A Royal Navy Cold War Buccaneer Pilot

Author : Steve Kershaw
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 1399040146
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.43/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A Royal Navy Cold War Buccaneer Pilot written by Steve Kershaw and published by Air World. This book was released on 2023-07-06 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 their 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. 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.

Author : Simon Kershaw
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 9781399040129
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.2X/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A Royal Navy Cold War Buccaneer Pilot written by Simon Kershaw and published by Air World. This book was released on 2023-05-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a vivid and powerful story of life on board the Royal Navy's Cold War aircraft carriers.

Author : Simon Kershaw
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 1399040162
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.67/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A Royal Navy Cold War Buccaneer Pilot written by Simon Kershaw and published by Air World. This book was released on 2023-06-30 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Author : Peter Caygill
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1783460652
Total Pages : 315 pages
Book Rating : 4.56/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Flying the Buccaneer written by Peter Caygill and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2008-07-15 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Author : David Herriot
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 152670661X
Total Pages : 359 pages
Book Rating : 4.14/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Adventures of a Cold War Fast-Jet Navigator written by David Herriot and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2017-10-30 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Author : Graham Pitchfork
Publisher : Sutton
ISBN 13 : 9781852606114
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.18/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Buccaneers written by Graham Pitchfork and published by Sutton. This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Author : Terry Adcock
Publisher : Fonthill Media
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 418 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Download or read book Luck is my Shadow written by Terry Adcock and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2020-05-29 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Author : J. David Eagles
Publisher : The History Press
ISBN 13 : 0750969423
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.20/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Testing Tornado written by J. David Eagles and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2016-09-08 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Author : Tony Buttler
Publisher : Historic Military Aircraft
ISBN 13 : 9781802823165
Total Pages : 96 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Buccaneer written by Tony Buttler and published by Historic Military Aircraft. This book was released on 2023 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Author : Malcolm Smith
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 178346383X
Total Pages : 252 pages
Book Rating : 4.31/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War written by Malcolm Smith and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-07-28 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.