Mortons Media Group was established in the 19th century and has been producing book-length publications since the early 2000s. The company established a dedicated books division in 2019, and Mortons Books has already earned a reputation for publishing high-quality titles by authors who are true experts in their field. For the best reads on rail, aviation, nostalgia and history, look no further. This book is part of their imprint: Tempest Books address all aspects of aviation history are covered in authoritative detail. The aviators and aircraft of the Second World War are profiled by our titles alongside more modern fighters, bombers, reconnaissance, and transport aircraft. 'Secret projects' and experimental designs are also an important part of the Tempest Books portfolio.

Dan Sharp studied history at the University of Liverpool and has worked as a writer and editor since 1998. Having spent several years as the news editor of a regional daily newspaper, he switched to motorcycle magazines. As a hobby he began doing primary source research that has resulted in quite a few historical aviation books. These include Cold War – Sex, Spies and Nuclear Missiles (2013), Messerschmitt Me 262: Secret Projects and Experimental Prototypes (2013), Messerschmitt Bf 109: Secret Projects and Experimental Prototypes (2013), Dueling Above the Trenches – Sopwith Aircraft of the Great War (2014), D-Day Operation Overlord and the Battle for Normandy (2014), Luftwaffe Secret Jets of the Third Reich (2015), Spitfires Over Berlin (2015), The Hated Volksjäger: Histories of the Heinkel He 162 (2015), Luftwaffe – Secret Bombers of the Third Reich (2016), and Messerschmitt Me 262: Development and Politics (2023). Dan Sharp currently lives in Nottinghamshire with his wife and two children.

This volume sort of represents a follow on to Dan Sharp’s British Secret Projects Volume 5 that covered Britain’s Space Shuttle that was published in 2017 [See my review on the IPMS USA Review site]. This English language book, HOTOL: Britain’s Spaceplane, is authored by Dan Sharp and was published on May 30. 2025. The front cover features a gorgeous illustration of the British Aerospace HOTOL by Piotr Forkasiewicz. The rear cover features a color profile of HOTOL Configuration J by Chris Sandham-Bailey at the top. Three color photographs, 1 black and white photograph are shown down the right side. A color illustration of British Aerospace publicity artwork of HOTOL Configuration J is shown at the bottom of the rear cover. All are included within the book in a larger format. I counted 325 period black and white photographs / drawings / illustrations and 99 color photographs / illustrations, 10 color side profiles by Chris Sandham-Bailey. These include many engineering drawings, promotional brochures, and detailed cut-aways.

Dan Sharp kicks off the Introduction starting with the English Electric P.42 orbiter research aircraft before going into the British Aircraft MUSTARD [Multi-Unit Space Transport and Recovery Device], a re-usable space launch system designed in the mid-1960s. The British Aerospace HOTOL [Horizontal Take-Off and Landing] was designed to be a Single Stage To Orbit [SSTO] spaceplane. A reduction in take-off weight was to be achieved by using a combination of an air-breathing engine utilizing atmospheric oxygen and rockets, using liquid oxygen. Concept work was initiated by aerospace engineers Alan Bond and Dr. Bob Parkinson at the June 11, 1980, British Interplanetary Society’s symposium. The HOTOL concept held a huge advantage over its competition in the US Space Shuttle and France’s Ariane V. The HOTOLwas reusable as opposed to using recovery and refurbish the booster rockets and discarding the fuel tanks every mission or totally expendable as with the Ariane V.

Two of Chris Sandham-Bailey’s color side profiles are shown on Page 61 of the first two HOTOL concepts: Configuration A and Configuration B circa 1984. Configuration A was 62m in length from the tip of its nose to the end of its engine nozzles. The wingspan was 19.66m and this design would still be standing a year later when it was revealed at the Paris Air Show. Configuration B represents many proposed changes to Configuration A, but it wasn’t long before even more changes were proposed. 1986 saw Configuration F come to prominence, but changes to improve were still abundant. Different intake options are shown on Page 103. The top drawing shows a nose intake while the lower drawing shows intakes mounted above each wing on the side of the fuselage.

A critical element of the HOTOL was the Rolls Royce RB 545 Swallow engine. Essentially, it was a dual-role powerplant operating as an air-breathing jet engine and as a rocket engine. This can be seen on Page 159 with an overall general arrangement drawing at the top of the page. The middle drawing provides additional detail to the dual injector thrust chamber. The lower drawing shows off the Hydrogen pre-cooler system. Alan Bond was the patent holder for the HOTOL Swallow engine, but because the Swallow engine was classified Top Secret, he was never allowed to explain to others how it worked. The top of Page 223 shows Alan Bond in front of a HOTOL model at the 38^th International Astronautical Congress [IAC] on October 10, 1987.

Russian interest in the HOTOL program was quite high and there was consideration of using the Antonov An-225 as a launch aircraft. A wind tunnel model of this launch can be seen at the bottom of Page 341. This variant was based on the HOTOL Configuration K, but with the jet engine components removed, relying on rocket engines only. Overall length was reduced from 63m [Configuration K] to 43m and a smaller wing was envisioned. The sections include:

• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Introduction: Horizontal Take Off and Landing
• Launchers and Spaceplanes
• BAC Mustard
• Space Shuttle
• Changing Focus
• Chapter 1: Genesis: 1982 - 1984
  • Long, Thin and Pointy
  • Third Crace Proposal
  • The ‘Father of HOTOL’
• Chapter 2: Breaking News: 1984 - 1985
  • ITN News At Ten
  • Farnborough 1984
  • HOTOL Goes To Rome
  • ‘A Million Of My Money’
  • HOTOL Goes To Paris
  • Proof-Of-Concept
  • America Takes Note
  • Burns Gets Started
  • RAE Specialists
  • Human Crew? Military Use?
• Chapter 3: Proof Of Concept: 1985 – May 31, 1986
  • American Ambition
  • HOTOL Configurations A and B [Page 061]
  • Thatcher’s Blessing
  • Getting Behind HOTOL
  • Rolls-Royce Swallow
  • Concern Over Rolls Royce
  • New Year – New Intake
  • The Race Is On
  • Control Surface Conundrums
  • Ventilated Skirt
  • HOTOL’s Weight Problem
  • $0.5BN For NASP
  • HOTOL Goes To Geneva
  • Vehicle Engineering
  • Operating HOTOL
  • HOTOL-F and the RB.545
  • POC Study Part 1
  • Nosecone
  • Liquid Hydrogen Tank
  • Front Fuselage Aeroshell
  • Rear Fuselage
  • Payload Bay
  • Liquid Oxygen Tank
  • Rocket Thrusters
  • Wings
  • Main Landing Gear
  • Engine Bay
  • Engine Air Intake
  • Aerodynamics
  • Systems
  • HOT / Cold HOTOL
  • Warton’s Caps
  • The Take-Off Trolley
• Chapter 4: Configuration F: June 1 – December 31, 1986
  • Bond’s Computers
  • Scottish Bases [Page 103]
  • Catching Hermes
  • Stress Fractures
  • Hermes Work Packages
  • Bad Weather Machine
  • Credit Where It’s Due
  • A Big Lump of Ice
  • Planning Ahead
  • Helpful Suggestions
  • HOTOL Crew Capsule
  • Alternative Concepts
  • Japanese De-Icing
  • Going To Eurospace
  • The HOTOL Show
  • Dark Thoughts at RR
  • Return to Eurospace
  • Reduced Standard Prototype
  • The Unacceptable Draft
• Chapter 5: Popular Myths: January 1 – June 10, 1987
  • HOTOL Team Tally
  • Potential European Partners
  • How Much Per HOTOL
  • Originator’s Origin
  • The Pig’s Intake
  • ‘Significantly Worse’ Than Before
  • Escaping HOTOL
  • Concept Validation
  • The Case Against CAPS
  • The Case For CAPS
  • Popular Myths
  • French Lead on Materials
  • The OG’s Findings
  • Briefing Prince Charles
  • HOTOL’s ‘Red Team’
  • The Way Ahead [Page 159]
  • Parkinson’s Olive Branch
• Chapter 6: A Sound Basis for Comparison: Alternative Launch Vehicles
  • BAE Warton ALVS [Table]
  • Back to the Future
  • Group A: HOTOL Evolutions
  • Single-Stage Rocket Only
  • Two-Stage Rocket Only
  • Air Launched
  • Group B: Complex Designs
  • Lifting Bodies
  • Dual Fuel and Plug Nozzles
  • Reference ALVS
  • Missing ALVS
  • Uncompetitive Airbreathers
  • Shells and Bubble Tanks
  • Fins, Foreplanes and Intakes
  • Walley’s Trolley
  • Jettisonable Undercarriage
  • Vertical Launch Prep
  • Most Payloads Are Small
  • So Which ALV Won?
  • Walley Recommends
  • The End for ALVS?
• Chapter 7: The Hugely Expensive Club: June 11, 1987 - December 31, 1987
  • RR Does Some PR
  • HOTOL Down Under
  • Goodbye HOTOL ‘F’
  • Thatcher vs. European Spending
  • No More Money for Space
  • Baby HOTOL
  • Gibson Gives Notice
  • Gibson’s Parting Advice
  • Meeting of Minds
  • HOTOL Configuration G3
  • What the PIG Did
  • End of the POC
  • The ‘Hugely Expensive Club’
  • Bond’s Fighting Talk [Page 223]
  • Clarke Doubles Down
  • HOTOL POC – Total Spend
  • A Snowball in Hades
  • An Exception for HOTOL?
  • The Prince’s Plea
  • POC Postmortem
  • Bicone, Cone, Nose and S
  • Hitting the Skids
  • How to Make It
  • An Airworthy HOTOL
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Staying Cool
  • Collecting Residuals
  • Trolley Evolution
• Chapter 8: Approaching The Limit: January 1, 1988 – July 27, 1988
  • Blocked Radiators
  • First G3 Summit
  • Taking Taig to Task
  • Models Galore
  • Shackleton’s Support
  • Relying on the Ramjet
  • Return of the Foreplanes
  • Deaths of Brown and Willmer
  • A Plea to Ken
  • Rocket-HOTOL Revisions
  • HOTOL Configuration H
  • Economy Measures
  • Persuading Ken
  • Dark Thoughts at BAE
  • Quizzing Bond
  • Last Chance with Clarke
  • And This Decision Is Final
• Chapter 9: Outstanding Items of Work: July 28, 1988 – June 11, 1989
  • The Carroll Connection
  • American Disinterest
  • Zero Payload
  • The WLC ‘HOTOL’
  • Wet Wing Benefits
  • Engineering Slow-Down
  • Clawing Back Payload
  • Trolley Tribulations
  • HOTOL on Pause
  • Onto Life Support
  • Scott-Scott’s Pebble Bed
  • Bond’s Satan Engine
  • Staff Redeployment
  • Antonov’s Invitation
  • Configuration G to H
  • Configuration H to J
  • RB.545-02D to -04B
  • Configuration J4½ to K
  • What Was It Made Of?
  • Design Features
  • Trimming HOTOL
  • Pre-Chilled Fuel
  • OMS and RCS
  • Subsonic Airlaunch
  • Not Completely Solved
• Chapter 10: Interim HOTOL: June 12, 1989 – June 20, 1991
  • Seeking Investors
  • Death of Burns
  • Yates Goes to Moscow
  • HOTOL-Rocket
  • Orbiter 0061
  • Dear Korol
  • Questions From Both Sides
  • BAE Goes to Moscow
  • Orbiter Specification
  • Perestroika
  • Soviets to Farnborough
  • Soviets to Stevenage
  • Trip to TsAGI
  • Educating ESA and SDIO
  • Banned From Warton
  • Orbiters 0062 – 0065
  • Outnumbered Ten to One
  • HOTOL Versus Star Wars
  • Airbreathers’s Last Gasp
  • Orbiter 0066
  • Payment in PCs
  • Hotrock
  • Nose Fin Doubts
  • Switch to Rear Fin
  • Maintaining Momentum
• Chapter 11: HOTOL-M, P150, RADEM and SKYLON: June 21, 1991 – 1994
  • Orbiter Design
  • Aerodynamic Control
  • An-225 as a Carrier [Page 341]
  • Operations and Wrap-Up
  • So How Did It Go?
  • HOTOL-M
  • Orbiter 0068E
  • Disaster at Stevenage
  • Technical Audit
  • P150 – Dropping the Interim
  • Skorodelov’s Return
  • Interest Rekindled?
  • RADEM and Skylon
  • Working for ESA
  • Skylon Revealed
  • The RB.545’s Fate
  • Leigh Gets the Boot
  • Heartbreak HOTOL Revisited
  • Farnborough 1994
  • Rigged From the Start?
  • Ariane Wins
• Chapter 12: HOTOL’s Major Contemporaries
  • Hermes 1976 – 1986
  • Hermes 1987 – 1990
  • Hermes 1991 – 1992
  • NASP
  • Sӓnger 1986
  • Sӓnger 1987
  • LART 1987
  • Sӓnger 1988
  • Sӓnger 1989
  • Sӓnger 1990
  • Sӓnger 1991 - 1992
  • Skylon Configuration A4 to B1
  • Skylon Configuration C1
  • Skylon Configuration C2
  • Skylon Configuration D1
• Abbreviations
• Appendix I: Vehicle Data Table
• Appendix II: HOTOL History of Structural Development
• Appendix III Who Was Who [Table]
• Bibliography
• Index

Model kit wise, its rather slim pickings in terms of actually obtaining the kits that have been released. Anderson Models released a HOTOL 1/144 kit in resin in 2001. Anderson Models also released a Hermes Shuttle resin kit in 1999 in 1/144 scale. Revell released a 1/288 plastic injected kit in 1991 of the Sӓnger Space Transport that includes a shuttle vehicle and a rocket booster for a payload. This kit is based on a DLR [German Institute for Aerospace Systems] scale final design aerodynamic prototype that was 10 meters in length. Currently this kit is rather rare and quite expensive on eBay. Monogram released a 1/144 kit of the NASP proposal as the Rockwell X-30 or under the name “Orient Express”. This kit is also rather rare, but I do have one that my daughter built 25 years ago and it is still intact.

It was difficult to identify a favorite chapter or section of this book. I really enjoyed the many first-person accounts and all the politics involved. One of these accounts was the naming of HOTOL that had previously been referred to as the Orbital Swallow. Larry Blonstein actually came up with the name of HOTOL, his one and only contribution to the program. Alistair Scott noted:

“We didn’t call it HOTOL [originally], we thought this was a disgraceful horrible name. [It was called HOTOL [because British Aerospace let some PR idiot loose once and they charged him with a duty of coming up with a snap-off the tongue name,,,anyway we got lumbered with this wretched name.”

I really appreciated Dan Sharp’s tome as it was truly eye opening to Britain’s endeavors in an effort to provide a cheaper alternative to the United States Space Shuttle. This is mainly as a result of his access to archival British Aerospace and Rolls Royce drawings and photographs, along with interviews with design team members. This is an impressively detailed book of this effort to reach space. This is a must-have book for the aviation historian and modeler.

My thanks to Casemate, Tempest Books, Mortons Books, and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great book.

Highly recommended!