Midland Publications

Secret Projects - Military Space Technology

by  Bill Rose

Reviewed By  Doug Hamilton, IPMS# 21985

MSRP: $44.95 ISBN 10: 1857802969 ISBN 13: 9781857802962 Published by Midland Pub Ltd Review Book Supplied by Specialty Press www.specialtypress.com From man's earliest days, space flight was on his mind. When it became apparent that this goal could be reached military powers everywhere saw great potential in these new technologies. As the ideological differences of the post WW II world became the basis for what would become termed the Cold War, space was looked at in both offensive and defensive terms. This book looks at the technologies that came from that era in an interesting and factual way. The author gives a very nice overview of the subject to show how and why the military's involvement in getting man into space was important. Many of the projects mentioned in the book were highly classified and so secret that their existence were most often denied. It's left to the readers' imagination to understand the tremendous cost the various governments were paying to make all this happen. Most of the costs were perhaps buried in other projects, hence the "Black Projects" label we've become familiar with. In that context, the fabled $800.00 toilet seat may not have been such a bad deal after all. Printed on heavy stock the 192 pages of this hardcover book are filled with great pictures, many in color, and line drawings depicting the vehicles and equipment that were developed. Initial research by German, British, and American designers and engineers during the war years starts the story off. The contributions make during this time laid the ground work for what was to come. In seven chapters this story is told, touching on many projects. A chapter on Soviet projects is most fascinating as these were cloaked under the shroud of the Iron Curtain. Over the years many of these designs have become known and the real value here is putting everything into context, both technologically and chronologic. Additional chapters on Project Aurora, nuclear propulsion and going to the moon round out the chapter topics in the book. I enjoyed this book a great deal because it helps fill the gap between production military aircraft and the real space realm. Many of the advances found within the pages have seen some application in current military hardware. The text content is clear and well written, and the pictures are high quality. The subject matter one that needs more attention paid to it, in terms of reference material and available models. The Real Space modeler and aircraft modeler will find a place on his bookshelf for this interesting book, and I would highly recommend it. This book as well as other great titles can be found at the Specialty Press website www.specialtypress.com My thanks to Specialty Press and IPMS/USA for providing this sample for review.

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