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Charles E. MacKay at Turnhouse, 1971
Charles E. MacKay at Turnhouse, 1971.

Charles E. MacKay

Aviation Historian & Author · Glasgow, Scotland

Charles E. MacKay is a Glasgow aviation historian. He is not the Victorian poet and writer Charles Mackay (1814-1889).

Charles E. MacKay is a Scottish aviation historian and the author or editor of 22 books. Since his first article in Airfix Magazine in 1982, he has spent over 40 years researching the nation's aviation heritage. This site presents his 22-title catalogue. His work spans two World Wars, the Cold War era, and Scotland's industrial contribution to aircraft manufacturing. His books have been praised by historians, museum curators, and aviation enthusiasts worldwide for their meticulous research, primary source material, and readable narrative style.

22
Catalogue titles
40+
Years research

The record

First article
Airfix Magazine, 1982
Career
Wrote for Scots Magazine; joined Robert Gibson & Sons, Glasgow, in 1985
Books
22 titles, 2012 to 2026
Papers
University of Glasgow Archive Services, GB 248 UGD 329: papers of Charles E. MacKay, aviation researcher, Glasgow
Photographs
Aircraft photographs credited to him on ABPic, taken at places including Glasgow, Oban, Dundee and RAF Turnhouse
British Library
13 of the 22 titles are in its catalogue (searched by ISBN, 31 October 2026)
Publisher
A Mackay (Publisher) Ltd, Glasgow

Libraries, booksellers and press: please write through the contact page.

Publications

  1. 2012Beardmore Aviation: The Story of a Scottish Industrial Giant's Aviation Activities
  2. 2013Shavings for Breakfast: The History of the Morris Furniture Company, Glasgow
  3. 2014Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland 1803: Illustrated and Revised Pocket (edited by Charles)
  4. 2014The Sycamore Seeds: Early British Helicopter Development
  5. 2016Sonic to Standoff: The Evolution of the British Nuclear Deterrent
  6. 2017Beardmore Built HMS Argus 1914 to 1947: The World's First Flat-Top Aircraft Carrier
  7. 2018Captain of the Clouds: A tribute to Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown
  8. 2018Clydeside Aviation: Volume One The Great War
  9. 20191945 Statements on the Atomic Bomb
  10. 2020British Aircraft of the Great War: Fighters Bombers Seaplanes Trainers Flying Boats
  11. 2020Clydeside Aviation Volume Two Between the Wars
  12. 2021Mother of the Few - The Aviation Interests of Lucy Lady Houston DBE
  13. 2021Rohrbach Metall-Flugzeugbau GmbH Adolf Rohrbach's Metal Aeroplanes
  14. 2022Sabres from the North: Mutual aid during the Cold War
  15. 2023Flying for Kaiser Wilhelm 1914-1918: Aces Aeroplanes & Defeat
  16. 2023German Aircraft in the Great War
  17. 2024Skyraider 04 Down Dieter Dengler The Man The Ship The Plane
  18. 2024Soaring with Wings - Percy Pilcher Wants To Fly: For Dieter Dengler
  19. 2025This Was the Enemy Volume Two: Aeroplanes, Armament, Bombs, Downfall
  20. 2025This was the Enemy: The Luftwaffe 1945
  21. 2026The Fedden Mission to Germany Final Report
  22. 2026This Was The Enemy Volume Three: Supplement
Areas of Expertise

Research Specialisations

Scottish Aviation

Comprehensive histories of Scotland's airfields, aircraft factories, and the people who built and flew from them.

Military Aviation

The air war of both World Wars, the Luftwaffe from the inside, HMS Argus and the Fleet Air Arm, and Britain's Cold War nuclear deterrent.

Industrial History

Company histories: Beardmore and the Clyde factories, the Morris Furniture Company's wartime work and Adolf Rohrbach's all-metal aircraft.

Research and publishing

Four decades of aviation history

Since his first Airfix Magazine article in 1982, Charles has spent more than 40 years researching aviation history. He went on to write for Scots Magazine and joined Robert Gibson & Sons in Glasgow in 1985. The site's 22-title catalogue covers Scottish aircraft manufacturing, military aviation, pioneering designers and pilots, and the development of aircraft across two World Wars and the Cold War.

The catalogue is published by A Mackay (Publisher) Ltd in Glasgow and brings archival research, technical detail, photographs and first-hand material to readers, researchers and aviation enthusiasts.

Sources & Verification

The biographical and corporate facts on this page can be checked against the following authoritative public records.