Cold War, Hot Wings: Memoirs of a Cold War Fighter Pilot 1962-1994 - Hardcover

This is a semi-autobiographical account of a fighter pilot in the RAF from 1962 to 1994. He was both a Hunter and Harrier pilot, rose to Squadron Leader level, and commanded fighter and strategic recce units. He was CO of the Desert Rescue Team, flew Dakotas on desert supply running, and saw active fighter service receiving bullet holes in his aircraft during the Aden Radfan campaign. He flew Cold War covert recce missions, commanded the Harrier unit in Belize, spent the Gulf War working with the US Defence Intelligence Agency, and became a nuclear weapons specialist. The book includes inside accounts of army support missions on the Yemen border, flying cold war recce missions in Europe, early day conversion to Harriers without any training aids, and long range ultra-high-level, covert photo intelligence gathering sorties, including helping police and customs with airborne photography, most notably for the 2nd Moors Murder Inquiry. It also includes political, geographical and economic background of all the places in which he served, and comments on political and military decisions made at those times.

Chris J Bain specializes in Aviation History.