Air Britain Historians

'Air Britain Historians' is a highly respected Aircraft Enthusiast Organisation, both in the United Kingdom and around the world. 

Founded shortly after the Second World War, they were among the first groups to publish comprehensive civil aircraft monographs and historical registers for countries globally. This commitment continues today, with the latest being 'The Complete Civil Aircraft Registers of Peru,' published in 2016. Over the years, they expanded their portfolio to include annual registers reflecting the current status of civil aviation in the UK and much of Europe, alongside annual Airline Fleet books and Corporate Aircraft lists.

Since approximately 1965, Air Britain has dedicated itself to producing outstanding civil and military transport publications. Though primarily aimed at their members, these works are also available to the broader enthusiast community at slightly higher retail prices.

This website primarily covers Transport subjects, so the 'Air Britain' section focuses specifically on their exceptional publications that feature both civil and commercial aircraft, as well as military transport aircraft. Those covering a broader scope, such as 'Aviation Year,' are not included in this specific context.

Between 1965 and 1994, the organisation produced a series of portrait softback monographs sized at 7" x 9.5", along with four hardback editions of similar dimensions. This initial series, showcased in section one of the gallery, includes detailed studies on individual aircraft types and manufacturers. Notably, the Bristol Freighter & Britannia volume stands out as it was produced in a taller format than the others.

From 1995 onward, Air Britain transitioned to high-quality large format hardbacks measuring 8.5" x 12", some featuring laminated covers and dust jackets. This marks the beginning of a second series of individual aircraft type and manufacturer monographs, which is still being published today. Recently, a few softback titles of similar size have been introduced, although they typically contain fewer pages than the well-established hardbacks, while still maintaining high content quality.

In section three, a variety of formats are showcased, focusing on books about individual airlines and country-specific histories pertaining to civil aviation and aircraft types, particularly in the case of France. This includes some historical registers, such as a comprehensive volume on all balloons registered worldwide as of 2009, with additional historical records featured in the 'Archive Special' series in section five.

The numerous annual and periodical registers produced by Air Britain, including the QRs / Civil Aircraft Registers of the United Kingdom and Jet & Turboprop Airliners of the World, are set aside from this webpage. A dedicated section, 'AB Airline Fleets,' provides further details on their Airline Fleets publications and predecessors, which have been published since 1967.

Section four includes three large portrait hardback titles, complete with dust jackets, that explore the early years of aviation.

Finally, section five encompasses all six members of the 'Archive Special' series published between 1989 and 2001, all presented as large portrait softbacks.

Current retail prices for newer books range from £40-£60 (with softbacks priced between £25-£40). Many earlier titles from section two have become rare finds, often commanding high prices in the secondhand market; the CL-44, Viscount, and Constellation books are notable examples.

Air Britain continues to deliver exemplary, well-researched, and informative civil aircraft monographs and military transport publications, enriched with superb and often rare photographs, thanks to their dedicated experts and researchers.

All new civil aircraft and military transport titles (excluding annual registers) will be added to the 'Air Britain Monographs' section within 'World of Transport Books' as they are released.

To view the front cover images of the books in the galleries below, simply arrow right for the next item in the sequence. The volumes are organized chronologically by date of publication, grouping multiple editions together, with the primary date referring to the first edition.