Cold War Jets Royal Air Force Fighters & Bombers(1), Wydawnictwa anglo i rosyjskojęzyczne

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//-->£7.99uring the latter half of the 20th century Western Europelived in perpetual fear of an attack from the East.Countering this threat meant the defences of NATO hadto be continually reinforced with the latest technologies– resulting in the Cold War arms race.While any actual strike was thought likely to end in mutuallyassured destruction, the intervening period would see intense actionas the two sides met. Air superiority would be essential, as hadbeen proven during the Second World War, since it was vital for thebombers to get through with their nuclear payload.Despite the world teetering on the brink of war for many years,or perhaps because of it, the Royal Air Force and British aviation ingeneral enjoyed a new golden age. The inventions of the 1939-45war, the jet engine and radar, provided springboards for exciting newprojects which were in constant development, the brand new aircraftamazing crowds at the annual SBAC shows at Farnborough.Glamorous test pilots broke the sound barrier and futuristic aircraftsuch as the English Electric P.1 and the behemoth that was the Avro 698mesmerised spectators. Both types went on to become iconic aircraft (theLightning and Vulcan) that every schoolboy dreamed of one day flying.As the threat from the USSR and Warsaw Pact nations continued toremain a presence in military planning, the roles required of aircraftevolved. Despite the RAF having proven the benefits of operatingfrom temporary airstrips both during the Battle of Britain and as theyleapfrogged from airfield to airfield after D-Day, the jets of the postwaryears necessitated hard runways of increasing length to accommodatetheir greater weight and the distance they required to get airborne.In later years, both the Jaguar and Harrier were designed tooperate in the field should the worst come to the worst and theairfields were lost during a first strike. The Harrier could operatefrom literally anywhere and the Jaguar was capable of using theautobahns of West Germany.Bombers which were looking obsolete in their primary role as anuclear deterrent, due to the submarine fleet taking over that role,were converted to tankers, allowing the RAF to reach any part of theglobe; the most famous example being the Black Buck raids when theVictor tanker fleet helped Vulcan bombers reach the Falkland Islands.While there was never a direct conflict between East and Westthere were many proxy wars where the RAF and British-designedaircraft were involved. The possibility of a ‘domino effect’, whereone national after another fell to communism, was a constant worryin the Far East and while it was not involved in the Vietnam War theRAF had a presence in the region for many years.Royal Navy fighters may have seen action during the KoreanWar but the RAF was used during the Malayan Emergency and wasDa permanent presence in Singapore where everything from theMeteor to the Javelin was based.In the Middle East, the RAF retained a presence for many yearswith several types seeing action during the Suez Crisis. The RAFLuqa, Malta, and RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, bases saw everything fromVenoms to Valiants while British and French forces attempted toretake the canal and topple Nassar, the Egyptian president.Further south at RAF Khormaksar, the RAF saw prolonged actionwhile trying to protect the sovereignty of Aden against variousguerrilla groups, eventually pulling out in 1967.During the 1970s the RAF retained a sizable presence in WestGermany and fighters remained on standby in the UK for QuickReaction Alert to intercept Soviet aircraft that probed Britishairspace, something that has continued into the 21st century.During 1982 the RAF played a vital role in the Falklands War withHarriers, Vulcans and Victors all being involved. The followingdecade saw the end of the Cold War but the jets built as a result of itcontinued to be used during the Gulf War and later in the Balkans.The soaring cost of combat aircraft has resulted in an ongoingreduction in the size of air forces around the globe and thethreats to peace in the early 21st century are no longer as clearcut as they were during the Cold War when it was the East versusthe West. This, combined with the ever-increasing use of drones,means we are unlikely to ever again see an RAF as large orimpressive as it was during the Cold War.There is no official consensus on when the Cold War startedand ended but it is generally agreed that it covered a periodfrom around 1947 to 1991, so all the main front line jets used bythe RAF during this time have been included here. Some earlyand post-Cold War schemes have been included too, due to theirsignificance in relation to the type. Most of the dates for types arebased on the first flight of the initial prototype which led to theproduction aircraft, but in some cases where they have evolvedfrom other types the later date has been given.There are some notable types absent that provided a vital role andhave their own aficionados, including the Phantom, the Nimrod andthe Tornado which was a result of the Cold War but is currently still inservice. Other absent jets include the Provost, Gnat and Hawk, thesethree being used as trainers by the RAF. Due to the limited numberof pages available, not type could be covered so the aircraft featuredhave been limited to front line British-built fighters and bombers thatare no longer in service with the RAF.Although the Jaguar was an Anglo-French collaboration and thesecond generation Harriers were of largely American in design, theywere still a derivative of the original Hawker P.1127.COLD WAR JETS3INTRODUCTIONCONTENTS16▼▼44SUPERMARINESWIFT60Design:VICKERSVALIANT▼Words and illustrations:CHRIS SANDHAMBAILEYGARETH WILLIAMSPublishing director:Publisher:DAN SAVAGEReprographics:STEVE O’HARAJONATHAN SCHOFIELD& PAUL FINCHAMProduction editor:DAN SHARP4COLD WAR JETS▼6GLOSTERMETEORDE HAVILLANDVAMPIRE▼3426DE HAVILLANDVENOMENGLISH ELECTRICCANBERRA▼50HAWKER▼HUNTERMarketing manager:CHARLOTTE PARKNIGEL HOLECommercial director:Published by:MORTONS MEDIAGROUP LTD,MEDIA CENTRE,MORTON WAY,HORNCASTLE,LINCOLNSHIRELN9 6JR.Thanks:I would like to thank a number of people, firstly Dan Sharp andMortons for supporting this publication. All the hard working volunteersat Bruntingthorpe including the Buccaneer Aviation Group, the LightningPreservation Group, WT333 and everyone else who keeps these Cold Warwarriors running. Tangmere, Newark and the East Midlands museums forallowing me access to their collections. John Smith, Phil Willsher, DaveFleming, Rob Monfea, Joe Warner Cherrie and my long suffering yetunderstanding family. Lastly Tim Spilsbury and Simon Potter withoutwhom none of this would have been possible.Printed by:William Gibbons and Sons, Wolverhampton© 2016 Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic ormechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storageretrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.Tel.01507 52952968GLOSTER▼JAVELIN7886HANDLEY PAGEVICTORAVROVULCANENGLISH ELECTRICLIGHTNING▼92102HAWKERSIDDELEY/BAEHARRIER▼112BLACKBURN▼BUCCANEER120▼SEPECATJAGUAR130COLOUR CHART▼COLD WAR JETS5▼ [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Cold War Jets Royal Air Force Fighters & Bombers(1), Wydawnictwa anglo i rosyjskojęzyczne

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