Hawker Hunter by Tim McLelland

Hello Lothar.

Thanks for the reply. No, not a matter of dismissing it, rather a matter of economics – both of finance and bookshelf space. I have over the years acquired a number of good books on the Hunter, and most recently the David Griffin volume. Had the opportunity of adding the McLelland book but it doesn’t seem to add significantly to the data I have already in terms of development history, operational history, pilot recollections, etc. So for me – at this point in time – I am not going to purchase the McLelland book. For someone who doesn’t already have a number of other Hunter books, the McLelland volume sounds like a good start point. It sounds like it has more development history than the Griffin volume, and similar coverage in ops history and photos and technical data/drawings. I actually don’t mind the pilot notes, etc – what Bruce calls padding. It would appear neither volume has a great deal of combat operations history (correct me if I’m wrong) – but then, for me this is not a drama, as I have several other books on Hunter combat in Aden, Middle East and India.

Perhaps you and/or “cabbage” can give a better idea of the combat ops coverage in the McLelland book?

Regards, …geoff

I too am an owner of this book, indeed I contributed to it so am possibly a little biased. No, I do not get a share of the royalties!
It is a comprehensive account of the Hunter’s life in all its guises with some good photos and some personal stories so I would not dismiss it too quickly. As above, do contact me if you would like to know more.

Glad to be of some help Geoff. If you want any more information please feel free to ask.

Thanks Cabbage. You are a prince among leafy vegies. :eagerness:

It sounds very similar to the David Griffin Hunter book, though perhaps with more on the development and service history. The Griffin book only devoted about 20 pages to that, and the rest on individual aircraft history, photos, drawings, etc. Might pass on it for the moment.

Thanks again,
…geoff

I do have a copy of this book.
The table of contents is as follows.

Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1: Genesis of the P.1067
Chapter 2; Teething troubles
Chapter 3; Into service: Marks 1 to 5
Chapter 4: Mark 6: the ‘definitive’ Hunter
Chapter 5: From the Central Flying School to Aden
Chapter 6: Unscheduled exits
Chapter 7: A ‘third life’
Chapter 8: Civilian operators
Chapter 9: Fond memories
Chapter 10: Overseas buyers
Appendix 1: Export sales by country
Appendix 2: Aircraft serial numbers
Appendix 3: Description of the airframe by Hawker Aircraft
Appendix 4: Comparative data summary of nine sample RAF training aircraft
Appendix 5: Hunter weaponry
Appendix 6: Plan drawings
Appendix 7: Detail photographs
Appendix 8: Pilot’s notes
Appendix 9: Refrences
Index

I’ve left out the page numbers deliberately, but can detail them if required.
Hope this is of some use to you.

Thanks Bruce. Yes, I had read those and found them a little confusing. Perhaps one reviewer was trying to be subtle.

Its a rather disappointing tome to be honest – with lots of filler from pilot manuals and so on. Read some of the reviews on Amazon.