Just in case anyone has been patiently waiting, the much-advertised Aerofax book on the TSR2 (by Joe Cherrie) will not be getting published. The various adverts on Amazon and the like are based on a dummy cover and I'm afraid that's all that actually exists of the book, so don't bother placing an order!
It has long since been abandoned and we're hoping to produce a replacement book (not an Aerofax title though). However, due to various circumstances, even this has been put on-hold for a while so I don't know when or if the book will finally appear (plus I'd have to write it first, doh!).
Incdentally, the notion that information on the TSR2 still exists is optimistic to say the least. In actual fact, virtually nothing seems to have survived. BAE Heritage have rescued some stuff but it amounts to no more than a few papers and brochures. I have copies of every photograph that was ever taken (save for about four pictures it seems; the total comes to about 300 images but most of these are construction shots) and a copy of the provisional Aircrew Manual, and that, alas, is just about all there is. No conspiracy theory here though, it's just that in time-honoured tradition, once the project was dumped, the manufacturer hadn't got the slightest interest in hanging-on to any of the material associated with it and most of it was simply binned.
As for the age-old stories of dark plots and political manoeuvrings, I'm afraid most of this is also fantasy. The truth of the matter seems to be pretty clear - the project was just hideously unaffordable, partly because the aircraft represented the beginnings of a new era when all such weapons systems are by their very nature monumentally expensive, but also because the project was seriously mis-managed, largely due to the company shake-up which resulted in two companies supposedly acting as one, but effectively conflicting or duplicating. When you mix-in the "Ministry" input, you see that the aircraft was simply a victim of circumstances - the right aircraft at the wrong time. You also have to accept that despite all the hype, the aircraft was never some all-powerful "superplane" and the F-111 would have done the same job just was well. In many respects, the Buccaneer was a perfectly acceptable replacement and it's a pity that this fact wasn't accepted a lot sooner than it was. But whatever might or might not have happened, the TSR2 would now be a Museum exhibit no matter what.
Sad business!
Last edited by Tim McLelland; 17th Jan 2009 at 11:10.