Tony Buttler was born in England in 1956 and completed his education at Prince Henry’s Grammar School in Evesham. He joined High Duty Alloys in 1974 as a metallurgist and for nearly twenty years was involved in the testing of aluminium and titanium airframe and engine components for all of the world’s major aircraft. It was during this period that his great interest in aviation began to blossom. After leaving HDA in 1993 Buttler earned his Masters Degree in Archives and Library Studies at Loughborough University, and became a freelance aviation historian specialising in the design and development of military aircraft. His special interest in one-off prototypes and research types made co-authoring X-Planes of Europe a particularly enjoyable task. This is his sixteenth book overall, and the first for Specialty Press. Buttler has also written a large number of articles for popular aviation magazines.
Jean-Louis Delezenne served as Research Editor for WINGS and AIRPOWER Magazines. He contributed to feature articles on the Concorde and the history of supersonic airliners in those publications. As an aviation photographer, his work has been published in several magazines, and he is a long-time participant in the international airliner memorabilia industry. He can be found today actively shooting research photos at various Los Angeles area airports, and X-PLANES OF EUROPE is his first book for Specialty Press.