Royal Air Force Germany Harrier Force: Volume 1: Development and Deployment 1970-1973

Royal Air Force Germany was the chief operator of the RAF's Harriers during the Cold War. Its Harrier Force remains the only unit to have routinely taken large numbers of fast-jet aircraft into unprepared fields and woods, operating them in constant readiness for combat. This book, the first of three volumes on the RAF Germany Harrier Force, describes how the aircraft was developed from a simple proof-of-concept prototype into a much more complex war machine, overcoming the extraordinary demands of vertical flight. It tells of the forming of the Harrier Wing at RAF Wildenrath in 1970, and how its people learned the hard way to fly and operate the 'jump jet' on base and in the field during those accident-laden early years. Volume I concludes at the end of 1973 when, having proven its capabilities, the Harrier Wing became the Harrier Force. AUTHOR: Tim Brandt was an engineering officer in the RAF for 33 years, reaching the rank of group captain. His first tour out of training was on 4 Squadron's Harriers at RAF Gütersloh, where he spent three years on the Harrier Force at the height of the Cold War. After leaving the RAF, he worked as an aviation safety consultant. He has degrees in mechanical engineering, defence management and defence studies, and is a fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He is currently vice-chairman of the Society of Friends of the Fleet Air Arm Museum. He has had a life-long passion for aviation and its history. 64 colour, 100 b/w illustrations