We all owe a great deal to George Edwards, though few people will know how much until they read this biography - Sir John Major
He was the designer of Britains first V-bomber, the leader of the British Concorde team, and the man who made the bouncing bomb bounce. Yet George Edwardss name is all but forgotten today.
The son of a widowed tobacconist from the East End of London, Edwards started his career in aviation in 1935, when he became a junior draughtsman in Vickers Aviations Surrey factory for the princely sum of 5 guineas a week. Within ten years he was their chief designer; within thirty-five he was the managing director of British Aircraft Corporation.
Written using thirty hours of exclusive interviews with Edwards himself, From Bouncing Bombs to Concorde is an illuminating look at a man who helped shape post-war Britains aviation industry.
Muu info
George Edwards' name is synonymous with the Vickers Viscount, the world's first turboprop airliner; the controversial TSR2 project and the legendary Anglo-French Concorde.
Title
Copyright
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Authors Note
1 In the Beginning
2 A Job at Vickers
3 Preparing for War
4 Down with Itler
5 Working for Beaverbrook
6 Bouncing Bombs
7 Mission to Germany
8 Chief Designer
9 The Heat and Burden of the Viscount
10 Falling in Love with the Viscount
11 Britains First V-bomber
12 Managing Director
13 Ethel Merman, Bob Six, but Mostly Howard Hughes
14 The Biggest Blunder of All
15 Accolades, Worries and the Vanguard
16 The VC10 A Sorry Story
17 Rationalisation
18 TSR.2 and a New Partner
19 British Aircraft Corporation
20 TSR.2 the Beginning of the End
21 TSR.2 the End
22 Life After Death, but Only Just
23 Concorde the Beginnings
24 She Flies
25 Trouble with the French
26 Guided Weapons and Defence Contracts
27 His Last Aircraft
28 Enter the Wide-Bodies
29 Changes at the Top
30 Merger-itis and Nationalisation
31 Into Retirement
32 Pastimes, Painting and Cricket, Lovely Cricket
33 The University of Surrey and a Personal Crusade
34 A Man of Absolute Rectitude
35 Last Overs
Envoi
Appendix One: Abbreviations
Appendix Two: Chronology
Bibliography
