The RAF in Cold War Germany

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Author :
Publisher : Fonthill Media
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 271 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The RAF in Cold War Germany by : Ian Smith Watson

Download or read book The RAF in Cold War Germany written by Ian Smith Watson and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2022-08-22 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In May 1945 with the war in Europe at an end, Britain had to play her part in the occupation of the defeated Germany. The near-bankrupt country was hard-pressed to maintain such a military presence on the continent and still manage our other out commitments across the Mediterranean, Middle and Far East. As the immediate post-war years came to pass, Britain and other western powers found themselves reviewing their relationship with the key victor in the east: the USSR. A defining moment came in 1948 when the Soviet Union attempted to starve the people of West Berlin to the point of being relinquished to their fate by the Western allies. Following a sterling and stubborn effort to keep the city supplied with the minimum materials and food the Soviet exercise ended in 1949. But the parameters were now set, the Iron Curtain had descended across the continent, and the RAF were to maintain a constant vigil with nuclear-armed aircraft on station ready to respond to Soviet aggression for the next four decades while politicians tried desperately to preserve the peace.

Thinking the Unthinkable

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

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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.

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

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

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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

RAF Hunters in Germany

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780954406905
Total Pages : 71 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (69 download)

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Book Synopsis RAF Hunters in Germany by : Günther Kipp

Download or read book RAF Hunters in Germany written by Günther Kipp and published by . This book was released on 2003-07-01 with total page 71 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Phantom in the Cold War

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Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1526704102
Total Pages : 504 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Phantom in the Cold War by : David Gledhill

Download or read book Phantom in the Cold War written by David Gledhill and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-06-30 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An RAF veteran presents an in-depth study of one of the Cold War’s most effective fighter, defense, and reconnaissance planes. The McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom was a true multi-role combat aircraft. Introduced into the Royal Air Force in 1968, it was employed in ground attack, air reconnaissance and air defense roles. Even after the arrival of the Jaguar in the early 1970s, it continued to play a significant role in air defense. In its heyday, the Phantom was Britain’s principal Cold War fighter. There were seven UK-based squadrons, two Germany-based squadrons, and a further Squadron deployed to the Falkland Islands. Phantom in the Cold War focuses on the aircraft’s role as an air defense fighter, exploring its contribution to the Second Allied Tactical Air Force at RAF Wildenrath during the Cold War. Author David Gledhill, who flew the Phantom operationally, also recounts the thrills, challenges, and consequences of operating this temperamental jet at extreme low-level over the West German countryside, preparing for a war which everyone hoped would never happen.

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

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Author :
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 9781526758385
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (583 download)

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

Download or read book RAF and East German Fast-Jet Pilots in the Cold War written by Nigel Walpole and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-06 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: _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 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. 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.

Flights from Fassberg

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Publisher : Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN 13 : 1496833651
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (968 download)

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Book Synopsis Flights from Fassberg by : Wolfgang W. E. Samuel

Download or read book Flights from Fassberg written by Wolfgang W. E. Samuel and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2021-03-29 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wolfgang W. E. Samuel, Colonel, US Air Force (Ret.), interweaves his story and that of his family with the larger history of World War II and the postwar world through a moving recollection and exploration of Fassberg, a small town in Germany few have heard of and fewer remember. Created in 1933 by the Hitler regime to train German aircrews, Fassberg hosted Samuel’s father in 1944–45 as an officer in the German air force. As fate and Germany's collapse chased young Wolfgang, Fassberg later became his home as a postwar refugee, frightened, traumatized, hungry, and cold. Built for war, Fassberg made its next mark as a harbinger of the new Cold War, serving as one of the operating bases for Allied aircraft during the Berlin Airlift in 1948. With the end of the Berlin Crisis, the airbase and town faced a dire future. When the Royal Air Force declared the airbase surplus to its needs, it also signed the place's death warrant, yet increasing Cold War tensions salvaged both base and town. Fassberg transformed again, this time into a forward operating base for NATO aircraft, including a fighter flown by Samuel's son. Both personal revelation and world history, replete with tales from pilots, mechanics, and all those whose lives intersected there, Flights from Fassberg provides context to the Berlin Airlift and its strategic impact, the development of NATO, and the establishment of the West German nation. The little town built for war survived to serve as a refuge for a lasting peace.

A Bucket of Sunshine

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Author :
Publisher : The History Press
ISBN 13 : 0752476998
Total Pages : 301 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (524 download)

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Book Synopsis A Bucket of Sunshine by : Wing Commander Mike Brooke AFC RAF

Download or read book A Bucket of Sunshine written by Wing Commander Mike Brooke AFC RAF and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Bucket of Sunshine – a term coined by RAF aircrew for the nuclear bomb that their aircraft would be armed with - is a first-hand insight into life in the mid-1960s on a RAF Canberra nuclear-armed squadron in West Germany, on the frontline in the Cold War. The English-Electric Canberra was a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers in the 1950s. The Canberra B(I)8, low-level interdictor version was used by RAF Germany squadrons at the height of the Cold War. Mike Brooke describes not only the technical aspect of the aircraft and its nuclear and conventional roles and weapons, but also the low-level flying that went with the job of being ready to go to war at less than three minutes' notice. Brooke tells his story warts and all, with many amusing overtones, in what was an extremely serious business when the world was standing on the brink of nuclear conflict.

The Royal Air Force in the Cold War 1950-1970

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Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1783831898
Total Pages : 193 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (838 download)

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Book Synopsis The Royal Air Force in the Cold War 1950-1970 by : Ian Proctor

Download or read book The Royal Air Force in the Cold War 1950-1970 written by Ian Proctor and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2015-01-30 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soon after the Second world War, wartime allies became Cold War adversaries, and by 1950 the perceived threat of a Soviet strike on Western Europe or Britain dominated military planning. For the next forty years, the Royal Air Force was in the front-line of the Cold War. In Britain and Germany, light bomber crews exercised in preparation for a future conflict, while interceptor pilots stood by ready to counter incursions by Soviet aircraft. Between 1956 and 1969, the elite crews of the iconic V-Force of nuclear bombers trained to perform the ultimate mission, striking targets deep in the heart of Russia. Protecting British interests overseas, personnel at stations across the Middle East and Far East were regularly engaged in supporting operations during the many colonial conflicts which occurred throughout the 1950s and 1960s.??Undertaking these duties were new British-designed aircraft introduced to squadrons from the early-1950s. The names of these extraordinary aircraft, which included the Hunter, Lightning, Vulcan and Canberra, became synonymous with the Cold War.??In this book, Ian Proctor uses over 150 highly evocative colour images from a single remarkable Air Ministry collection to portray the RAF and its personnel between 1950 and 1970. He provides a selected insight into service life, the aircraft, recruitment and training, and the operations and exercises undertaken by the RAF during a twenty year period of the Cold War.

I'll Call You Pod

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Author :
Publisher : Austin MacAuley
ISBN 13 : 9781787101968
Total Pages : 426 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (19 download)

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Book Synopsis I'll Call You Pod by : Kenneth B. Senar

Download or read book I'll Call You Pod written by Kenneth B. Senar and published by Austin MacAuley. This book was released on 2018-05-20 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Having discovered that there is no official RAF history of the 1950s covering a particularly fraught period of the Cold War in Germany, the author decided to write down everything he could remember from that time when he served as part of the RAF's 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force. This book is based on his memories, supported by the information recorded in his log books, in the hope that it will give future generations a wider as well as deeper view of this era. In addition to recounting the minutiae of RAF life, 'Pod' recalls his career from National Serviceman to Flight Lieutenant, and the drama of flying the first jet fighters close to the border with East Germany. Part history, part memoir, I'll Call You Pod will appeal to anyone with an interest in aircraft, the Cold War as seen from the air and on radar, and life in Her Majesty's Royal Air Force in the mid-twentieth century.

Screening the Red Army Faction

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781501336706
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (367 download)

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Book Synopsis Screening the Red Army Faction by : Christina Gerhardt

Download or read book Screening the Red Army Faction written by Christina Gerhardt and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Screening the Red Army Faction: Historical and Cultural Memory explores representations of the Red Army Faction (RAF) in print media, film and art, locating an analysis of these texts in the historical and political context of unfolding events. In this way, the book contributes both a new history and a new cultural history of post-fascist era West Germany that grapples with the fledging republic's most pivotal debates about the nature of democracy and authority; about violence, its motivations and regulation; and about its cultural afterlife. Looking back at the history of representations of the RAF in various media, this book considers how our understanding of the Cold War era, of the long sixties and of the RAF is created and re-created through cultural texts."--Bloomsbury Publishing

Project Paperclip

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Author :
Publisher : New York : Atheneum
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis Project Paperclip by : Clarence G. Lasby

Download or read book Project Paperclip written by Clarence G. Lasby and published by New York : Atheneum. This book was released on 1971 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Rhapsody in Blue

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Author :
Publisher : Fonthill Media
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 342 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Rhapsody in Blue by : Graham Williams

Download or read book Rhapsody in Blue written by Graham Williams and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2017-03-19 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Berlin on the Brink

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Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 081313613X
Total Pages : 434 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

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Book Synopsis Berlin on the Brink by : Daniel F. Harrington

Download or read book Berlin on the Brink written by Daniel F. Harrington and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2012-05-15 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines the 'Berlin question' from its origin in wartime plans for the occupation of Germany to the Paris Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in 1949. Tracing the blockade's origins, it explains why British and American planners during the Second World War neglected Western access to post-war Berlin and why Western officials did little to reduce Berlin's vulnerability as Cold War tensions increased.

To Save A City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949 [Illustrated Edition]

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Author :
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1786252481
Total Pages : 237 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (862 download)

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Book Synopsis To Save A City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949 [Illustrated Edition] by : Roger G. Miller

Download or read book To Save A City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949 [Illustrated Edition] written by Roger G. Miller and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes 30 Illustrations In this expert survey Air Force Historian Robert Miller explores the Epic story of the Berlin Airlift, the confrontation of Democracy and Communism as the world teetered on the brink of the Third World War. The Berlin blockade (24 June 1948;–12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies’ railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under allied control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutschmark from West Berlin. In response, the Western Allies organised the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. Aircrews from the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the South African Air Force flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing up to 8,893 tons of necessities daily, such as fuel and food, to the Berliners. Neither side wanted a war; the Soviets did not disrupt the airlift. By the spring of 1949 the airlift was clearly succeeding, and by April it was delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. On 11 May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of West Berlin. The Berlin Crisis of 1948–1949 served to highlight competing ideological and economic visions for post-war Europe, particularly Germany. The clash ultimately led to the division of that country into East and West and to the division of Berlin itself.

Seek and Strike

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Author :
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 1526758431
Total Pages : 534 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Seek and Strike by : Nigel Walpole

Download or read book Seek and Strike written by Nigel Walpole and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-05-30 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A slice of the RAF and NATO in Germany through the Cold War . . . cover[s] the range of jets used by the RAF, from the Vampire to the Tornado.” —Firetrench This is an anecdotal history of the largest RAF station in Germany. Optimized for a new breed of aircraft, and to NATO requirements, this huge airfield was cut out of the Elmpt Forest, on the German border with Holland, and completed in one year to become operational in 1953. First occupied by a fighter wing equipped with Vampires, Sabres and Hunters, its “Seek and Strike” motif took on real meaning when the station re-equipped with strike, attack and reconnaissance Canberras, followed by strike/attack Phantoms, Jaguars and finally Tornados. RAF Brüggen was at the forefront of the Cold War, during which innovation and determination brought it many accolades. It further distinguished itself in the Gulf War and continued to play its part in subsequent monitoring operations in that theater; it was also the only Tornado Wing to operate directly from its home base during the Kosovo campaign. This is the story of a station at war, of the men and women at the sharp end and in support. At work and play, it was they who made Brüggen what it was, excelling in all things and justifying a claim to have been RAF Germany’s “jewel in the crown.” With its closure in 2001, the RAF relinquished its last main operating base outside the UK. Brüggen was indeed “last and best.” “A story of the people who served at Brüggen, their families and the local population, and how their lives were entwined with the station.” —Flight Line Book Review

From the Cold War to the War on Terror

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Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1526759357
Total Pages : 262 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis From the Cold War to the War on Terror by : Mick Haygarth

Download or read book From the Cold War to the War on Terror written by Mick Haygarth and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2020-01-19 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A bomb-disposal expert shares stories from conflict zones ranging from the Falklands to Kosovo to Iraq. Michael Haygarth left home just before his seventeenth birthday to join the Royal Air Force as a Weapons Technician. At the time, everything seemed routine—but his thirty-eight-year career turned out to be anything but. Training with nations all over the world; fast roping out of helicopters with US Army Rangers; being driven around Basra in a beaten-up taxi wearing civilian clothes with a 9mm pistol in his waistband; convoying at speed around Baghdad with the US Army looking for unexploded bombs—all were way beyond the usual experiences of an RAF Engineer. In his early career, he was a member of a Buccaneer Nuclear Weapon Loading Team stationed in RAF Germany at the height of the Cold War. Frequently woken by sirens in the early morning hours, he’d rush to work wondering if it was yet another practice or the start of nuclear Armageddon. After further tours, and having passed his Bomb Disposal courses, he was then sent to the Falkland Islands. He also served in Kosovo as part of a huge multinational force tasked with clearing thousands of bombs and cluster munitions, as well as working with the International Crimes Tribunal to clear numerous mass graves. He was responsible for all UK Bomb Disposal operations in and around Pristina. Next came an operational tour to Iraq, where he made further use of his bomb disposal expertise. After promotion to Squadron Leader, he worked in the Ministry of Defense and then took charge of the RAF’s only Bomb Disposal Squadron as it withdrew from Iraq, and was instrumental in refocusing the squadron to carry out operations in Afghanistan alongside the Army. His final role, in what was a truly exceptional career, was in charge of the RAF’s only expeditionary Engineering Squadron as it worked through the busiest period in its history during the UK forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and the escalation of events in support of operations in the Baltic states and Syria. In this book, he tells his remarkable story.