RAF Air-to-Air Refuelling

RAF Air-to-Air Refuelling

Author: Keith Wilson

Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited

Published: 2019-04-15

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 1445666057

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A photographic look at the history and development of the difficult and delicate process of in-flight refuelling.


History of Air-To-Air Refuelling

History of Air-To-Air Refuelling

Author: Richard Tanner

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2006-09-18

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 1844152723

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This is a unique account of the development and operational use of air-to-air flight refuelling since its early beginnings in the USA and the UK to the equipment that is in use today. The author draws upon his life-long career as senior design engineer with the successful British company In-Flight Refuelling who were responsible for the development of the hose and drogue technique now preferred by many of the world's air forces. The story begins in the early 1920s when the art of air refuelling was part of the Barn Storming record-breaking attempts that were popular in the USA. It continues into the late thirties when successful experiments were made. Amazingly, the Royal Air Force were not interested in pursuing this great technical advantage during World War II and it was the USAAF who requested the British invention to experiment with on their B-17s and B-24s. The Korean War saw extended use of operational air-to-air refuelling for the first time and now the 'tanker fleet' is an essential unit in major air-forces around the world.


RAF Tanker Navigator

RAF Tanker Navigator

Author: Peter Bodle

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2008-10-30

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1781598320

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In this military memoir, a veteran recounts his time as a navigator and plotter with the Royal Air Force tanker fleet during the Cold War. This book gives a rare insight into the life inside the tanker squadrons of the Royal Air Force, viewed through the eyes of Tony Golds, one of the RAF tanker fleets longest serving Navigator / Plotters. During his service career which spanned four decades, he flew in dozens of aeroplanes, for literally thousands of hours and covered something more than two million miles. Initially the prime role of the first tankers (Valiants) was to service the legendary English Electric Lightning interceptor fighters patrolling the North Sea. During his career, Tony served in every continent of the world, including a healthy series of tours at Ascension just after the Falklands War. He was in one of the tanker crews chosen to assist in devising the procedures needed to get both the Vulcans in the Black Buck operation down to the Falklands, and subsequently the Hercules C130 freighters to form the Ascension / Falklands air bridge, so vital for the support of the Falkland Islands, once the shooting war was over.


The Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force

Author: Michael Napier

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-02-22

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 1472825381

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A fully illustrated history of the Royal Air Force while on operations, publishing to mark the centenary of its foundation in World War I. The world's first independent air force, the Royal Air Force celebrates its centenary in 2018. In the 100 years since the end of World War I, the service has been involved in almost continuous operations around the globe, giving the RAF the longest and most wide-ranging history of any air force in the world. But over the years this history has also become entangled with myths. The Royal Air Force: A Centenary of Operations sets the record straight, dispelling these as it uncovers – in both words and photographs – the true exploits and accomplishments of RAF personnel over the last 100 years. From its formation as an independent service in the dying days of World War I, its desperate fight against the Axis air forces in World War II, to its commitments during both the Cold War and modern times, this is the complete story of how the RAF has defended Britain for a century.


Vulcan Boys

Vulcan Boys

Author: Tony Blackman

Publisher: Grub Street Publishing

Published: 2015-07-19

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1909808083

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The Vulcan, the second of the three V bombers built to guard the UK during the Cold War, has become an aviation icon like the Spitfire, its delta shape instantly recognizable as is the howling noise it makes when the engines are opened for takeoff. Vulcan Boys is the first Vulcan book recounted completely first hand by the operators themselves. It tells the story of the aircraft from its design conception through the Cold War when it played out its most important job as Britainês nuclear deterrent; before unbelievably, at the end of its service life, also playing a significant role, with its bombs and missiles, in liberating the Falkland Islands for which it gained much celebrity. The individual accounts detail how hours at a time were spent on readiness, waiting to be scrambled to defend their country in the event of a third world war. In addition how their aggressive skills were honed by carrying out Lone Ranger sorties flying to the States and westward around the world, and taking part in Giant Voice and Red Flag, competitive exercises against the United States Strategic Air Command. The attacks in the Falklands using Shrike missiles are described accurately and in great detail for the first time including the landing at Rio de Janeiro alongside a vivid account of Black Buck 2. Vulcan Boys is a fascinating and completely authentic read reminding us of the Cold War, how it was fought and the considerable effort required to prevent all-out nuclear war.


The Anglo-American Military Relationship

The Anglo-American Military Relationship

Author: Wyn Rees

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2024-02-19

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 0198884648

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The Anglo-American Military Relationship explores military cooperation since the end of the Cold War. Much of the literature on the Anglo-American 'Special Relationship' has focused on the personal linkages between American Presidents and British Prime Ministers. This book argues that much of what is special between the two countries has resided in their military cooperation. This has provided the ballast that has underpinned other aspects of the political and economic relationship and given it durability. The book focuses on how the British armed services have worked alongside a superpower, in both peacetime and conflict. This military cooperation has been a challenging task, not least because it has occurred within a dynamic strategic context in which the nature of conflict has been evolving. British armed forces have engaged with their American allies in high intensity warfare, as well as in developing military doctrines to address insurgency, peace enforcement, and nation-building tasks. Working so closely with the US military has generated risks as well as benefits for Britain's armed forces. It has led them to engage in tasks that have weighed heavily upon their resources and has resulted in numerous tensions between the two sides.


1993–1994

1993–1994

Author: Brian Hunter

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2021-06-21

Total Pages: 1762

ISBN-13: 3112422147

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No detailed description available for "1993-1994".


The Statesman's Year-Book 1993-94

The Statesman's Year-Book 1993-94

Author: B. Hunter

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-12-23

Total Pages: 1746

ISBN-13: 0230271227

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The classic reference work that provides annually updated information on the countries of the world.


Operation Black Buck 1982

Operation Black Buck 1982

Author: Andrew Bird

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2023-08-17

Total Pages: 97

ISBN-13: 1472856678

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'The definitive account of the Vulcan raids... taught me something new on every page' - Rowland White, author of the bestselling Vulcan 607 A newly researched, fully illustrated account of how RAF Vulcan bombers flew a series of the world's longest air raids in 1982 against Port Stanley airfield, in a daring, hastily improvised strike against the Argentinian invaders. The RAF's opening shots of the Falklands War were among the most remarkable airstrikes in history. The idea was simple: to destroy the runway at Port Stanley, and prevent Argentinian fast jets using it against the Royal Navy task force. But the nearest British-owned airfield was Ascension Island - 3,900 miles away from the Falklands. Researcher and historian Andrew D. Bird has uncovered new detail of what really made these extraordinary raids possible, including never-before-published information and photos demonstrating the discreet support provided by the United States. Packed with spectacular original artwork and rare photos, this book explains how these hugely complex, yet completely improvised raids were launched. This is also the story of how the last of the Vulcans, only a few months away from the scrapyard, had to be hastily re-equipped to carry conventional bombs, with bombsights, electronics and navigation systems 'borrowed' from other aircraft. Yet they managed to fly what were the longest-range air attacks in history, and struck a severe blow to the occupying Argentinians.