Cold War Fighter Pilot

Download Cold War Fighter Pilot PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Trafford Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1412225248
Total Pages : 230 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (122 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Cold War Fighter Pilot by : Harold Wade

Download or read book Cold War Fighter Pilot written by Harold Wade and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2004-07-08 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cold War Fighter Pilot covers experiences leading up to USAF pilot training for the author and then describes in considerable detail the flight training and a variety of experiences that are intended to explain what military pilots do as well as how and why they do it. Technical terminology is minimized or explained, yet enough of it is included to give the reader an idea of the complexity of the job. The author logged over 3,000 hours as a USAF fighter pilot, instructor pilot and maintenance fight test pilot, much of it in supersonic aircraft.

From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog

Download From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 1526761270
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog by : Steven K Ladd

Download or read book From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog written by Steven K Ladd and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-09-30 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fighter pilots! Images of Baron Manfred von Richthofen and Eddie Rickenbacker in the Great War, Johnnie Johnson, Robert Stanford Tuck and Richard Bong in the Second World War, or Robin Olds in Vietnam, all spring to mind. Volumes have been written about them, past and present. Understandably, most of these revolve around the skill, cunning and bravery that characterizes this distinctive band of brothers, but there are other dimensions to those who take to the skies to do battle that have not been given the emphasis they deserve – until now. You do not have to be an aviation aficionado to enjoy Colonel Steve Ladd’s fascinating personal tale, woven around his 28-year career as a fighter pilot. This extremely engaging account follows a young man from basic pilot training to senior command through the narratives that define a unique ethos. From the United States to Southeast Asia; Europe to the Middle East; linking the amusing and tongue-in-cheek to the deadly serious and poignant, this is the lifelong journey of a fighter pilot. The anecdotes provided are absorbing, providing an insight into life as an Air Force pilot, but, in this book, as Colonel Ladd stresses, the focus is not on fireworks or stirring tales of derring-do. Instead, this is an articulate and absorbing account of what life is really like among a rare breed of arrogant, cocky, boisterous and fun-loving young men who readily transform into steely professionals at the controls of a fighter aircraft. From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog is a terrific read: the legacy of a fighter pilot.

Low and Fast

Download Low and Fast PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781952311239
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (112 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Low and Fast by : Charles Banks

Download or read book Low and Fast written by Charles Banks and published by . This book was released on 2023-06-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many people have approached me asking what it felt like to fly jet fighters. In fact, most people have never flown in a small plane. They truly are missing the most incredible feeling of being airborne alone, among the clouds, looking down at the ground and feeling amazingly free. All takeoffs and landings are thrilling. These feelings are more or less intense for each type of plane flown. As you look back through our history, various conflicts dictated different missions and types of aircraft. Industry changed designs of airframes and weapons based on the mission, cost, and time to manufacture. In the 1970's and 80's, during the tensions of the Cold War, numerous borders around the world were being contested, sometimes using military force. Communist and Socialist dictators were taking over many countries. There was a worldwide feeling that it could all explode into World War III at any moment. In that climate, military pilots worldwide constantly prepared for the worst, hoping that being fully prepared would deter political and military action. This is the story of one of the pilots who flew the F-4, the F-105, the F-111, and the O-2 in defense of his country. This pilot prepared for fighting at high or low speed and high or low altitude with most of the missiles, rockets, and bombs that a fighter aircraft could carry. His missions in Vietnam steeled him for deadly combat. This combat experience prepared him to protect our country and our allies in the Far East and in Europe throughout a loyal career.

A Cold War Fighter Pilot in Peacetime and War

Download A Cold War Fighter Pilot in Peacetime and War PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Fonthill Media
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 426 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Cold War Fighter Pilot in Peacetime and War by : Derek J. Sharp

Download or read book A Cold War Fighter Pilot in Peacetime and War written by Derek J. Sharp and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2019-03-19 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: — Historically rich in detail with previously unpublished photographs — A must-have for military enthusiasts, historians, modellers and those interested in the complexities of aircraft design and manoeuvres during the Cold War — A fascinating and eye-opening memoir that will appeal to fliers and non-fliers alike on how to fly the fastest jets in the RAF This is the remarkable and true story of Squadron Leader Derek J. Sharp and his incredible adventures. Nothing perhaps was more astonishing than his survival after striking a mallard duck at 500 mph and his subsequent return to pilot in command. That he survived to the age of thirty was astonishing; that he continued unashamedly on to a ripe old age was nothing short of a miracle. Conceivably, he followed the advice written on a fridge magnet in his kitchen: ‘Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly’. This fascinating book follows the adventures of Sharp from schoolboy to highly respected aviator. He flew fighters and nuclear bombers, finally seeing action in the first Gulf War flying defenceless transport jets close to the Iraq border. Sharp consequently survived Saddam Hussein’s Scuds and American Patriot missiles – ‘friendly fire’ aimed directly at the author. He flew Her Majesty The Queen and lived in a time long before political correctness, the breathalyser and motorcar safety checks. He achieved all that he set out to do, and more. That would undoubtedly be his epitaph…

From Lightnings to MiGs

Download From Lightnings to MiGs PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 1399007505
Total Pages : 298 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (99 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis From Lightnings to MiGs by : Russ Peart

Download or read book From Lightnings to MiGs written by Russ Peart and published by Air World. This book was released on 2021-10-30 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was supposed to be just a training flight. The two Soviet-manufactured MiG 21s, each with two practice bombs and four air-to-ground rockets, were lined up on the runway in Bangladesh at the height of the Cold War, when air traffic control suddenly reported an incursion by Indian Air Force Jaguars. Though ill-equipped for combat, the two MiGs were scrambled. One of the MiGs’ pilots was an RAF officer – Squadron Leader Russell Peart. On a seven-month loan to the Bangladeshi Air Force, Peart suddenly found himself at the centre of the simmering hostility between two neighbouring nations. By the time they reached the area that had been threatened by the Indian pilots, the Jaguars had gone. Later, when Squadron Leader Russell Peart spoke of the incident to the British High Commissioner, he was told not to shoot down any Jaguars as the Indians had still not paid for them! Russell Peart flew many other aircraft in his varied career, including the MiG 19, and while a test pilot at Boscombe Down trialled such designs as the Tornado GR1. But it was whilst he was seconded to the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force, particularly during the so-called ‘Secret War’ in Dhofar, that he saw the most action. In that theatre the author flew some 200 operational sorties, 180 of which involved live fire, during which he was hit many times. He was also hit and wounded by a 75mm shell. Russ Peart has written in detail of his exciting RAF career, from flying Lightnings in the Far East to winning the top prize in the International Tactical Bombing Competition against a handpicked team of United States Air Force fighter pilots and being awarded the Sultan Of Oman’s Distinguished Service Medal. Supplemented by a selection of previously unseen photographs, this uniquely original memoir throws new light on the operational flying undertaken by some RAF pilots during the tense years of the Cold War.

Angels Three Six

Download Angels Three Six PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780978850791
Total Pages : 222 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (57 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Angels Three Six by : Chuck Lehman

Download or read book Angels Three Six written by Chuck Lehman and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Fast Jets to Spitfires

Download Fast Jets to Spitfires PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 1526759098
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Fast Jets to Spitfires by : Ron Lloyd

Download or read book Fast Jets to Spitfires written by Ron Lloyd and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-09-30 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How often have you glanced skywards at the sound of a passing aircraft and wondered what it would be like to fly one of those gleaming metal machines? Or admired the skill and the daring of the fighter pilot swooping down upon his enemy in the awe-inspiring, unrivalled elegance of a Spitfire? Ron Lloyd has had the experience of flying the majestic propeller-driven aircraft of the Second World War as well as the roaring, sound-barrier-breaking jets of the Cold War – and in this exciting book, he places the reader in the cockpit, describing what it really feels like to be sitting at the controls of a fighter aircraft. Ron Lloyd joined the RAF after the Second World War. During his early service he was selected to be one of the pilots to fly the wartime aircraft in the famous feature film The Battle of Britain, being fortunate to fly a Spitfire and even a Messerschmitt Bf 109 during the six weeks of filming. His role with the RAF, on the other hand, saw him on the front line in the Cold War, piloting de Havilland Vampires, Hawker Hunters, Gloster Javelins, Lightnings and Phantoms. He also served on exchange in the USA where he flew Convair F-102s, Convair F-106s and Lockheed T-33s. Ron wanted to share the thrills and the dangers of flying such aircraft with those who have not had such privileges – as well as relive such moments with those who have. Packed with unique photographs of the golden age of British military aviation, _Fast Jets to Spitfires_ brings the recent past back to life and allows readers to experience, through Ron Lloyd’s graphic accounts, the pure joy of being airborne, alone and in control of the great flying machines that have helped forge this nation’s history.

Fighter Pilot's Daughter

Download Fighter Pilot's Daughter PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1442222018
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (422 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Fighter Pilot's Daughter by : Mary Lawlor

Download or read book Fighter Pilot's Daughter written by Mary Lawlor and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2013-08-22 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fighter Pilot's Daughter: Growing Up in the Sixties and the Cold War details author and Professor Mary Lawlor’s unconventional upbringing in Cold War America. Memories of her early life—as the daughter of a Marine Corps and then Army father—reveal the personal costs of tensions that once gripped the entire world, and illustrate the ways in which bold foreign policy decisions shaped an entire generation of Americans, defining not just the ways they were raised, but who they would ultimately become. As a kid on the move she was constantly in search of something to hold on to, a longing that led her toward rebellion, to college in Paris, and to the kind of self-discovery only possible in the late 1960s. A personal narrative braided with scholarly, retrospective reflections as to what that narrative means, My Cold War zooms in on a little girl with a childhood full of instability, frustration and unanswered questions such that her struggles in growth, her struggles, her yearnings and eventual successes exemplify those of her entire generation. From California to Georgia to Germany, Lawlor’s family was stationed in parts of the world that few are able to experience at so young an age, but being a child of military parents has never been easy. She neatly outlines the unique challenges an upbringing without roots presents someone struggling to come to terms with a world at war, and a home in constant turnover and turmoil. This book is for anyone seeking a finer awareness of the tolls that war takes not just on a nation, but on that nation’s sons and daughters, in whose hearts and minds deeper battles continue to rage long after the soldiers have come home.

From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog

Download From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 9781526797957
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (979 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog by : Steven K Ladd

Download or read book From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog written by Steven K Ladd and published by Air World. This book was released on 2022-05-30 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fighter pilots! Images of Baron Manfred von Richthofen and Eddie Rickenbacker in the Great War, Johnnie Johnson, Robert Stanford Tuck and Richard Bong in the Second World War, or Robin Olds in Vietnam, all spring to mind. Volumes have been written about them, past and present. Understandably, most of these revolve around the skill, cunning and bravery that characterizes this distinctive band of brothers, but there are other dimensions to those who take to the skies to do battle that have not been given the emphasis they deserve - until now. You do not have to be an aviation aficionado to enjoy Colonel Steve Ladd's fascinating personal tale, woven around his 28-year career as a fighter pilot. This extremely engaging account follows a young man from basic pilot training to senior command through the narratives that define a unique ethos. From the United States to Southeast Asia; Europe to the Middle East; linking the amusing and tongue-in-cheek to the deadly serious and poignant, this is the lifelong journey of a fighter pilot. The anecdotes provided are absorbing, providing an insight into life as an Air Force pilot, but, in this book, as Colonel Ladd stresses, the focus is not on fireworks or stirring tales of derring-do. Instead, this is an articulate and absorbing account of what life is really like among a rare breed of arrogant, cocky, boisterous and fun-loving young men who readily transform into steely professionals at the controls of a fighter aircraft. Phantom to Warthog is a terrific read: the legacy of a fighter pilot.

Cold War, Hot Wings

Download Cold War, Hot Wings PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1844681602
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (446 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Cold War, Hot Wings by : Chris J. Bain

Download or read book Cold War, Hot Wings written by Chris J. Bain and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2007-11-13 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A former Royal Air Force fighter pilot chronicles his time in service during the Cold War in this gripping memoir. This is a semi-autobiographical account of a fighter pilot in the RAF from 1962 to 1994. He was both a Hunter and Harrier pilot, rose to Squadron Leader level, and commanded fighter and strategic reconnaissance units. He was CO of the Desert Rescue Team, flew Dakotas on desert supply running, and saw active fighter service receiving bullet holes in his aircraft during the Aden Radfan campaign. He flew Cold War covert reconnaissance missions, commanded the Harrier unit in Belize, spent the Gulf War working with the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, and became a nuclear weapons specialist. The book includes inside accounts of army support missions on the Yemen border, flying cold war reconnaissance missions in Europe, early day conversion to Harriers without any training aids, and long range ultra-high-level, covert photo intelligence gathering sorties, including helping police and customs with airborne photography, most notably for the 2nd Moors Murder Inquiry. It also includes political, geographical and economic background of all the places in which he served, and comments on political and military decisions made at those times.

Sabres, Hogs and Thuds

Download Sabres, Hogs and Thuds PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : AuthorHouse
ISBN 13 : 9781403340962
Total Pages : 408 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (49 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Sabres, Hogs and Thuds by : Robert V. Thompson

Download or read book Sabres, Hogs and Thuds written by Robert V. Thompson and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2003 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Cold War Fighter Pilot

Download Cold War Fighter Pilot PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Independently Published
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (137 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Cold War Fighter Pilot by : Ming Lenort

Download or read book Cold War Fighter Pilot written by Ming Lenort and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2021-06-02 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led the two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster. This is the story of one of the pilots who flew the F-4, the F-105, the F-111, and the O-2 in defense of his country. This pilot prepared for fighting at high or low speed and high or low altitude with most of the missiles, rockets, and bombs that a fighter aircraft can carry. His missions in Vietnam steeled him for deadly combat. This combat experience prepared him to protect our country and our allies in the Far East and Europe throughout a loyal career.

One Desert Jet Turner

Download One Desert Jet Turner PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Jets Press
ISBN 13 : 0970418922
Total Pages : 252 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (74 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis One Desert Jet Turner by : Earl Heron

Download or read book One Desert Jet Turner written by Earl Heron and published by Jets Press. This book was released on 2011-03-21 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Feel what it's like to prepare fighter jets, "smell" the jet fuel, and taste the fighter environment. One Desert Jet Turner is an aviation book introduction to USAF fighter jet culture written by a F-4/F-16 fighter mechanic who shares all. This aviation career book provides information from the same perspective about the USAF Thunderbirds, and accident investigation as observed by the author at Nellis AFB, near both Las Vegas, NV and Area 51. Earl Heron also details the sensational transition from F-16 mechanic to C-130 flight engineer.One Desert Jet Turner is illustrated, but unlike many books about fighters that are primarily pictorial, this work concentrates on the realities behind the images.

RAF & East German Fast-Jet Pilots in the Cold War

Download RAF & East German Fast-Jet Pilots in the Cold War PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 1526758393
Total Pages : 512 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis RAF & East German Fast-Jet Pilots in the Cold War by : Nigel Walpole

Download or read book RAF & East German Fast-Jet Pilots in the Cold War written by Nigel Walpole and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-11-23 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “You’ll learn what these pilots went through knowing that their actions or reactions could trigger a global nuclear war.” —Historic Aviation RAF and East German Fast-Jet Pilots in the Cold War is the result of ten years of research, involving many visits to the former German Democratic Republic by a small Anglo/German team of military specialists. Their purpose was to explore the lives of RAF and East German fighter and ?ghter-bomber pilots, in the air and on the ground, at work and play, during the Cold War in North Germany. The book is based largely on personal testimony from these pilots, coupled with facts drawn from official archives and comment from other historical sources. Where possible, political considerations have been avoided and no outright criticism has been intended, readers being left to draw their own conclusions on the thinking, strategies, equipment and tactics discussed. Far from being an intellectual polemic on the Cold War, the text and photographs merely record a slice of history as seen through the eyes of a select few who took up arms in the defense of their respective homelands—and faced each other daily across the Iron Curtain. In an insightful conclusion, Nigel Walpole reassess the threat that both sides believed was genuine during those tense decades of the Cold War and examines the possible course and nature of a conflict which neither NATO nor the Warsaw Pact wanted but both actively planned for. “The writer has avoided politics where possible, and in doing so reassesses the threat and uncertainty—and ultimately the fears—both air forces faced. It’s truly fascinatingl.” —Flypast

Fighter Pilot Follies

Download Fighter Pilot Follies PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
ISBN 13 : 1669814742
Total Pages : 99 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (698 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Fighter Pilot Follies by : Michael Petridis

Download or read book Fighter Pilot Follies written by Michael Petridis and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2007-12-26 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You’ve seen the images from Hollywood. Macho, tough, with an almost John Wayne air about him, the fighter pilot has been famously portrayed as a gallant warrior. Now, take a look behind the scenes at a different look at the fighter pilot. Gone is the mystique and sense of danger. Instead is a fresh look at the comical aspects of being a fighter pilot; events, scenarios, during war and during peacetime, that show quite a different picture of the “hard as nails” image of the fighter pilot. Fictitious callsigns such as “Maverick” and “Ghostrider” are replaced with “Moe,” “Larry”, and “Curly.” Yes, there are scenes where these nonchalant, easygoing fighter-pilot types are racing through the sky, boring holes in the clouds, going supersonic; but it’s how and why they are there that makes the story interesting. Shooting rockets at the wrong target, scrambling to takeoff in the middle of the night from a dead sleep, ejecting from the aircraft after breaking it apart on the ground, getting lost while airborne, frantically trying to strafe a Soviet jet --- these are all the stories about real flying that never make the headlines of the daily paper. Working hard and playing hard, the fighter pilot genre is shown anew, much to the reader’s delight. Those who have pressed the edge and lived to talk about it know these stories; those aspiring to do so will simply be amazed, ready to stand in line for their turn.

Fighter Pilot: From Cold War Jets to Spitfires

Download Fighter Pilot: From Cold War Jets to Spitfires PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 1399015605
Total Pages : 250 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (99 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Fighter Pilot: From Cold War Jets to Spitfires by : Christopher Coville

Download or read book Fighter Pilot: From Cold War Jets to Spitfires written by Christopher Coville and published by Air World. This book was released on 2022-01-12 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A young boy sits in the back of a Chipmunk aircraft at RAF Woodvale, near Liverpool. He has never flown in anything before. As the power goes on and the little aeroplane soars into a clear blue sky, he decides at once that this is the only thing he wants to do in life: to be an RAF pilot. Fighter Pilot: From Cold War Jets to Spitfires tells the riveting story of how a boy from Liverpool, at the height of the Cold War, joined an RAF that was largely led by veterans of the Second World War. Christopher Coville arrived at the RAF College at Cranwell to find an environment shaped by English Public School traditions, but he made the grades needed to be streamed onto fighters, and went on to fly the Lightning, Phantom and Tornado F3 in the air defense role. Christopher eventually became station commander of RAF Coningsby and while in that role flew with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, becoming the only station commander to qualify on the Hurricane, Spitfire and Lancaster. He also qualified on helicopters and multi-engine aircraft and became responsible for the quality of the displays performed by the Red Arrows, flying with them regularly. Along the way, he steered the RAF’s biggest re-equipment programme since 1945 during a tour at the Ministry of defense and filling a challenging top NATO post during the wars in the Balkans. While this is a book about a young man from Liverpool who joined from grammar school and became a three-star Air Marshal, it is also, above all, a story written by a passionate aviator, whose affection for flying leaps out of every line, in a book which is full of excitement, deep knowledge of flying and affection for his fellow servicemen and women. But it is also a wonderful narrative about people, the great characters forged by military life, and honed by fear, exhilaration, and occasional tragedy. Fighter Pilot: From Cold War Jets to Spitfires is a unique perspective on aviation, written by a talented and dedicated pilot at the very top table of the RAF. This book culminates with his retirement, as the No.3 in the RAF, and being invited to have lunch with The Queen.

Thinking the Unthinkable

Download Thinking the Unthinkable PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780953793327
Total Pages : 250 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (933 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Thinking the Unthinkable by : Nigel Walpole

Download or read book Thinking the Unthinkable written by Nigel Walpole and published by . This book was released on 2012-10 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Thinking the Unthinkable' is the result of ten years of sporadic research, involving many visits to the former German Democratic Republic by a small Anglo/German team of military specialists. Their purpose was to explore the lives of RAF and East German fighter and fighter-bomber pilots, in the air and on the ground, at work and play, during the Cold War in North Germany. The book is based largely on personal testimony from these pilots, coupled with facts drawn from official archives and comment from other historical sources. Where possible, political considerations have been avoided and no outright criticism has been intended, readers being left to draw their own conclusions on the thinking, strategies, equipment and tactics discussed. Far from being an intellectual polemic on the Cold War, the text and photographs merely record a slice of history as seen through the eyes of a select few who took up arms in the defence of their respective homelands - and faced each other daily across the Iron Curtain. Nigel Walpole passed out from the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in 1954, and joined No.26 (Day Fighter) Squadron, flying Hunter F.4s on the front line in Germany at RAF Oldenburg. In 1957 he converted to the Swift FR.5, on No.79 (Fighter Reconnaissance) Squadron, and in 1959 began an exchange posting with the USAF at Shaw AFB, South Carolina, flying RF-101 Voodoos in the tactical reconnaissance role. On return to the UK in 1961, he was posted to the Central Fighter Establishment, where he was promoted to squadron leader and given command of No.234 Squadron, equipped with Hunter F.6 and Hunter DFGA 9 aircraft. He returned to Germany in 1965, to command No.2 Squadron, flying Hunter FR.10s committed to armed reconnaissance. This was followed by two years on the Fighter Command Tactical Evaluation team, before promotion to wing commander and an appointment to 16 Parachute Brigade, as the Brigade Air Support Officer (BASO) - this giving him a good perspective of the British Army's use of air power. Staff training at the National Defence College followed a short spell in command of No.12 Squadron, operating overland and maritime strike/attack Buccaneers, followed by a staff appointment at the MOD in London, before he returned to the front line in Germany as Officer Commanding Strike Wing, flying Jaguar GR.1s at RAF Bruggen. Promoted to group captain, he ended his military career in 1988 with four years as Assistant Chief of Staff (Offensive) in the NATO HQ at Rheindahlen, Germany. He then joined British Aerospace as its air weapons advisor, before retiring to take a university degree, and thereafter to write a series of books and articles on the Cold War - as seen from the flight line. He now lives with his Dutch-born wife in Suffolk, UK.