For quite a few years, Simon Parry and Mark Postlethwaite have been building up a huge library of original WWII aviation photos, partly as a hobby but mainly to help provide photos for the books that they publish. With over 30,000 now in the collection, they realised that they had more than enough to produce a series of photo books on individual aircraft types and sub-types. They set out to make the series as ideally suited to modellers and artists as possible, so large photos, using A4 landscape format, and minimal text except for extended captions. Effectively their aim is to produce a 21st Century version of the Profile Publications series of books from the 1960s, using the latest technology to reproduce their wartime photos to the highest standard possible.

This series is unique in that it will be able to provide large format ORIGINAL photos up to full A4 landscape format width, which is at least 50% larger than any standard book can deliver. Combined with the specialist knowledge of a team of historians and contributors, each book should provide unbeatable and accurate references for any modelling or painting project.

We always wanted to do the Gloster Gladiator in this series and so were delighted when Andrew Thomas offered to take on the task. The RAF’s last biplane fighter certainly saw a lot of action, mainly in the Middle East, so we thought it could make quite an interesting book, especially when combined with the colourful pre-war schemes and more exotic foreign air force liveries. And so it proved, as you’ll see when looking through this book, the Gladiator appeared in many different guises.