Sitting Ducks & Peeping Toms - Targets, Drones and UAVs in British Military Service since 1917

Michael I Draper
The Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) is now a key component of any military strategic plan whether for communications intelligence, surveillance or as targets for ground-to-air and air-to-air weapon systems.

Sitting Ducks & Peeping Toms comprehensively charts the British development of unmanned aircraft from 1917, when Professor Arthur Low developed an unmanned aerial torpedo, to their use in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Most of the data and many of the 300 illustrations have never before been in print. Almost 3,000 detailed individual aircraft histories are given. These cover the Fairey Queen, Queen Bee, Queen Martinet, ML U-120D, Auster B3, Firefly, Meteor, Canberra, Jindivik, Sea Vixen, Shelduck, Chukar, Mirach, MATS-B, Skeet and Banshee.

The author reveals the full story of the GEC Phoenix and its role in the Iraq War. He provides new details of the Westland unmanned rotary vehicles and the extensive JUEP trials of 2001-06.
The Royal Navy’s use of the Queen Martinet drone is covered. Here too is the fascinating story of the Phoenix UAV in Bosnia and Iraq, the reason why so many purposely failed to return from missions over Basra, plus the entry into service of Hermes 450 and Predator.

Michael Draper also explains why Banshee target drones self-destructed for no apparent reason and documents the Spitfire, the Lancaster and Lincoln U.5 drones.

This is a ground-breaking work, drawing on decades of painstaking research, much of it into untapped primary sources, and first-hand observation. A4 hardback. 372 pages.

By their very nature, unmanned aircraft spend most of their lives well removed from the gaze of the average enthusiast. All the more credit, therefore, to the extensive research that has gone into this addition to the Air-Britain book list. As UAVs move increasingly into active as well as passive air defence roles, its appearance could hardly be more timely.



PRICE REDUCED TO £15.00 WEF 01 MARCH 2017