Aviation Books to read

[paulh]

Picked up a copy of 'Buccaneer Boys' at the weekend from The Works in Grimsby priced at £7.00
I'm sure they will be available at their other outlets as well.

I also see they are available online at that price plus postage if anyone is interested.
(not started reading it yet).

Cheers Paul.

[Ryan22]

I picked up 'Tornado Boys' by Ian Hall and like the 'Lightning/Jaguar/Buccaneer etc Boys' titles, it is excellent. Done in a chronological format starting with the development flights through to fairly recent operations, the accounts from various pilots/WSOs/ground crew give a broad experience of the amazing Tonka and life on their relative squadrons. Some cracking photos to marvel at too. Well worth a read.

[MRTT]

Would also recommend 'Tornado Boys'- an excellent book! Has probably been mentioned before but I'd recommend 'Airshow' by Graham Hurley.

[scottoz8]

just finished reading The Fighting Cocks, an excellent read ,especially WW!, no armour,gyro sights, Sidewinder etc, along with
osprey;s 43 sqn great stuff

[nickowen]

I have just re-read 'Fate is the Hunter' by Ernest K Gann. "This is not a war story - and yet it is. Any tale in which the protagonists are so seriously threatened they may lose their lives demands an enemy capable of destruction."
Probably one of the three best books about flying ever written, along with St Exupéry's 'Wind, Sand and Stars' and 'Sagittarius Rising' by Cecil Lewis.

[panta615]

I can highly recommend 'None Braver' by Michael Hirch.

A fantastic read that's well written and pretty inspiring too.

[powerslave]

I picked up 'Tornado Boys' by Ian Hall and like the 'Lightning/Jaguar/Buccaneer etc Boys' titles, it is excellent. Done in a chronological format starting with the development flights through to fairly recent operations, the accounts from various pilots/WSOs/ground crew give a broad experience of the amazing Tonka and life on their relative squadrons. Some cracking photos to marvel at too. Well worth a read.

Reading this at the moment,just finished the John Peters section about training to fly with nukes.
Interesting and sobering to read, after they all had been evaluated on readiness and timings and millions of other things,once they took off the ex ended.
All the crews knew that there was nothing to come back to,everything would have been turned to dust.They also knew they probably would'nt have returned anyway.

ian

[Blackcat1]

Sorry if it's been mentioned already but the most recent good books I've read are :- Tornado over the Tigris ,Jaguar, Harrier, Tornado and Lightning boys, another good book I read was by our sadly departed friend/FC member Sheff/Tim Laming ; called View from the cockpit, flying military aircraft.

[mikecc99]

With the USAAF`s `darn 100th` featuring in a thread in the FC Mess, can I recommend a fine book called `A Wing and a Prayer` by Harry H Crosby (Publisher Robson Books).
Crosby survived 37 missions as a navigator on the B-17s, mainly out of Thorpe Abbotts.

[mikecc99]

Sorry, don`t know how `darn` got in there unless there is a filter on potential swearwords?? Anyway the 100th Bomb Group ofcourse, part of the US Eighth Air Force

[114PM]

Sorry for being slightly off topic, but I didn't know where else to write my question ...

Is there any book or website about the Harrier, where one can see the exact type for a specific date?
For example, ZGxxx was modificated in May 2010 to a GR.9A, ZGyyy was modificated in April 2008 to a GR.7 etc.

Many thank's in advance!

Regards
Marcus

[Ryan22]

An excellent book I've just finished is 'MacRobert's Reply' by Philip Hamlyn Williams with Philip Jeffs (the son of Donald Jeffs, the sole survivor of the Short Stirling 'MacRobert's Reply' shot down over Denmark). With the upcoming disbandment of XV(R) Squadron, this book has taken on an increased sense of poignancy. Well worth seeking out on Amazon.

[awacsfan]

Just a question to the forum here.... has anybody maybe read the book Spyflights and Overflights: US Strategic Aerial Reconnaissance, 1945-1960 by Robert Hopkins yet? I've noticed this book on the internet but contrary to many other books, no "inside view" is available and I was wondering if it's a good read? Any information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[06L]

Sorry for being slightly off topic, but I didn't know where else to write my question ...

Is there any book or website about the Harrier, where one can see the exact type for a specific date?
For example, ZGxxx was modificated in May 2010 to a GR.9A, ZGyyy was modificated in April 2008 to a GR.7 etc.

Many thank's in advance!

Regards
Marcus

Try this Marcus - http://www.harriersig.org.uk/reference/ ... ev1105.pdf

[Sparts99]

They Gave Me A Seafire by Mike Crossley. Engrossing read that starts as biographies do about the author's personal experiences but as the book progresses the technical aspects of the Seafire and comparisons to the Spitfire, the conduct of the RN heirarchy and tactics of battleship vs. aircraft carrier become the main topics. I recommend reading this and then Sharkey Ward's and Jerry Pook's books about the Falklands air campaign in that order. The parallels between them but 40 years apart are unbelievable, lessons if learnt were forgotten. All cheap on the Kindle at the moment.

[mikecc99]

Deadlines - by Mike Curtis

A tragic tale of a wartime pilot and a memoir of a young journalist with a passion for military aviation. Lots more information and some nostalgic photographs at: http://www.deadlines101.com

The book starts with the Lichfield RC! There`s something for you if like airshows and airfields such as Farnborough, Fairford, Mildenhall, Binbrook, Brize Norton, Coningsby, Scampton, Wittering, St Mawgan, Nellis, Butterworth, Akrotiri and long gone military ones like Finningley, Upper Heyford, Alconbury and Greenham Common. There are accidents to report involving a Vulcan, a Phantom, a Buccaneer and the Red Arrows – and flights in a Tornado, a Harrier, a Hawk, a Nimrod, VC10s, helicopters and Jet Provosts.

Running through the book is the story of my uncle, Pilot Officer Colin Curtis, whose Wellington bomber from 101 Squadron at Oakington was shot down on his third mission. The aircraft and the six crew were never found. The Luftwaffe nightfighter expert who claimed three Wellingtons that evening in January 1942 suffered the same fate a year later. A couple of weeks after the 101 Squadron Wellington was lost, another pilot with family connections crashed into the sea in a Sunderland flying boat of 201 Squadron. The 12 men on board were never found.

A review on the Troubador publisher`s website reads: `Poignant, never-before told, family memories of very young RAF Bomber Command aircrew who died in World War 2 are cleverly interwoven with fascinating, often very amusing, anecdotes of a long-serving print and radio journalist who was born long after the end of WW 2, but who has been a life-long enthusiast of anything to do with aviation, and especially military flying. As a former RAF pilot and Public Relations Officer for the RAF Red Arrows, I thought I might be tempted to skim through the 300-plus pages to see who and what was mentioned! However, from the very first page I was hooked. If you are interested in flying stories, old and new, and the ways and means of journalists, from youngsters on their very first day in a news room, right up to News Editors, then this a book you must read.`Tony Cunnane.

Available as a paperback (£7.99) and as an e-book download (£4.99). I hope some of the FC community may enjoy the aviation aspects in particular. More at: http://www.deadlines101.com

Mike Curtis
http://www.deadlines101.com

[page_verify]

A very insightful read about the life of a former Army Air Corps pilot who transferred to the SAS's flying squadron, then to the SAS itself, then to SIS.
It contains more "first revelations" about just what the British got up to on the mainland during the Falklands War.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kisses-Nimbus- ... 1911525778

[Sparts99]

That sounds interesting.

[Mikedee]

Was 14 when aircraft first flew 66 years ago ... strewth....although regarded as Marmite to some , It became my favourite aircraft ( SAD )
Really enjoyed the book , many good stories /snippets ..history of aircraft built, the many accidents, the frequent problems with the Sapphires...

Good colour photo section....tales of pilots - Looping the aircraft...Diving Supersonically....performing a "Twinkle roll' (without warning the back seater..

Taking a 'stripped down' T3 up to 58.000ft etc ...etc

....good deal on Google

[Tiga1050]

One of my areas of interest is the Canberra PR7 / PR9 and in particular the photo reconnaissance role, how this was delivered, equipment, mission planning, flight profiles etc. I cannot seem to find much published material about this specific area. If anyone has suggestions about good books or other relevant publications I would be grateful for the heads up.
Thanks