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Bill Gunston

1927 – 2013

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About Bill Gunston

Lived 1927 – 2013 (aged 86). Bill Gunston was a British writer, journalist and aircraft pilot.

Bill Gunston (1 March 1927 – 1 June 2013) was a British aviation and military author. Gunston was educated at Pinner County Grammar School. In his spare time, he was Flight Sergeant in the school Air Training Corps squadron and, for several months, the London Philharmonic Orchestra's librarian.

Royal Air Force Gunston joined the Royal Air Force in 1945 and went to University College, Durham on an RAF cadetship. In 1946 he moved to No 4 Flying Training School in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia to train as a pilot. He was editor of Jane's Aero-Engines from 1995 to 2007.

Family life and death Gunston married Margaret Jolliff, who had been his secretary, and they had two daughters.

Books Early Supersonic Fighters of the West, London: Ian Allan Ltd, 1973 Bombers of the West, London: Ian Allan Ltd, 1973 Attack Aircraft of the West, London: Ian Allan Ltd, 1974 Submarines in Colour, Blandford Colour Series, Blandford, 1976 The Encyclopedia of the World's Combat Aircraft, New York: Chartwell Books Inc., 1976 Hitler's Luftwaffe: A Pictorial History and Technical Encyclopedia of Hitler's Air Power in World War II, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1977 Transport, Pan Macmillan, 1978 (as consultant editor) The Encyclopedia of the World's Airpower, New York, New York: Crown Publishers, 1979 An Illustrated Guide To Bombers Of World War II, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1980 (with Anthony Feldman) Technology at Work, Facts on File, 1980 Coal (Energy), Franklin Watts, 1981 Fighters of the Fifties, Specialty Press, 1981 An Illustrated Guide to Allied Fighters of World War II, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1981 An Illustrated Guide to Military Helicopters, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1981 An Illustrated Guide to the Israeli Air Force, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1982 (with Geoff Aspel) Motorcycles, Rourke Punlishing, 1982 Water, Silver Burdett Press, 1984 An Illustrated Guide to Future Fighters and Combat Aircraft, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1984 The Illustrated History of Fighters, 1985 World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines, Patrick Stephens, 1986 Mikoyan MiG-21, Osprey, 1986 (with Dick Eastland) Canal and River Transport, Silver Burdett Press, 1986 Railways, Hodder Wayland, 1987 Water Travel, Rourke Publishing, 1987 An Illustrated Guide to Modern Fighters and Attack Aircraft, Prentice Hall Direct, 1987 Modern Air Combat, 1988 An Illustrated Guide to Modern Bombers, London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1988 Stealth Warplanes, Osprey Combat Aircraft Series, 1988 Grumman Sixty Years Of Excellence Crown, 1st USA edition, 1988 Plane Speaking, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1991 Chronicle of Aviation, London: Chronicle Communications Ltd / Paris: Jacques Legrand / Dortmund:Harenberg Kommunikation, 1992 Faster Than Sound: The Story of Supersonic Flight, London: Haynes, 1992 Development of Piston Aero Engines, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1993 World Encyclopaedia of Aircraft Manufacturers, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1993 https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781557509390 The Development of Jet and Turbine Aero Engines, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1995 Fighter! A Pictorial History of International Fighter Aircraft, Bristol: Parragon, 1997 Fedden – the life of Sir Roy Fedden, RRHT, Historical Series Nº26, 1998 Soviet Air Power The US War Machine The Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Modern Military Aircraft The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Rockets and Missiles Modern Fighting Aircraft

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
Durham University, Pinner County Grammar School
Awards
Officer of the Order of the British Empire; Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society

People in Bill Gunston's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Bill Gunston's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Bill Gunston?

author

When was Bill Gunston born?

Bill Gunston was born on 1 March 1927 in London.

When did Bill Gunston die?

Bill Gunston died on 1 June 2013 in London.

What was Bill Gunston's occupation?

Bill Gunston was a writer, journalist and aircraft pilot.

What nationality was Bill Gunston?

Bill Gunston was British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Bill Gunston

· Wikidata: Q4909245

· DBpedia: Bill Gunston

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Bill Gunston. https://biography.guide/bill-gunston/

MLA: "Bill Gunston." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/bill-gunston/.

Chicago: "Bill Gunston." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/bill-gunston/.

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