One of the most dramatic bombers of its day, the Convair B-58 came to epitomise the Cold War power of Strategic Air Command. Introduced only 12 years after the sound barrier was first broken, this iconic plane became the first large long-range supersonic bomber to take to the skies, a feat which had seemed far-fetched only a few years previously. Outstripping its contemporaries in terms of speed, and agile enough to escape most interceptors, the B-58 was a remarkable feat of engineering, setting 19 world speed records and collecting a host of trophies. The first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 at 63,000 feet, it was able to evade hostile fighters and represented a serious threat to targets across the Soviet Bloc. Supported by contemporary first-hand accounts, photography, and full-colour illustrations, this study explores the history of this ground-breaking aircraft from its conception to its little-known testing for use in the Vietnam War.

The SR-71 Blackbird was a high-altitude, long-range Lockheed reconnaissance black' jet that emerged during the 1960s. It was produced under tremendous secrecy and initially flown from areas away from public gaze. It was stationed in the USA but plied its trade from a handful of selected sites worldwide. SR-71 missions were flown by the USAF, but often on behalf of other agencies, with it frequently gathering intelligence for the Navy against maritime targets in the Soviet Arctic. Unfortunately, the Blackbird was unpopular with the fighter' and bomber' generals, who were not privy to its outstanding intelligence gathering capability, and the staggering operating costs were such that eventually it lost support within the USAF and succumbed to budgetary constraints. Illustrated with over 160 illustrations, this book will detail the operations, select missions and the colour schemes/markings of this amazing aircraft.

Airpower can achieve military objectives sometimes, in some circumstances It sounds simple: using airpower to intervene militarily in conflicts, thus minimizing the deaths of soldiers and civilians while achieving both tactical and strategic objectives. In reality, airpower alone sometimes does win battles, but the costs can be high and the long-term consequences may fall short of what decision-makers had in mind. This book by a long-time U.S. intelligence analyst assesses the military operations and post-conflict outcomes in five cases since the mid-1990s in which the United States and/or its allies used airpower to "solve" military problems: Bosnia in 1995, Kosovo in 1999, Afghanistan in 2001, Lebanon in 2006, and Libya in 2011. In each of these cases, airpower helped achieve the immediate objective, but the long-term outcomes often diverged significantly from the original intent of policymakers. The author concludes that airpower sometimes can be effective when used to support indigenous ground forces, but decision-makers should carefully consider all the circumstances before sending planes, drones, or missiles aloft.

This highly illustrated volume looks at the French Air Force as it sees the withdrawal of the Transall Gabriel and the Dassault Mirage 2000C in 2022.

The Douglas Devastator was the US Navy's first all-metal combat aircraft, the Navy's first airplane with a fully enclosed cockpit, the first aircraft to have hydraulically folding wings, and the first US Navy torpedo bomber to see combat. Although facing staggering losses in the early stages of the war in the Pacific, the brave men flying the Devastator from the decks of such famed ships as Enterprise, Hornet, Yorktown, and Lexington held the line against the enemy. Through carefully researched photos, many of which have never before been published and which are reproduced in remarkable clarity, the history and details of this iconic aircraft are revealed. This clarity, and the large size of many of the photos, coupled with descriptive and informative captions, puts the reader in the skies with this historic aircraft.

For anyone who is interested in the air war 1941-45, the information provided here is of inestimable value. There are no more than a handful of Second World War Luftwaffe members alive today. Patrick Eriksson had the foresight to record these experiences first-hand before it was too late. Some witnesses ended up as senior fighter controllers. The recollections and views of the veterans are put within the context of the German aerial war history. By no means all the witnesses were from the ranks of the so-called 'aces'. It was on the Eastern Front that, essentially, much of the Luftwaffe was destroyed, and this is the subject of the second in the author's trilogy. Death wasn't always in the air: '"Quick, out of the aircraft, the Russians are here." The airfield had been overrun. Chaos followed.' In addition to giving voice to those who were there, Patrick Eriksson describes pilot training and scrutinises the Luftwaffe's complicated victory claims system to find out if it really was as accurate as is often suggested.

The story of the RAF, and in particular Fighter Command, during the Battle of Britain has been told many times. It is a tale of the gallant pilots of The Few', in their Hurricanes and Spitfires, with the nation's back to the wall, fighting off the Luftwaffe's airborne assault against enormous odds. But the story of Fighter Command's operations immediately after the Battle of Britain is less well known. Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard commanded the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. His policy then had been for his aircraft and men to be continually on the offensive, always over the German lines taking the fight to the enemy. After being promoted to command the RAF, Trenchard retired in 1930. In November 1940, Trenchard showed up again at the Air Ministry and proposed that the RAF should Lean Towards France' - that it should go on the offensive. The RAF would, claimed Trenchard, win the resulting battle of attrition. One of the main outcomes of the RAF's new offensive stance was the introduction of the Circus sorties. These were attacks undertaken by a small force of bombers with a powerful fighter escort. They were intended to lure enemy fighters into the air so that they could be engaged by RAF fighters, the primary objective being the destruction of Luftwaffe fighters, followed by the protection of the bombers from attack. A further development of the Circus missions were Ramrods, Rhubarbs and Rodeos, all of which were variations on the same theme. A Ramrod was similar to a Circus, though in this instance the primary objective was the destruction of the target, the main role of the accompanying fighters being to protect the bombers from attack. A Rhubarb was a small-scale attack by fighters using cloud cover and/or surprise, the object of which was to destroy German aircraft in the air and/or striking at ground targets, whilst a Rodeo consisted of a fighter sweep over enemy territory with no bombers. Drawing on official documents and archive material, as well as accounts by many of those involved, James Starkey reveals just how Trenchard's views won through and the RAF went on the offensive from late 1940 into 1941. Was it a failed strategy? If so, why was it not halted once the results began to be seen?

The air force of Tito's Yugoslavia has had many different peculiarities - from a unique Cold War position of having operated a mix of US, Soviet, and indigenous aircraft and equipment, to the changeable strategies in case of war. One such feature was an entire underground air base constructed inside a hill near the town of Bihac, in western Bosnia. 'The Object' was the core, the heart, of this air base: it housed four MiG-21 squadrons for nearly 25 years, until the civil war tore Yugoslavia apart. 'The Object' was built as the outcome of Yugoslav military efforts to build up its independent defence capabilities, especially the air force which was regarded as the strategic tool in keeping Tito's Yugoslavia's independence from both Cold War blocks. There were a few other underground shelters built at Yugoslavia's air bases, but Bihac underground air base remained the only underground facility which was permanently used. Bihac Air Base was constructed directly on the border between two former federal states of Yugoslavia, now two independent countries: The Republic of Croatia, and The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Indeed, their post-independence border runs between the former taxiways and underground entrances. Nowadays, its ruins are a place of pilgrimage by many aviation and military enthusiasts, and is known as 'Zeljava', after a nearby village on the Croatian side. In its five chapters this book provides an in-depth account of the design and construction of the air base and its 'underground object', and a detailed account of the activities of its MiG-21 squadrons and everyday operations in the period between 1968 and 1991. The book concludes with an exhaustive description of combat operations during the final year of the existence of the Bihac Air Base in 1991-1992, under the conditions of the civil war. Drawing upon exclusive archival sources - many of them classified until very recently - the authors have expanded the emerging story through interviews with dozens of officers and other ranks that served at this 'underground aircraft carrier', thus managing to fill the gaps in usage not covered by the documentation. Tito's Underground Air Base is lavishly illustrated with a huge collection of exclusive photographs collected from numerous archives, museums, and private collections, and a set of authentic colour profiles and diagrams. It is a unique source of reference about one of most fascinating projects related to underground military facilities constructed during the Cold War.

Ever since Thucydides pondered reasons for the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, writers, philosophers, and social scientists have all tried to identify and catalog factors that promote conflict escalation. Historians emphasize path-dependencies: the future grows out of the past, hence tomorrow's wars are rooted in yesterday's conflicts. Political scientists attend to changes in power balance or domestic political forces. All of these causes, however, are constructed by human beings and involve the memories, emotions, and motives of both the leaders and the led. In July 1914, the long peace of the great European powers was shattered when the Sarajevo assassinations quickly escalated to a world war that few ever anticipated. In contrast, at the height of the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis could have easily plunged us into a thermonuclear world war, but was ultimately peacefully resolved. Why? In Roots of War: Wanting Power, Seeing Threat, Justifying Force, author David G. Winter identifies the three psychological factors that contributed to the differences in these historical outcomes: the desire for power (power motivation), exaggerated perception of the opponent's threat, and justification for using military power and force. As Winter illustrates, several different lines of research establish how these three factors lead to escalation and war: the role of power motivation is demonstrated by comparative content analysis of documents (i.e. diplomatic communications, leaders' speeches, and media coverage) from crises that escalated to war versus similar events that did not; case studies of several American and British wars; and analysis of "new wars" (i.e. civil unrest, state-sponsored violence, and terrorism). Drawing on this research, Roots of War is a powerful testament to the roles of power and the preservation of peace, and demonstrates their enormous influence in diplomatic interventions in the past and present-day.

The P-40E Warhawk is often viewed as one of the less successful American fighter designs of World War II, but in 1942 the aircraft was all that was available to the USAAC in-theatre. Units equipped with the aircraft were duly forced into combat against the deadly A6M2 Zero-sen, which had already earned itself a near-mythical reputation following its exploits over China and Pearl Harbor. During an eight-month period in 1942, an extended air campaign was fought out between the two fighters for air superiority over the Javanese and then northern Australian skies. During this time, the P-40Es and the Zero-sens regularly clashed without interference from other fighter types. In respect to losses, the Japanese 'won' these engagements, for many more P-40Es were shot down than Zero-sens. However, the American Warhawks provided a potent deterrent that forced the IJNAF to attack from high altitudes, where crews' bombing efficiency was much poorer. Fully illustrated throughout, and supported by rare and previously unpublished photographs, this book draws on both American and Japanese sources to tell the full story of the clashes between these iconic two fighters in Darwin and the East Indies.

On a moonless night in January 1991, a dozen U.S. aircraft appeared in the skies over Baghdad. To the Iraqi air defenses, the planes seemed to come from nowhere. Their angular shape, making them look like flying origami, rendered them virtually undetectable. Each aircraft was more than 60 feet in length and with a wingspan of 40 feet, yet its radar footprint was the size of a ball bearing. Here was the first extensive combat application of Stealth technology. And it was devastating. Peter Westwick's new book illuminates the story behind these aircraft, the F-117A, also known as the Stealth Fighter, and their close cousin the B-2, also known as the Stealth Bomber. The development of Stealth unfolded over decades. Radar has been in use since the 1930s and was essential to the Allies in World War Two, when American investment in radar exceeded that in the Manhattan Project. The atom bomb ended the war, conventional wisdom has it, but radar won it. That experience also raised a question: could a plane be developed that was invisible to radar? That question, and the seemingly impossible feat of physics and engineering behind it, took on increasing urgency during the Cold War, when the United States searched for a way both to defend its airspace and send a plane through Soviet skies undetected. Thus started the race for Stealth. At heart, Stealth is a tale of not just two aircraft but the two aerospace companies that made them, Lockheed and Northrop, guided by contrasting philosophies and outsized personalities. Beginning in the 1970s, the two firms entered into a fierce competition, one with high financial stakes and conducted at the highest levels of secrecy in the Cold War. They approached the problem of Stealth from different perspectives, one that pitted aeronautical designers against electrical engineers, those who relied on intuition against those who pursued computer algorithms. The two different approaches manifested in two very different solutions to Stealth, clearly evident in the aircraft themselves: the F-117 composed of flat facets, the B-2 of curves. For all their differences, Lockheed and Northrop were located twenty miles apart in the aerospace suburbs of Los Angeles, not far from Disneyland. This was no coincidence. The creative culture of postwar Southern California-unorthodox, ambitious, and future-oriented-played a key role in Stealth. Combining nail-biting narrative, incisive explanation of the science and technology involved, and indelible portraits of unforgettable characters, Stealth immerses readers in the story of an innovation with revolutionary implications for modern warfare.

Colombian military aviation is one of the most powerful in Latin America and comprises aviation divisions from four branches: the Fuerza A rea Colombiana (FAC, Colombian Air Force), Armada Nacional de la Rep blica de Colombia (ARC, Colombian National Navy), Ej rcito Nacional de Colombia (EJC, Colombian National Army) and Polic a Nacional de Colombia (PNC, National Police of Colombia). While the FAC has been operating for more than a century, and remains the main aviation force, the other three have become very powerful and efficient forces over the past 40 years. The PNC is the biggest force of its type in the world. Colombia has struggled for decades with internal conflicts involving guerrilla groups and drug traffickers. In recent years, the threat posed by Venezuela has forced its aviation units to develop fighting capabilities from largely asymmetric warfare to facing a more conventional enemy. With over 180 images, this book provides a look at the history, organisation, deployment, missions and aircraft of all four of Colombia's aviation forces.

The last great mystery of World War I has been solved. Drawing from more than two thousand pages of unpublished material, archeological digs in France and dozens of interviews with the descendents of those involved, The Stand: The Final Flight of Lt. Frank Luke, Jr. writes the last chapter on the life and death of America's most spectacular fighter pilot. After fifteen years of research, author and Telly Award-winning television host Stephen Skinner pens a driving, dynamic account that fills in the blanks left behind byhistoryafter the legendary Arizona balloon buster died under controversial circumstances deep in enemy lines in September of 1918.

'A useful contribution to an overcrowded field of history by giving deserved attention to the ordinary men and unsung machines that aren't usually included in the dramatic narrative.' - The Times 'A great read and a real eye-opener to anyone who thinks the Battle of Britain is only about Brits and Germans and Messerschmitts and Spitfires. The value in this account is also the way the back stories of many previously unheralded pilots come to life.' - General Sir David Richards, former Chief of the Defence Staff *** In Battle of Britain: The pilots and planes that made history, Ed Gorman and Simon Pearson paint a vivid picture of the men and their machines as the battle for air superiority over Britain is played out across the skies of Europe, from the west of Ireland to the German capital. We experience the battle chronologically through the remarkable stories of eighteen airmen from across the world. Some will be new to many readers: the New Zealander who "borrowed" a seaplane from the Royal Navy to set up a freelance air-sea rescue service that saved the lives of dozens of British and German pilots; the Swiss baron who claimed to have destroyed six British fighters in a day; the vainglorious commander whose RAF squadron was wiped out trying to disrupt Nazi invasion plans; and the German bomber pilot who fought the first battle involving foreign troops on British soil since Culloden - before repairing to a pub for a pint with soldiers who had taken him prisoner. Illustrated with contemporary photographs of the pilots and their aircraft, this is an enthralling and original account from both sides of a conflict that shaped the modern world, full of courage, endeavour and, above all, humanity.

The first half of the 20th century saw the birth of the aeroplane and its development as an instrument of war and commerce. Within five decades, contraptions barely able to take to the air had given way to jet-powered aircraft flying near the 'sound barrier', a rate of technological advance unparalleled in any other field. It was the period when Great Britain's aviation industry was established and grew to its zenith, fueled by the demands of two world wars and the growth of the airlines. These requirements generated a plethora of aircraft designs, some of which became house-hold names, while others failed to make the grade. British Aviation: The First Half-Century chronicles the wide variety of aircraft produced in Great Britain before 1950. With over 170 period images, carefully colourised, this book goes through the aircraft of the first half-century, portraying them in their full glory once more.

She flew the swift P-51 and the capricious P-38, but the heavy, four-engine B-17 bomber and C-54 transport were her forte. This is the story of Nancy Harkness Love who, early in World War II, recruited and led the first group of twenty-eight women to fly military aircraft for the U.S. Army.
Love was hooked on flight at an early age. At sixteen, after just four hours of instruction, she flew solo "a rather broken down Fleet biplane that my barnstorming instructor imported from parts unknown." The year was 1930: record-setting aviator Jacqueline Cochran (and Love's future rival) had not yet learned to fly, and the most famous woman pilot of all time, Amelia Earhart, had yet to make her acclaimed solo Atlantic flight.
When the United States entered World War II, the Army needed pilots to transport or "ferry" its combat-bound aircraft across the United States for overseas deployment and its trainer airplanes to flight training bases. Most male pilots were assigned to combat preparation, leaving few available for ferrying jobs. Into this vacuum stepped Nancy Love and her civilian Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS).
Love had advocated using women as ferry pilots as early as 1940. Jackie Cochran envisioned a more ambitious plan, to train women to perform a variety of the military's flight-related jobs stateside. The Army implemented both programs in the fall of 1942, but Jackie's idea piqued General Hap Arnold's interest and, by summer 1943, her concept had won. The women's programs became one under the name Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), with Cochran as the Director of Women Pilots and Love as the Executive for WASP.
Nancy Love advised the Ferrying Division, which was part of the Air Transport Command, as to the best use of their WASP ferry pilots. She supervised their allocation and air-training program. She proved adept at organizing and inspiring those under her command, earning the love and admiration of her pilots. Her military superiors trusted and respected her, to the point that she became Ferrying Division commander Gen. William H. Tunner's troubleshooter.
By example, Love won the right for women ferry pilots to transition into increasingly more complex airplanes. She checked out on twenty-three different military aircraft and became the first woman to fly several of them, including the B-17 Flying Fortress. Her World War II career ended on a high note: following a general's orders, she piloted a giant C-54 Army transport over the fabled China-Burma-India "Hump," the crucial airlift route over the Himalayas.
Nancy Love believed that the women attached to the military needed to be on equal footing with the men and given the same opportunities to prove their abilities and mettle. Young women serving today as combat pilots owe much to Love for creating the opportunity for women to serve. Her foresight and tenacity nearly seventy years ago helped ensure their future. Now author Sarah Byrn Rickman, aviation historian, presents the first full-length biography of Nancy Love and her role in the WAFS and WASP programs. Her book will appeal to all with a love of flight.

By the middle of 1918 the British Army had successfully mastered the concept of 'all arms' warfare on the Western Front. This doctrine, integrating infantry, artillery, armoured vehicles and - crucially - air power, was to prove highly effective and formed the basis of major military operations for the next hundred years. Yet, whilst much has been written on the utilisation of ground forces, the air element still tends to be studied in isolation from the army as a whole. In order to move beyond the usual 'aircraft and aces' approach, this book explores the conceptual origins of the control of the air and the role of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) within the British army. In so doing it addresses four key themes. First, it explores and defines the most fundamental air power concept - the control of the air - by examining its conceptual origins before and during the First World War. Second, it moves beyond the popular history of air power during the First World War to reveal the complexity of the topic. Third, it reintegrates the study of air power during the First World War, specifically that of the RFC, into the strategic, operational, organisational, and intellectual contexts of the era, as well as embedding the study within the respective scholarly literatures of these contexts. Fourth, the book reinvigorates an entrenched historiography by challenging the usually critical interpretation of the RFC's approach to the control of the air, providing new perspectives on air power during the First World War. This includes an exploration of the creation of the RAF and its impact on the development of air power concepts.

Considers how people have confronted, challenged, and resisted remote warfare Drone warfare is now a routine, if not predominant, aspect of military engagement. Although this method of delivering violence at a distance has been a part of military arsenals for two decades, scholarly debate on remote warfare writ large has remained stuck in tired debates about practicality, efficacy, and ethics. Remote Warfare broadens the conversation, interrogating the cultural and political dimensions of distant warfare and examining how various stakeholders have responded to the reality of state-sponsored remote violence. The essays here represent a panoply of viewpoints, revealing overlooked histories of remoteness, novel methodologies, and new intellectual challenges. From the story arc of Homeland to redefining the idea of a "warrior," these thirteen pieces consider the new nature of surveillance, similarities between killing with drones and gaming, literature written by veterans, and much more. Timely and provocative, Remote Warfare makes significant and lasting contributions to our understanding of drones and the cultural forces that shape and sustain them. Contributors: Syed Irfan Ashraf, U of Peshawar, Pakistan; Jens Borrebye Bjering, U of Southern Denmark; Annika Brunck, U of Tubingen; David A. Buchanan, U.S. Air Force Academy; Owen Coggins, Open U; Andreas Immanuel Graae, U of Southern Denmark; Brittany Hirth, Dickinson State U; Tim Jelfs, U of Groningen; Ann-Katrine S. Nielsen, Aarhus U; Nike Nivar Ortiz, U of Southern California; Michael Richardson, U of New South Wales; Kristin Shamas, U of Oklahoma; Sajdeep Soomal; Michael Zeitlin, U of British Columbia.

We Seek the Highest has been the motto of the thousands of Officer Cadets who, over ten decades, have passed through the rigorous training regime at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell, Lincolnshire. The words embody the College ethos: to strive to reach the tough standards demanded by the RAF, in the air and on the ground. This book tells the 100-year story from the point of view of the Officer Cadets themselves. The College was founded in 1919 - some eighteen months after the birth of the RAF itself - with the aim of providing a cadre of disciplined, highly-trained officers, ready to lead the service through the uncertain post-war and post-Empire times to come. Since then, it has responded continuously to the UK's political, economic and military requirements. The RAF Officer Cadets' world has thus been one of change. The author documents these changes from 1919 to today, overlaying the historical and social scene with the candidly related airborne and ground-based exploits of three-score ex-cadets. The core narrative is based on the three years at Cranwell of 81 Entry of Flight Cadets, who graduated in July 1962 with thirty-seven jet pilots and eight navigators, having launched a curriculum-changing experiment in degree-level studies. With a Foreword from an Air Chief Marshal former cadet, 130 illustrations, and a full index, the whole offers a cadets' tribute to a world-famous military academy on its centenary.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in response to terrorist attacks that were carried out against the United States on September 11, 2001. Its agencies were tasked with analyzing threats and intelligence, guarding borders and airports, protecting critical infrastructure, and coordinating the nation's response to future emergencies. The Department's aviation assets comprise those of the US Coast Guard and the US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (AMO). Today the DHS is responsible for over 200 aircraft operated by the world's largest Coast Guard, and around 240 are flown by the AMO, which is the world's largest aviation and maritime law enforcement organization. Since the creation of the DHS much work has been done within both organizations to integrate, consolidate, and update their varied fleets of fixed wing, rotary wing and remotely piloted unmanned aircraft. This title is fully illustrated with over 120 color photographs and provides insight into the department's creation and the history, aircraft, and operations of the Coast Guard and AMO.

Originally conceived as a carrier-born maritime attack aircraft, the Blackburn design included many original features such as Boundary Layer Control, a system which blew hot air over the flying surfaces to increase lift when landing. The rotating bomb bay was also new and enabled easier maintenance, accessibility and reduced drag. The first model, the S Mk 1, entered operational service with the Fleet Air Arm in 1961. S Mk 2 became operational in 1964, powered by Rolls-Royce Spey engines that gave considerably more thrust. The aircraft were armed with rocket pods, up to 1,000 lb free-fall bombs, Martel air-to-ship missiles or the nuclear Red Beard system. During the financial upheavals of the mid 1960s, the government decided to retire the RN carrier fleet, thus eliminating a fixed-wing aircraft requirement. Simultaneously, the TSR2 development programme was abandoned and left the RAF without a new attack aircraft. Enter the S Mk2B, a land-based Buccaneer, with increased range and payload, which joined the RAF in 1969, and by the early 1970s the ex-Fleet Air Arm aircraft were also carrying RAF markings.

Merton Naydler joined the RAF at the age of nineteen and served for the next six years until May 1946. He flew Spitfires and Hurricanes during a tour of duty that took him to North Africa, Burma and Malaya. This well written and extremely entertaining memoir portrays wartime life in the desert environment where sand and flies and life under canvas made living and flying a daunting experience. When the author was posted to Burma he was filled with 'a deep and genuine dread'. After a long uncomfortable trip he joined 11 Squadron and was now faced with Japanese Zeroes in combat over dense tropical jungle rather than Bf 109s over a barren desert terrain. 'Daytime flying was hot as hell, the humidity intense' - the author's description of his new posting that goes on to describe life in 'Death Valley', named because of the likeliness of falling victim to tropical disease rather than enemy aircraft. This is the story of a sergeant pilot who learned his trade the hard way, in action over Africa and then honed his combat skills in the skies over Japanese-held tropical forests where he was eventually commissioned.

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 recce 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 recce missions, commanded the Harrier unit in Belize, spent the Gulf War working with the US Defence Intelligence Agency, and became a nuclear weapons specialist. The book includes inside accounts of army support missions on the Yemen border, flying cold war recce 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.

During the late 1980s, the former Socialist Federal Republic of Jugoslavia (SFRJ) - a country dominating the Balkans - experienced a period of major crisis. Led by the Communist Party, the nation's leadership failed to understand the depth of political changes all over Eastern Europe, and then split along ethic lines. In 1988-1989, ethnic Albanians in the autonomous province of Kosovo began demanding independence: the authorities of the SFRJ reacted by suppressing the resulting demonstrations. In the Federal Republic of Serbia, public opinion slid into nationalism, which the local communist leadership exploited to maintain itself in power. By 1990, nationalistic leaders rose to power in Slovenia and Croatia, and publicly announced their intention to secede these federal republics. Under the heavy shadow of growing war-mongering, politicians from all three sides met to reach settlements on the division of their and their emerging nation's interests. The last few influential supporters of the preservation of a federal state were quickly pushed aside, and the powerful military of the SRFJ - the Yugoslav Popular Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija, JNA) - became an instrument of political games. The Slovenian and Croatian proclamations of independence, in June 1991, proved to be the drop that over spilled the barrel. Already split by deep rifts within their top political and military leaders, the federal authorities launched a rather confused attempt to recover control over the external borders of the SRFJ. The nascent Slovenian military resisted, causing a series of bloody clashes with the JNA. Tasked with the transport and protection of federal employees, the Yugoslav Air Force and Air Defence (JRViPVO) found itself in the thick of combat from day one of this conflict, when the Slovenes shot down two of its helicopters. In return, the JRViPVO began flying attack sorties, which ended only through a political agreement of 2 July 1991, and the decision for Yugoslav authorities to withdraw from Slovenia. Hard on the heels of this drama, the conflict between Croats and Serbs in Croatia reached boiling point, in the summer of 1991. Slowly at first, a major war erupted, which caught the JRViPVO in a paradoxical situation as part of it was still undergoing training, while another part had to fly shows of power, and undertake reconnaissance, transport and then the first combat operations. By September 1991, the conflict turned into an ugly slugging match: Croatian forces had blocked numerous military bases and major storage depots while the JNA received orders to lift the sieges of its surrounded units. Amid the following civil war, the JRViPVO often found itself forced to take drastic decisions, like when one of its units was relocated from the Federal Republic of Macedonia to Pula in Croatia, to fly combat sorties over the local battlefields. For the JRViPVO, the war in Croatia ended through a political settlement and a cease-fire of 3 January 1992. However, only weeks later the force was to see its final action in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where it flew combat operations against local separatists. While another political agreement resulted in a withdrawal of all federal forces from this part of the former Yugoslavia on 19 Mary 1992, and the loss (and destruction) of the major air base outside Bihac, this was also the swan song of the once proud Yugoslav air force. Based on the author's unique approach to local archives and first-hand sources, and illustrated by over 120 photographs and colour profiles, the 'JRVIPVO in Yugoslav War' is the first ever authoritative account of combat operations of the former Yugoslav Air Force in the conflict that shaped the modern-day southern Europe, and an indispensable source of reference on contemporary military history of this part of the World.