Description

Signed copy.
In April 1965, shortly after the final cancellation of the TSR-2, Wing-Commander Roland Beamont, Chief Test Pilot of the British Aircraft Corporation, gave a short account of the project and its cancellation.
He made no complaint: his tale was simple, direct and factual; but his hearers were devastated.
As Stephen Hastings, the author of this book, remarks in his introduction: “It left several of my colleagues and myself stunned with the magnitude of the tragedy, with a sense of the utter and massive waste of human devotion and effort …
It is not a happy story for it reflects upon the judgement of a number of public figures and does little to credit some of our cherished institutions.”
That this dreadful blow could be struck at so crucially important a group of industries with so little protest from the public is, on the face of it, astounding. But the public has never been told the full story. Mr Hastings has now undertaken that task with frankness and courage. He has done it with great clarity and impartiality, and with considerable force. But this book not only examines the tragedy of TSR-2 , it also provides an exhaustive analysis of our incoherent methods of aircraft procurement and goes far to demonstrate the need for profound change in our whole system of government in this technological age. The ghost of TSR-2 raises many questions and Stephen Hastings has put forward some challenging ideas in answering them. Mr Hastings believes that in several respects ours is the most advanced industry in the world. If we abdicate, we do so by government decision and not because of any lack of will or capability on the part of British aviation. It is a decision which may not only destroy our capacity to compete in aero-space but which in doing so will dissolve the whole direction and purpose of our national technological effort. Unless this policy is swiftly reversed, we shall be forced to desert the frontiers of knowledge. We shall drift into a technical backwater whether we like it or not.
This is the significance of the TSR-2 affair.