The Argentine designed and built IA-58 Pucará light attack aircraft was developed in the late 1960s in response to a requirement drawn up by the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (Argentine Air Force). After a long developmental period the design went into series production in 1974. The aircraft remains in active service to this day, with the FAA and with several foreign air forces. Best known for its involvement in the Malvinas conflict (Falklands war) in 1982, the Pucará remains an effective and much appreciated warplane. This book tells the full story of the design, development and operational use of the Pucará, including the many upgrades and redesigns tested and planned at various stages. Based on access to Argentine air force sources and archives, and discussions with serving and former Pucará crew, this is the first English-language book to describe this iconic aircraft in such detail. Fully illustrated with many photos, plans, and color profiles, this is an essential book for any aircraft enthusiast and historian.
In the 1960’s guerrillas were operating in almost all Latin American countries, as well as in Africa and Asia, and the need of specialized weapons to fight them arose. The Argentine Air Force, seeing this threat grow, asked the FMA factory to produce a counterinsurgency airplane to equip the force, but also to offer on the international market. After several proposals were analyzed, a final product emerged, called the IA-58 Pucará, a robust twin turboprop aircraft with heavy internal weapons, planned to operate from unprepared airstrips on very hard conditions. The plane entered service with the Argentine Air Force in 1975 and more than 100 were produced over the years, with several versions being developed or proposed. It was purchased by Uruguay, Colombia and Sri Lanka, the type gained world notoriety when they took part on the 1982 South Atlantic war, but also had combat experience in Colombia and Sri Lanka, and was tested by the Royal Air Force. Now, with the original version already retired, the Argentine Air Force plans to convert them into the Pucará Fénix version, with new engines and avionics, with new missions too, like intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. While some aspects of its story were described in many publications, most of it has never been told until now, including many unknown proposed versions and details of its operational record, both in Argentina and in the other countries that operated the plane.
One of the richest and most complex civilizations in ancient America evolved around Lake Titicaca in southern Peru and northern Bolivia. This book is the first comprehensive synthesis of four thousand years of prehistory for the entire Titicaca region. It is a fascinating story of the transition from hunting and gathering to early agriculture, to the formation of the Tiwanaku and Pucara civilizations, and to the double conquest of the region, first by the powerful neighboring Inca in the fifteenth century and a century later by the Spanish Crown. Based on more than fifteen years of field research in Peru and Bolivia, Charles Stanish's book brings together a wide range of ethnographic, historical, and archaeological data, including material that has not yet been published. This landmark work brings the author's intimate knowledge of the ethnography and archaeology in this region to bear on major theoretical concerns in evolutionary anthropology. Stanish provides a broad comparative framework for evaluating how these complex societies developed. After giving an overview of the region's archaeology and cultural history, he discusses the history of archaeological research in the Titicaca Basin, as well as its geography, ecology, and ethnography. He then synthesizes the data from six archaeological periods in the Titicaca Basin within an evolutionary anthropological framework. Titicaca Basin prehistory has long been viewed through the lens of first Inca intellectuals and the Spanish state. This book demonstrates that the ancestors of the Aymara people of the Titicaca Basin rivaled the Incas in wealth, sophistication, and cultural genius. The provocative data and interpretations of this book will also make us think anew about the rise and fall of other civilizations throughout history.
"The first humanistic portrait of life among southern Ecuador's Saraguros, this work includes a meditative self-reflection on the author's role as anthropologist, the role of cross-cultural understanding in the Andean Highlands and beyond, and the meaning of the good life in different cultural contexts; it further considers how contemporary globalization shapes people's lives and thought"--
Barely a decade passed from the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight to aircraft becoming lethal instruments of war. The Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service took off in the very early days of The Great War and captured the public’s imagination and admiration. Sydney and Richard Carline happened to be both pilots and artists as was Frenchman Henri Farre. Their works inspired celebrated painters like Sir John Lavery who took to the skies in an airship in the First World War. Feeding on the demand for works depicting this new dimension of warfighting, a new genre of art was born which has remained popular ever since. During the Second World War, the paintings of Paul Nash stood out as did Eric Ravilious who, ironically, died in an air crash. War artist Albert Richards dropped with British paratroopers on D-Day. Post-war, paintings by leading British and international artists graphically illustrate conflicts such as the Falklands, Bosnia and the Gulf War. John Fairley has brought together a dazzling collection of art works covering over 100 years of air warfare, enhanced by lively and informative text. The result is a book that is visually and historically satisfying.
The Battle of Goose Green was the first and longest land conflict of the Falklands War, which was fought between British and Argentine forces in 1982. The British forces, attacking over featureless, wind-swept and boggy ground, were heavily outnumbered and lacked fire support, but brilliantly defeated the Argentine garrison in a fourteen-hour struggle. If you want to understand what happened and why – read Battle Story. Detailed profiles examine the personalities of the British and Argentine commanders, including that of Victoria Cross winner Lt Col 'H' Jones. First-hand accounts offer an insight into this remarkable fourteen-hour struggle against the odds. Detailed maps explore the area of Darwin Hill and Goose Green, and the advance of the British forces. Photographs place you at the centre of this pivotal battle. Orders of battle show the composition of the opposing forces' armies. Packed with fact boxes, this short introduction is the perfect way to explore this crucial battle.
"Fighters Over The Falklands" captures daily life using pictures taken during the author's tours of duty on the Islands. From the first detachments of Phantoms and Rapiers operating from a rapidly upgraded RAF Stanley airfield to life at RAF Mount Pleasant, see life from the author's perspective as the Commander of the Tornado F3 Flight defending the islands' airspace. Font-line fighter crews provided Quick Reaction Alert during day to day flying operations working with the Royal Navy, Army and other Air Force units to defend a remote, and sometimes forgotten, theatre of operations. It will also look at how the islanders interact with the forces based at Mount Pleasant and contrast high technology military operations with the lives of the original inhabitants; namely the wildlife.
Two pivotal moments in British military history, separated by more than a century, yet both with decisive impacts on Britain’s national identity and power overseas. At Isandlwana, South Africa, as at Goose Green in the Falkland Islands, British commanders underestimated local forces and found themselves unprepared for the full extent of combat on the ground. One engagement ended in disaster and a total rethinking of tactics. The other, thanks to hard lessons learned, ended in British victory. Two renowned experts tell the full stories of both battles, complete with detailed profiles of key figures and a moment-to-moment breakdown of history in the making. Isandlwana 1879 On January 22, 1879, a 20,000-strong Zulu army attacked 1,700 British and colonial forces. The engagement saw primitive weapons of spears and shields clashing with the latest military technology. However, despite being poorly equipped, the numerically superior Zulu force crushed the British troops, killing 1,300 men, while only losing 1,000 of their own warriors. It was a humiliating defeat for the British Army, which had been poorly trained and which had underestimated its enemy. The defeat ensured that the British had a renewed respect for their opponents and changed their tactics; rather than fighting in a straight, linear formation, known as the Thin Red Line, they adopted an entrenched system or close order formations. The defeat caused much consternation throughout the British Empire, which had assumed that the Zulu were no match for the British Army; thus, the army was greatly reinforced and went on to victory at Rorke’s Drift. Isandlwana 1879 puts you at the forefront of the action. Goose Green 1982 The Battle for Goose Green has become an integral part of the Falklands story, and yet it nearly didn’t take place at all. Originally earmarked to be isolated, Goose Green was eventually attacked due to the loss of momentum in the invasion force. The British 2 Para Regiment were deployed against the 12th Argentinean Regiment, which numbered about 1,200 men. The British believed that the Argentinean force numbered at least half this and set off with a strength of 690 men. They took two days’ rations, weapons, and ammunition in the belief that it would be a swift conquest. There followed a bitter and bloody fight as the Argentine forces fiercely defended Goose Green. Despite reconnaissance, the British were hampered by trench systems that they had been unaware of. It was the first major engagement of the Falklands War.
