A Royal Navy Cold War Buccaneer Pilot

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A Royal Navy Cold War Buccaneer Pilot

Author : Simon Kershaw,Steve Kershaw
Publisher : Air World
Page : 234 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2023-06-30
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781399040167

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A Royal Navy Cold War Buccaneer Pilot by Simon Kershaw,Steve Kershaw Pdf

This is a vivid and powerful story of life on board the last of our great Second World War-era aircraft carriers, modernized to serve beyond its time. It is a story of the Cold War which conveys the trials and tribulations of flying one of the best-loved military aircraft in history. Steve Kershaw joined the Royal Navy in 1963. He began flying training in 1968 and progressed to the Blackburn Buccaneer – a world-class naval strike jet that was designed to fly very fast at ultra-low altitudes. In 1970, Steve joined 800 Naval Air Squadron, which embarked on HMS Eagle on its epic final cruise. The voyage to the Far East was far from trouble-free – an aircraft crashed into the sea, there was a devastating explosion on board the carrier, and then two sailors were arrested for murder in Auckland. New year 1972 saw HMS Eagle decommissioned and 800 NAS disbanded. Steve was transferred to 845 Naval Air Squadron, on which he flew Wessex helicopters. Embarked on HMS Hermes, the squadron supported Royal Marines Commandos during their deployment to the mountains of Norway under NATO plans for a European war. During this time, helicopters were strangely sabotaged on board and one of them crashed into a fjord at night. By 1974, HMS Ark Royal was the last remaining Royal Navy fixed-wing aircraft carrier to which Steve returned to fly Buccaneers on 809 Squadron. It was in this period that he participated in a NATO exercise in Norway and a Mediterranean cruise. On return, the squadron prepared for a bombing competition between the RAF and Royal Navy Buccaneers. As part of this, Steve flew a low-level sortie off the Lincolnshire coast. The light was fading, and he was struggling to see the target ahead. He failed to see they were losing height. The aircraft hit the sea. Steve and his observer, David, were ejected into the water. Steve, however, did not survive. In this book, Steve’s story is revealed by his son, Simon, through the words of his father, drawn from a mass of letters sent by him, and the recollections of those who served alongside him.

A Royal Navy Cold War Buccaneer Pilot

Author : Simon Kershaw,Steve Kershaw
Publisher : Air World
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2023-05-30
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 139904012X

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A Royal Navy Cold War Buccaneer Pilot by Simon Kershaw,Steve Kershaw Pdf

This is a vivid and powerful story of life on board the Royal Navy's Cold War aircraft carriers.

Flying the Buccaneer

Author : Peter Caygill
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 315 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2008-07-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781783460656

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Flying the Buccaneer by Peter Caygill Pdf

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.

Adventures of a Cold War Fast-Jet Navigator

Author : David Herriot
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 359 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2017-10-30
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781526706614

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Adventures of a Cold War Fast-Jet Navigator by David Herriot Pdf

An RAF navigator’s lively, candid memoir of flying low and living fast during the Cold War years. David Herriot served almost forty years in the Royal Air Force as a navigator, first on the Buccaneer S2 and subsequently on the Tornado GR1. This volume recounts his early career operating the Buccaneer on three operational flying tours, plus a tour as an instructor on the Operational Conversion Unit. With almost 2500 hours on an aircraft that was operated at high speed, in all weathers and at ultra-low level, his task in the rear seat was a demanding one. But Herriot was more than just the guy in the back of a Buccaneer; he was, quite routinely, and often to the exasperation of his seniors, the life and soul of any party that was taking place either at home base or when overseas defending the flanks of NATO. This is an epic adventure for the aviation enthusiast, particularly those with affection for the Blackburn Buccaneer, and it provides a great deal more than the usual introduction to a specific aircraft type and the people who flew it. Here you’ll find an absolute insight into life on a fast-jet squadron, at work and mischievous play during the Cold War—and you’ll also be introduced to some of the modern RAF’s greatest characters.

Testing Tornado

Author : J. David Eagles AFC
Publisher : The History Press
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2016-09-08
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 9780750969420

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Testing Tornado by J. David Eagles AFC Pdf

It was early Cold War days when 17-year-old David Eagles applied to the Fleet Air Arm hoping to be a fighter pilot for his national service. He little imagined the career that would follow. After flying training with the US Navy and Australian Fleet Air Arm, he settled into Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot life. He progressed through Naval Test Pilot duties – where he was forced to eject from a Buccaneer during catapult launch trials – before joining British Aerospace and playing a major part in the cockpit design and flight-testing of the RAF's first fly-by-wire and swing-wing aircraft, the Panavia Tornado. His other experiences include ditching a Firefly into the sea and the near loss of the first British Tornado prototype after a bird strike. Finally, after 6,000 flying hours in sixty different types of aircraft, Eagles finished his career by making the first flight of the EAP, the technology demonstrator for the new Eurofighter Typhoon. Vividly illustrated with photographs, documents and plans, this is a fascinating memoir of naval-flying and test-flying some of the world's most iconic fighters.

The Buccaneers

Author : Graham Pitchfork
Publisher : Sutton
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Bombers
ISBN : 1852606118

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The Buccaneers by Graham Pitchfork Pdf

Designed at the height of the Cold War as a carrier-borne nuclear strike aircraft for the Royal Navy, the first Blackburn Buccaneer entered service in 1963. The 620mph all-British design saw active service with the Fleet Air Arm around Singapore during the Indonesian confrontation, in the withdrawal from Aden and in Belize. It was not until 1978 that the FAA's last Buccaneers were eventually retired. In 1968 the RAF chose the Buccaneer as its new low-level strike aircraft. The first of the RAF's Buccaneers were delivered in 1969 with the initial squadron operating from the UK in the maritime strike role. In RAF service, Buccaneer squadrons also flew low-level tactical strike operations, mostly in Germany. The 1991 Gulf War was the aircraft's swan song when it flew target designator sorties for other Coalition aircraft. The last military Buccaneer flights took place in 1995. A total of 206 Buccaneers were built and the aircraft gave over 30 years of reliable service. At its high point in 1978, five RAF and FAA operational squadrons flew the type. Although the aircraft was designed for the Royal Navy it was with the RAF that it saw its longest service, from 1969 to 1995.

The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War

Author : Malcolm Smith
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 252 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2014-07-28
Category : History
ISBN : 9781783463831

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The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War by Malcolm Smith Pdf

Following in the same style as his previous book of Fleet Air Arm recollections, Malcolm Smith has collected a compendium of reminiscences from pilots who flew for the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines during the First World War. He includes first-hand testimonies from pilots manning early seaplane stations, an enthralling account from F.J. Rutland (the 'Rutland of Jutland'), who became the first pilot to take off in a Sopwith Pup from a platform on the roof of one of HMS Yarmouth's gun turrets, the true tale behind Rudyard Kipling's short story 'A Flight of Fact' (concerning Guy Duncan-Smith's experience of becoming marooned in the Maldives following a dramatic shoot-down), amongst many other personalized and illuminating stories. ??All these anecdotes are drawn from the extensive archive maintained by the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton, Somerset. The archive contains an enormous quantity of material, in the form of handwritten diaries, transcripts, log books and documentation of many kinds. Alongside the written material, the Museum maintains an unrivaled photographic archive and a representative sample of these images is included in the book.??Excerpts from diaries, transcripts of spoken first-hand accounts and other recorded narratives make up the bulk of the book, with whole chapters dedicated to some of the most vocal members to see service during the course of the RNAS's Great War history. Guy Leather, a pilot destined to track an impressive trajectory with the RNAS features in one such chapter; his day to day accounts relay the full gamut of pilot experience at this time. ??This humane and thoughtful consolidation of pilot reflections is sure to appeal broadly, particularly as we approach the one hundredth year anniversary of the First World War.

Luck is my Shadow

Author : Terry Adcock
Publisher : Fonthill Media
Page : 418 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2020-05-29
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Luck is my Shadow by Terry Adcock Pdf

As a very young boy in the Second World War the seeds were sown to fly in the blue sky. Terry made up his young mind with great determination to reach for that sky in a 'Spitfire'. He joined the RAF as a pilot but twists of fate caused him to become a nuclear bomber pilot. It was RAF policy not to change from that complicated role to another and yet he pushed for change; became an instructor and as a display pilot he made his final move to the single seat air defence Lightning. He instructed on the Lightning and commanded two squadrons. Terry's original dream came true and he reached the pinnacle of his ambition but it was complicated in a way that he had not envisaged. There were dangerous incidents, the loss of friends, the 31 moves of his family and the politics associated with senior rank. At the outset he had not understood the demands of a Cold War or the need for him to sail the major oceans of the world with a sea-going admiral and become his intelligence officer. The eventual compensation was a promotion and a two year tour on a tropical island with his family.

The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War

Author : Malcolm Smith
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 394 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2014-07-28
Category : History
ISBN : 9781473838482

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The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War by Malcolm Smith Pdf

Following in the same style as his previous book of Fleet Air Arm recollections, Malcolm Smith has collected a compendium of reminiscences from pilots who flew for the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines during the First World War. He includes first-hand testimonies from pilots manning early seaplane stations, an enthralling account from F.J. Rutland (the 'Rutland of Jutland'), who became the first pilot to take off in a Sopwith Pup from a platform on the roof of one of HMS Yarmouth's gun turrets, the true tale behind Rudyard Kipling's short story 'A Flight of Fact' (concerning Guy Duncan-Smith's experience of becoming marooned in the Maldives following a dramatic shoot-down), amongst many other personalized and illuminating stories. All these anecdotes are drawn from the extensive archive maintained by the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton, Somerset. The archive contains an enormous quantity of material, in the form of handwritten diaries, transcripts, log books and documentation of many kinds. Alongside the written material, the Museum maintains an unrivaled photographic archive and a representative sample of these images is included in the book.Excerpts from diaries, transcripts of spoken first-hand accounts and other recorded narratives make up the bulk of the book, with whole chapters dedicated to some of the most vocal members to see service during the course of the RNAS's Great War history. Guy Leather, a pilot destined to track an impressive trajectory with the RNAS features in one such chapter; his day to day accounts relay the full gamut of pilot experience at this time. This humane and thoughtful consolidation of pilot reflections is sure to appeal broadly, particularly as we approach the one hundredth year anniversary of the First World War.

Buccaneer

Author : Tony Buttler
Publisher : Historic Military Aircraft
Page : 96 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2023
Category : History
ISBN : 1802823166

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Buccaneer by Tony Buttler Pdf

The mighty Blackburn Buccaneer was considered an important and capable Cold War aircraft. This fully illustrated book details the type's development and entry into service with the Royal Navy, RAF and South African Air Force, operations, weaponry and test flying.

Beneath the Restless Wave

Author : Tony Beasley,Edward Couzens-Lake
Publisher : Casemate
Page : 211 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2020-02-20
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781612008417

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Beneath the Restless Wave by Tony Beasley,Edward Couzens-Lake Pdf

A Royal Navy submariner and hero of the Cold War reveals his incredible true story of covert ops against the Soviets in this military memoir. Tony Beasley was just a teenager when he joined the Royal Navy in 1946. Throughout his training and specialization as a telegraphist, he anticipated a life above the water, not beneath it. But with the Cold War brewing, new threats emerged, and Beasely was sent to work on submarines. In this candid memoir, he recounts his adventures patrolling the seas and spying on the Soviet Fleet. Tony took part in numerous missions, including covert operations in the Barents Sea. Before this mission, the crew of the submarine was advised that if anything went wrong it “never happened.” When things inevitably did go wrong, Tony emerged a hero. For many years afterward, he wasn't allowed to tell anyone where he had been or what he had done. Now in his eighties, Tony finally gets to tell his story.

British Aircraft Carriers 1945–2010

Author : Angus Konstam
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 84 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2023-04-27
Category : History
ISBN : 9781472856890

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British Aircraft Carriers 1945–2010 by Angus Konstam Pdf

The history of the Royal Navy flagships that led the fleet through the Cold War, ensured victory in the Falklands War, and saw action in Iraq and the Balkans. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the Royal Navy's carrier fleet proved essential to the post-war world. Royal Navy carriers fought in the Korean War with the UN fleet, in the debacle at Suez, and in British operations in the last days of Empire, in Malaya, Borneo and Aden. But most famously, they were the key to the Royal Navy's victory in the Falklands campaign, and they went on to fight in the two Iraq wars. Illustrated throughout with new profiles of the key carriers and their development, as well as a cutaway of HMS Victorious and superb new illustrations of the carriers in action, this book explains how the Royal Navy's air power changed throughout the Cold War and beyond. Renowned naval historian Angus Konstam explains how the World War II carriers were rebuilt in a pioneering modernization that allowed them to operate a new generation of naval jets. As carriers became more expensive to operate, the Royal Navy had to scrap its conventional fast jets and introduce a new generation of light carriers designed for the innovative Harrier 'jump jet'. When the Falklands War broke out, it was one of these new carriers and one veteran carrier from World War II that gave the Task Force the fighters it needed to defend itself in hostile waters and retake the islands. Covering a period of dramatic change for the Royal Navy, this book is a history of the Royal Navy's most important ships throughout the Cold War, the retreat from Empire, and the Falklands and Iraq wars, up to the moment Royal Navy fixed-wing air power was temporarily axed in 2010.

The Accidental Aviator

Author : Larry Jeram-Croft
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 154 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2021-05-19
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9798502644693

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The Accidental Aviator by Larry Jeram-Croft Pdf

Flying in the Royal Navy during the Cold War was demanding and dangerous, it became even more so as war went Hot in1982 when the Argentinians invaded the Falklands.This is the personal account of one man's experience of those turbulent times.Larry Jeram-Croft obtained a Cadetship to join the Royal Navy whilst still at school. Guaranteed entry, he then dedicated his teenage years to girls and motorbikes and put off worrying about his future. Somehow, he obtained enough A levels to be accepted and so with no better idea, he joined up. Despite the distractions of girls, sailing, racing cars and flying, he obtained a degree, specialising in Aircraft Engineering. Although having a Private Pilot's licence, he was turned down as a naval pilot because of poor eyesight. Never one to give up, he requested to be allowed to fly anyway. His request was approved and he trained as a pilot, going to his first front line squadron, flying Sea Kings in 1978. This was the height of the Cold War and the anti-submarine flying was often extremely challenging (as was the social life). Early in 1979 he was involved in an SAR sortie that rescued 8 people off a stranded trawler at night, in a force ten snow storm and was awarded a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air.Two years later, he converted to the Lynx helicopter and joined the frigate HMS Andromeda. In 1982, the ship deployed with the Falklands Task Force. Larry's aircraft had been fitted with special Exocet missile jamming equipment which was proved against a real missile before they headed south. On 30 May the last Exocet raid of the war took place and he had a front seat view of the attack as two Sea Dart missiles narrowly missed his aircraft.On return to the UK, he spent four years as the Maintenance Test Pilot at Portland flying both the Lynx and the Wasp where he was able to put much of his flying and engineering experience to good use. Staff jobs followed and he was promoted to Commander in 1990 before retiring in 2000. Larry now writes novels and non-fiction. Readers of his 'Jon Hunt' series of naval novels may well recognise elements of his career that have migrated into his fiction. This is the true story.

The Fleet Air Arm

Author : Malcolm Smith
Publisher : Voices in Flight
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : History
ISBN : 1781590923

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The Fleet Air Arm by Malcolm Smith Pdf

The author Malcolm Smith has been the Editor of Jabberwock, the bi-annual journal of the Fleet Air Arm Museum, for two years and has inherited the complete archive of editions dating back to the formation of SOFFAAM in 1979. In browsing through these, it quickly became apparent to him that they provided a unique archive of reminiscence of the men and (occasionally) women who served in, or have been associated with, the Fleet Air Arm since its formation in 1918. The Fleet Air Arm were the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft, and its history is a varied one as these accounts attest. The Royal Navy, in common with the other armed services, expanded enormously during the Second World War, so anecdotes from this period naturally predominate. To illustrate the varied experiences of the contributors, these are grouped into "War in the West" and "War in the East". Whether drawn from peace or war, however, what emerges from these pages is a particular spirit, peculiar to the Fleet Air Arm and reflecting its somewhat hybrid nature; a spirit derived from a high level of professional competence combined with a certain irreverence towards Authority.

Britain’s Cold War Bombers

Author : Tim McLelland
Publisher : Fonthill Media
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2017-05-17
Category : History
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Britain’s Cold War Bombers by Tim McLelland Pdf

Britain’s Cold War Bombers explores the creation and development of the jet bomber, tracing the emergence of the first jet designs (the Valiant and Vulcan) through to the first-generation jets which entered service with the R.A.F. and Fleet Air Arm. Each aircraft type will be examined, looking at how the design was created and how this translated into an operational aircraft. The basic development and service history of each type will be examined, with a narrative which links the linear appearance of each new design, leading to the present day and the latest generation of Typhoon aircraft. Other aircraft types explored will include the Canberra, Sperrin, Victor, Scimitar, Buccaneer, Nimrod, Phantom, Sea Harrier, Jaguar, Tornado GR1/4 and Typhoon. Illustrations: 200 black-and-white and 50 color photographs