A Royal Navy Cold War Buccaneer Pilot
A Royal Navy Cold War Buccaneer Pilot

Author: Simon Kershaw

Publisher: Air World

Published: 2023-06-30

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1399040162

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This is a vivid and powerful story of life on board the last of our great Second World War-era aircraft carriers, modernized to serve beyond its time. It is a story of the Cold War which conveys the trials and tribulations of flying one of the best-loved military aircraft in history. Steve Kershaw joined the Royal Navy in 1963. He began flying training in 1968 and progressed to the Blackburn Buccaneer – a world-class naval strike jet that was designed to fly very fast at ultra-low altitudes. In 1970, Steve joined 800 Naval Air Squadron, which embarked on HMS Eagle on its epic final cruise. The voyage to the Far East was far from trouble-free – an aircraft crashed into the sea, there was a devastating explosion on board the carrier, and then two sailors were arrested for murder in Auckland. New year 1972 saw HMS Eagle decommissioned and 800 NAS disbanded. Steve was transferred to 845 Naval Air Squadron, on which he flew Wessex helicopters. Embarked on HMS Hermes, the squadron supported Royal Marines Commandos during their deployment to the mountains of Norway under NATO plans for a European war. During this time, helicopters were strangely sabotaged on board and one of them crashed into a fjord at night. By 1974, HMS Ark Royal was the last remaining Royal Navy fixed-wing aircraft carrier to which Steve returned to fly Buccaneers on 809 Squadron. It was in this period that he participated in a NATO exercise in Norway and a Mediterranean cruise. On return, the squadron prepared for a bombing competition between the RAF and Royal Navy Buccaneers. As part of this, Steve flew a low-level sortie off the Lincolnshire coast. The light was fading, and he was struggling to see the target ahead. He failed to see they were losing height. The aircraft hit the sea. Steve and his observer, David, were ejected into the water. Steve, however, did not survive. In this book, Steve’s story is revealed by his son, Simon, through the words of his father, drawn from a mass of letters sent by him, and the recollections of those who served alongside him.

Flying the Buccaneer
Flying the Buccaneer

Author: Peter Caygill

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2008-01-01

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1844156699

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Beskriver udviklingen og anvendelsen af det britiske hangarskibsbaserede jagerfly fra 1960erne, Blackburn Buccaneer, med fokus på flyets flyveegenskaber.

The Buccaneers
The Buccaneers

Author: Graham Pitchfork

Publisher: Sutton

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781852606114

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Designed at the height of the Cold War as a carrier-borne nuclear strike aircraft for the Royal Navy, the first Blackburn Buccaneer entered service in 1963. The 620mph all-British design saw active service with the Fleet Air Arm around Singapore during the Indonesian confrontation, in the withdrawal from Aden and in Belize. It was not until 1978 that the FAA's last Buccaneers were eventually retired. In 1968 the RAF chose the Buccaneer as its new low-level strike aircraft. The first of the RAF's Buccaneers were delivered in 1969 with the initial squadron operating from the UK in the maritime strike role. In RAF service, Buccaneer squadrons also flew low-level tactical strike operations, mostly in Germany. The 1991 Gulf War was the aircraft's swan song when it flew target designator sorties for other Coalition aircraft. The last military Buccaneer flights took place in 1995. A total of 206 Buccaneers were built and the aircraft gave over 30 years of reliable service. At its high point in 1978, five RAF and FAA operational squadrons flew the type. Although the aircraft was designed for the Royal Navy it was with the RAF that it saw its longest service, from 1969 to 1995.

Adventures of a Cold War Fast-Jet Navigator
Adventures of a Cold War Fast-Jet Navigator

Author: David Herriot

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2017-10-30

Total Pages: 359

ISBN-13: 152670661X

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An RAF navigator’s lively, candid memoir of flying low and living fast during the Cold War years. David Herriot served almost forty years in the Royal Air Force as a navigator, first on the Buccaneer S2 and subsequently on the Tornado GR1. This volume recounts his early career operating the Buccaneer on three operational flying tours, plus a tour as an instructor on the Operational Conversion Unit. With almost 2500 hours on an aircraft that was operated at high speed, in all weathers and at ultra-low level, his task in the rear seat was a demanding one. But Herriot was more than just the guy in the back of a Buccaneer; he was, quite routinely, and often to the exasperation of his seniors, the life and soul of any party that was taking place either at home base or when overseas defending the flanks of NATO. This is an epic adventure for the aviation enthusiast, particularly those with affection for the Blackburn Buccaneer, and it provides a great deal more than the usual introduction to a specific aircraft type and the people who flew it. Here you’ll find an absolute insight into life on a fast-jet squadron, at work and mischievous play during the Cold War—and you’ll also be introduced to some of the modern RAF’s greatest characters.

Testing Tornado
Testing Tornado

Author: J. David Eagles AFC

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2016-09-08

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0750969423

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It was early Cold War days when 17-year-old David Eagles applied to the Fleet Air Arm hoping to be a fighter pilot for his national service. He little imagined the career that would follow. After flying training with the US Navy and Australian Fleet Air Arm, he settled into Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot life. He progressed through Naval Test Pilot duties – where he was forced to eject from a Buccaneer during catapult launch trials – before joining British Aerospace and playing a major part in the cockpit design and flight-testing of the RAF's first fly-by-wire and swing-wing aircraft, the Panavia Tornado. His other experiences include ditching a Firefly into the sea and the near loss of the first British Tornado prototype after a bird strike. Finally, after 6,000 flying hours in sixty different types of aircraft, Eagles finished his career by making the first flight of the EAP, the technology demonstrator for the new Eurofighter Typhoon. Vividly illustrated with photographs, documents and plans, this is a fascinating memoir of naval-flying and test-flying some of the world's most iconic fighters.

The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War
The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War

Author: Malcolm Smith

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2014-07-28

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 178346383X

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Following in the same style as his previous book of Fleet Air Arm recollections, Malcolm Smith has collected a compendium of reminiscences from pilots who flew for the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines during the First World War. He includes first-hand testimonies from pilots manning early seaplane stations, an enthralling account from F.J. Rutland (the 'Rutland of Jutland'), who became the first pilot to take off in a Sopwith Pup from a platform on the roof of one of HMS Yarmouth's gun turrets, the true tale behind Rudyard Kipling's short story 'A Flight of Fact' (concerning Guy Duncan-Smith's experience of becoming marooned in the Maldives following a dramatic shoot-down), amongst many other personalized and illuminating stories. ??All these anecdotes are drawn from the extensive archive maintained by the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton, Somerset. The archive contains an enormous quantity of material, in the form of handwritten diaries, transcripts, log books and documentation of many kinds. Alongside the written material, the Museum maintains an unrivaled photographic archive and a representative sample of these images is included in the book.??Excerpts from diaries, transcripts of spoken first-hand accounts and other recorded narratives make up the bulk of the book, with whole chapters dedicated to some of the most vocal members to see service during the course of the RNAS's Great War history. Guy Leather, a pilot destined to track an impressive trajectory with the RNAS features in one such chapter; his day to day accounts relay the full gamut of pilot experience at this time. ??This humane and thoughtful consolidation of pilot reflections is sure to appeal broadly, particularly as we approach the one hundredth year anniversary of the First World War.

The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War
The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War

Author: Malcolm Smith

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2014-07-28

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 1473838487

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Following in the same style as his previous book of Fleet Air Arm recollections, Malcolm Smith has collected a compendium of reminiscences from pilots who flew for the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines during the First World War. He includes first-hand testimonies from pilots manning early seaplane stations, an enthralling account from F.J. Rutland (the 'Rutland of Jutland'), who became the first pilot to take off in a Sopwith Pup from a platform on the roof of one of HMS Yarmouth's gun turrets, the true tale behind Rudyard Kipling's short story 'A Flight of Fact' (concerning Guy Duncan-Smith's experience of becoming marooned in the Maldives following a dramatic shoot-down), amongst many other personalized and illuminating stories. All these anecdotes are drawn from the extensive archive maintained by the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton, Somerset. The archive contains an enormous quantity of material, in the form of handwritten diaries, transcripts, log books and documentation of many kinds. Alongside the written material, the Museum maintains an unrivaled photographic archive and a representative sample of these images is included in the book.Excerpts from diaries, transcripts of spoken first-hand accounts and other recorded narratives make up the bulk of the book, with whole chapters dedicated to some of the most vocal members to see service during the course of the RNAS's Great War history. Guy Leather, a pilot destined to track an impressive trajectory with the RNAS features in one such chapter; his day to day accounts relay the full gamut of pilot experience at this time. This humane and thoughtful consolidation of pilot reflections is sure to appeal broadly, particularly as we approach the one hundredth year anniversary of the First World War.

Buccaneer
Buccaneer

Author: Tony Buttler

Publisher: Historic Military Aircraft

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 9781802823165

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The mighty Blackburn Buccaneer was considered an important and capable Cold War aircraft. This fully illustrated book details the type's development and entry into service with the Royal Navy, RAF and South African Air Force, operations, weaponry and test flying.

British Aircraft Carriers 1945–2010
British Aircraft Carriers 1945–2010

Author: Angus Konstam

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2023-04-27

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 1472856899

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The history of the Royal Navy flagships that led the fleet through the Cold War, ensured victory in the Falklands War, and saw action in Iraq and the Balkans. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the Royal Navy's carrier fleet proved essential to the post-war world. Royal Navy carriers fought in the Korean War with the UN fleet, in the debacle at Suez, and in British operations in the last days of Empire, in Malaya, Borneo and Aden. But most famously, they were the key to the Royal Navy's victory in the Falklands campaign, and they went on to fight in the two Iraq wars. Illustrated throughout with new profiles of the key carriers and their development, as well as a cutaway of HMS Victorious and superb new illustrations of the carriers in action, this book explains how the Royal Navy's air power changed throughout the Cold War and beyond. Renowned naval historian Angus Konstam explains how the World War II carriers were rebuilt in a pioneering modernization that allowed them to operate a new generation of naval jets. As carriers became more expensive to operate, the Royal Navy had to scrap its conventional fast jets and introduce a new generation of light carriers designed for the innovative Harrier 'jump jet'. When the Falklands War broke out, it was one of these new carriers and one veteran carrier from World War II that gave the Task Force the fighters it needed to defend itself in hostile waters and retake the islands. Covering a period of dramatic change for the Royal Navy, this book is a history of the Royal Navy's most important ships throughout the Cold War, the retreat from Empire, and the Falklands and Iraq wars, up to the moment Royal Navy fixed-wing air power was temporarily axed in 2010.