Development history, technical description, detail colour images, cut-away and colour profile.
  [Buy from Amazon UK]

• Murder of the TSR.2 by Stephen Hastings published by MacDonald (1966). The title says it all really. The content is non technical, dealing a great deal with the politics surrounding the cancellation and backed up by a fair amount of factual information especially concerning costs. The author was at the time a Conservative MP and a director of Handley Page Ltd. Because it was written shortly after cancellation it has virtually no hindsight element to it, which makes it worth seeking out and reading.

• Project Cancelled by Derek Wood. Covers a number of experimental types and nearly-made-it programmes, including the TSR.2. Both the 1975 and 1986 editions devote one chapter to the 'run up' to the TSR.2 and one chapter to the TSR.2 itself. This second chapter includes a side view of the airborne alert configuration with 450 gal. underwing slipper tanks and a 1000 gal. ventral tank, a 3-view of the stand-off attack version with two air-launched variants of the Blue Water missile (separate 2-view of the missile) and a 3-view of the configuration with a 'Grand Slam' heavy missile (again, with a 2-view of the missile).
• British Experimental Jet Aircraft by Barry Hygate published by Argus Books, 1990. Includes 13 pages on the TSR.2 with a double-page layout of artwork/diagrams.
• British Research & Development Aircraft (70 Years at the Leading Edge) by Ray Sturtivant, published by Haynes, 1990. Chapter 31 includes 5 pages on the TSR.2 with 2 colour pictures.
• Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Aircraft, 1983. Includes 6 pages on the TSR.2 with 3 monochrome pictures and 3 colour ones plus a cutaway and 3-view.
• Test Pilots by Don Middleton, published by Collins. Includes several pages on the TSR.2.
• Fighter Test Pilot published by Patrick Stephens, 1986. Chapters 10 and 11 include TSR.2 coverage with 20 monochrome pictures and 4 colour ones.

• From Spitfire to Eurofighter by Roy Boot published by Airlife; ISBN 1-85310-093-5. Roy Boot was a Blackburn designer who did a lot of work on the Buccaneer project, and this book is a must if you want to know about the Buccaneer project. While the TSR.2 is barely mentioned, it is interesting to see how a similar project went forward in the years before and during the TSR.2 programme. Recommended, but not as a TSR.2 reference.

• Tornado by Francis K. Mason published by PSL; ISBN 0-85059-772-2. Though a book on the Panavia Tornado project, it includes a chapter on the TSR.2 affair and again it is interesting to see how such a similar aircraft was developed in such a completely different manner. An excellent book on the Tornado, and recommended, but not worth getting for the TSR.2 material alone.

References - Magazines

• Aeroplane Monthly, November 1985: part 1 of Roland Beamont's Testing the Ultimate Bomber article.
• Aeroplane Monthly, December 1985: part 2 of Testing the Ultimate Bomber.
• Aeroplane Monthly, January 1986: part 3 of Testing the Ultimate Bomber.
• Aeroplane Monthly, July 1997: Concept versus Reality - part 1 of Frank Barnett-Jones' article re-examining the evidence on how good the TSR.2 really was. Interesting reading, plus several rare pictures (some in colour).
• Airscene No. 1 compiled by Philip J. R. Moyes published by Ian Allan. A picture book from 1970 that includes eight pages of large monochrome pictures of the TSR.2, including a few pictures rarely if ever seen elsewhere, and a colour picture on the cover.
• AIR Enthusiast volume 14 published by Key Publishing Ltd.; 16 pages on the TSR.2 including 4 colour pictures, many technical diagrams, 2 pages of 3-view and various monochrome pictures.
• AIR Enthusiast volume 59 published by Key Publishing Ltd.; ISSN 0143 5450: Strike Rivals - The Ones That Lost When the TSR.2 Won by Tony Buttler. Operational requirement, development history and line drawings.
• AIR Pictorial, December 1963: TSR.2 Unveiled - John W. R. Taylor's article on the TSR.2, with a prophetic opening paragraph (for all the wrong reasons). Some monochrome images of the first example under construction, and a nice if innacurate 3-view drawing.
• AIR Pictorial, September 1964: part 1 of a TSR-2 article.
• AIR Pictorial, October 1964: part 2 of a TSR-2 article.
• AIR Pictorial, November 1964: part 3 of a TSR-2 article; 2 pages with 2 pictures.
• AIR Pictorial, December 1974: BAC TSR-2 - short article from Elfan ap Rees but a good selection of monochrome pictures.
• AIR Pictorial, September 1978: part 1 of Graham Wilmer's TSR-2 article. In total the article includes a number of black and white pictures (including a few rarities!), various drawings and diagrams and even a big 3-D cutaway.
• AIR Pictorial, October 1978: part 2 of TSR-2 (covers requirement, performance, weapons and weapons delivery with diagrams showing attack profiles, weapon loads and recon pack).
• AIR Pictorial, November 1978: part 3 of TSR-2.
• AIR Pictorial, December 1978: part 4 of TSR-2 (covering the cancellation).
• AIR Pictorial, September 1981: Rebuilding TSR-2 by G. Wilmer - 4 pages.
• Battle of Britain Yearbook, September 1963: Under the Radar Screen article by Sir George Edwards.
• FlyPast, May 1981: Martyrdom of a Super Jet by Jeff Daniels with contributions from Roland Beamont.
• FlyPast, November 1989: Scrapped! by Frank Barnett-Jones. Article on the death of the TSR.2; 4 pages including some nice colour pictures.
• Scale Models International, May 1995: Embarassing white elephant? A review of the Resitech 1/72 resin, white metal and etched brass model kit. Though now no longer available, the kit was reissued by Toad Resin (minus the etched brass) and you may be able to find this reissue, if you're really lucky!
• Take Off number 11: TSR-2 - Born to bomb. Excellent article starting off with a great painting of a camouflaged operational TSR.2, has history, pictures (both colour and black and white), colour 3-view, diagram of blown flap system, mission profile and 3D cutaway.

Credits

This section would have been greatly the poorer without contributions from the following - so many thanks to (in alphabetical order):

BAE Systems Heritage, Frank Barnett-Jones, Phil Callihan, Dick Clements (RIP), Burkhard Domke, Keith Dugan, Martin Gatter, IR & AL Fowler, Tony Hewitt, Rick Kent, Garry Lakin, Evan L. Mayerle and Martin Pengelly.

Tony Hewitt would welcome correspondence with others to exchange TSR.2 reference material - write to him at
48 Mill House Drive,
Cheadle,
Staffordshire.
ST10 1XL

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