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BOOKS |
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Frontline & Experimental Flying With The Fleet Air Arm |
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Commander G. R. (Geoff) Higgs AFC RN |
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The spectacle of Alan Cobham's Flying Circus and the Fleet at anchor in Weymouth inspired the author's lifelong passion for aeroplanes, flying and the Royal Navy. World War Two provided the opportunity to fulfil his ambition and at eighteen he volunteered for the Fleet Air Arm as a pilot. Training in Canada began a Naval flying career that spanned thirty-years. Front line squadron service, embarked on aircraft carriers, was followed by qualification as a flying instructor. Selection for the Empire Test Pilots School at Farnborough and qualification as an experimental Test Pilot changed the direction of his naval career. In all Geoff Higgs flew nearly one hundred types of aircraft and carried out close to a thousand deck landings. Initial flight testing of a number of new naval aircraft, as well as research flying in support of the development of aircraft such as the English Electric Lightning and Concorde added to a unique career.
This book covers the author's flying
career from the finish of World War 2 including his
appointment as CO of the Naval Test Squadron at Boscombe
Down replacing Mike Crosley (See book review below). In 1965
as CO of 'C' Squadron he also took 3 Buccaneer Mk 2 Aircraft
to Naval Air Station Patuxent River
in Maryland, NAS Pensacola in Florida
and the Carrier USS Lexington for Hot weather Trials. |
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Up in Harms Way |
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Commander R. M 'Mike' Crosley DSC & Bar RN |
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This book covers the author's flying career from the finish of World War 2 until his final appointment as CO of the Naval Test Squadron at Boscombe Down. Having had an outstanding wartime record 'Mike' Crosley became heavily involved with the introduction of Britain's first carrier-borne jet aircraft. The book explains how modern techniques, such as the angled flight deck, steam catapult and deck-landing mirror sights were developed and tested. At Boscombe Down he developed the 'hand's-off' launch technique for the Buccaneer which saved it from probable cancellation at a very difficult time for British naval aviation. There is ample technical detail in this book for those who wish to get deeper into the subject and he pulls no punches in his response to the cancellation of the CVA01 project in the 1960's |
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Mike Crosley crossed the bar in June 2010 - Link to details of his obituary |
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I SANK THE BISMARCK |
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Lieutenant Commander John Moffat RN |
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'Ranks among the very finest moments of Fleet Air Arm and Royal Navy history' Navy News May1941, the pilots of fifteen canvas-covered biplanes struggled to hold their Swordfish aircraft steady as they aimed towards the German battleship Bismarck. They flew low over a wind-wracked ocean, aiming their torpedoes, totally vulnerable in their open cockpits. If they failed now Bismarck would escape to safety.
Among these brave flyers was a young Sub-Lieutenant in the Fleet Air Arm, John Moffat. Only years later was John told that it was his torpedo that had prevented the Bismarck from outrunning her Royal Navy pursuers.
I Sank the Bismarck is a personal story of a carefree young boy, raised in the Borders, growing up to join a fledgling Fleet Air Arm. It's the story of a young pilot, living for the moment, facing war, and taking part in one of the most important battles at sea ever fought by Britain and the Royal Navy.
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TOO FEW TOO FAR |
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The untold story of how 22 Marines held off hundreds of Argentinians and disabled a warship on the eve of the Falklands War.
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George Thomsen has written his story of how 22 Royal Marines, stranded on the frozen island of South Georgia faced a hostile Argentinian invasion force. Naval Party 8901; Royal Marine George Thomsen is enjoying a drink at a farewell party after spending a 12 month tour of duty on the Falklands. But celebrations on 'going home' are cut short as he is hauled from the party to learn that his duties in the South Atlantic are very far from over. He is ordered to pick 8 men and to embark on the HMS Endurance the next morning, for the most dangerous mission of his career. 800 miles to the south East, scrap merchant Davidoff accompanied by Argentine troops masquerading as his employees, have raised the Argentine flag over the distant frozen island of South Georgia - British territory and the base of The British Antarctic Survey Team. Davidoff has held up one finger at The Empire and set the match to the touch paper that will escalate into all out war. Lightly armed and stranded by a departing HMS Endurance, the tiny besieged and outnumbered force make ready for a classic battle to protect the island and its scientists, against massive odds, from the air, land and sea. |
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THE VIEW FROM A JUNGLY COCKPIT 1958 - 2008 |
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PHOENIX SQUADRON HMS Ark Royal, Britain’s Last Top Guns and the Untold Story of Their Most Dramatic Mission
‘Completely riveting … as gripping as any Tom Clancy thriller’ JEREMY CLARKSON ‘If only all military history was written like this …’ ANDY MCNAB‘A remarkable story told with skill and dedication … I enjoyed it. And I learned a lot.’ LEN DEIGHTON ‘A gutsy, you-are-there true story that throbs with the sound and fury of carrier operations. Military history as it ought to be told.’ ROBERT GANDT ‘Clearly states the case for naval aviation in our uncertain age. An aircraft carrier loaded with fighter bombers is still the big stick …’ STEPHEN COONTS HMS Ark Royal was the most powerful warship the Royal Navy had ever put to sea, her Air Group of Phantoms, Buccaneers, Gannets and Sea Kings a match for anything else in the sky. But, by the end of January 1972, she was also the last of her kind, the sole remaining British aircraft carrier, kept in service to help face down the threat from the powerful Soviet Navy. Then intelligence reached Whitehall that British Honduras – now Belize – was under threat of imminent invasion from neighbouring Guatemala. The little colony was all but defenceless in the face of battle-hardened, US-trained Guatemalan soldiers and airmen. Until Ark Royal was ordered to ‘Proceed with all despatch’ … Drawing on many hours of interviews with the participants and previously unseen, classified documents in the UK and overseas, Phoenix Squadron pieces together this remarkable episode for the first time. And in doing so brings to life a unique, unfamiliar and fascinating period in British military history. Phoenix Squadron was published in hardback by Bantam Press on 9th April 2009, priced £18.99 and is available from amazon.co.uk
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Hardcover: 349 pages |
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Joint Force Harrier |
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Days after arriving in Kandahar, the Harriers of 800 Naval Air Squadron were in the thick of fierce fighting. Armed with rockets and bombs, the pilots were flying crucial danger-close attack missions in defence of troops engaged in the most intense battles seen by British forces since the Korean War. While facing the constant threat of surface-to-air missiles, the British Top Guns knew that any mistake would have fatal consequences for the soldiers who depended on their skill and determination. Written by the Commanding Officer of the first Royal Navy squadron to deploy to Afghanistan, Joint Force Harrier is a compelling insight into the exciting world of modern air warfare. |
Joint Force Harrier by Commander Ade Orchard, RN
Format: Hardback |
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Rock Promoter Geoff Docherty |
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"I ended up in the forces. In fact, I was in all three forces at some time or another. Eventually I went into the Fleet Air Arm. I think I was looking for a lot of adventure. I was from a working class family in a working class town. I wanted more. "I spent time on the Ark Royal," he says. I bought myself out after six and a half years. I was a qualified aircraft mechanic. I wanted to become a professional footballer, but that didn't happen. Although I did play for the Ark Royal football team against Western Australia. We lost. Link to article in Journal Live
Format: Paperback |
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| Click on the links to read the articles | |||
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