Nimrod's Genesis by Chris Gibson

ISBN-13 978-1902109473

Published by Hikoki

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If you are at all interested in how the Nimrod came to be, this stunning volume is a must. The sheer amount of research that has gone into this book is amazing, and Chris rounds up surely every single related project from every manufacturer that had any interest in building what became the Nimrod. A fascinating and detailed dig through the RAF's cold-war MPA projects and some of their weapons. Brilliant stuff. Just be aware it is not a book about the Nimrod itself (the aircraft's entire career is covered in a single paragraph).

Nimrod - Rise and Fall by Tony Blackman

ISBN-13 978-1908117793

Published by Grub Street

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This an excellent and highly readable book on the history and service use of the Nimrod, concentrating on the anti-submarine task in particular (the R.1 gets much less coverage, unsurprisingly). The failed AEW.3 and MRA.4 projects are both covered, the MRA.4 in particular getting a good round-up of its capabilities and promise.

Nimrod - The Centenarian Aircraft by Bill Gunston

ISBN-13

Published by The History Press

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A clumsily-titled but highly readable book, Bill Gunston pulls no punches in his criticism of UK defence procurement processes throughout. Covers the development of the Comet airliner too, and then development of each of the Nimrod versions including the failed AEW.3 (which the author is surprisingly kind to) and progress so far on the MRA.4, which at the time the book was written, was just about hanging on to life. There is no real detail on operational use, it's much more about development and procurement, but still well worth getting.

The Nimrod - Mighty Hunter by Andy Evans

ISBN-13 978-1905414062

Published by Dalrymple and Verdun

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A monograph published before in 2007 before MRA.4 was cancelled, this is a photo-heavy service history of the type with some glorious photograph on show and an excellent selection of colour profiles showing off the various paint schemes worn by the R.1, MR.1 and MR.2 aircraft through their career. Finishes off with some walkaround images for modellers and a basic production list. Recommended but despite the MRA.4 on the cover, there's only 5 pages on it so don't buy expecting much on that version.