MILES M.52: Gateway to Supersonic Flight

In December 1943, a top secret contract (E.24/43) was awarded to Miles Aircraft. The contract was to build the world's first supersonic jet capable of 1000mph. The only reliable source of data on supersonic objects came from the Armament Research Department and their wind tunnel tests on ammunition. From this, Miles developed an exceptionally thin-winged, bullet-shaped aircraft. Inexplicably, the research was passed to the Americans in 1944 and by December 1945, one prototype was virtually complete. The second, destined for an attempt at the sound barrier, was 80% complete. In February 1946, Captain Eric Brown was confirmed as the test pilot, and in October 1946 was set for the supersonic trials. However on 12th February, Miles was ordered to stop production. No plausible explanation was given for the cancellation when Britain was within six months of breaking the sound barrier. Eric Brown and others directly involved including Dennis Bancroft, the Chief Aerodynamicist on the M.52, have now come together to try and finally solve the mystery behind the cancellation. This is the story the aviation industry has waited 65 years to read. The project was CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET. The appendices include Preliminary Notes on High Speed Aircraft by Group Captain Frank Whittle October 1943, Memoranda, The Churchill Directive and a definitive list of M.52 models to various scales and a useful chronology of relevant events. Very well illustrated large softback, 222 pages.