Airforces - Typhoon school

(Jacob Rumans) #1
Mirage M5 B –
The Unique Story
of the Mirage M5
B in the Belgian
Air Force

This 450-page volume, which is
designed to look like an aircraft’s
maintenance logbook, brings
together the entire story of the
Mirage 5 in operational service
with the Belgian Air Force.
There’s no English translation
for the text or captions, but this
doesn’t detract from what this
book offers. The author, a high-
time Mirage pilot, has used his
network of contacts to cover the
entire spectrum of those involved
in the Mirage programme. More
than 30 pilots, maintainers,
engineers and aircraft
enthusiasts have contributed
to provide an extensive history
on all 106 examples of the
classic delta-winged jet that
entered Belgian service.
Those who don’t speak Dutch
or French will revel in the
images and there are plenty
throughout the book – many
in print for the first time. The
writer breaks each of the
four operational squadrons’
histories into chapters, allowing
the changes in camouflage
schemes and wealth of squadron
patches to be illustrated in full.
The airframes gave more
than 24 years of service, so
it is inevitable that upgrades
were introduced. The author
has done an amazing job of
recounting the individual aircraft
histories, including the two-
seaters, the modifications they
underwent, their service and
ultimate fate. Some of the jets
were later sold to Chile and
the text reveals details of these
aircraft, too. Glenn Sands

Publisher: Mirage 5 Pilots
Association (MPA)
Author: Marcel ‘Celle’ De Petter
Pages: 450
ISBN: n/a
Price: £45

There are a few occasions
when a book comes along
and sets new standards in
terms of detailed research
and photographic materials.
This is one of them.
Steve Ginter’s US Navy titles
first appeared more than 15
years ago – softbacks, simply
illustrated with monochrome
photographs and brief captions.
How things have changed!
This perfect-bound volume
tells the story of the US Navy’s
electronic countermeasures
and fleet reconnaissance
squadron – a remarkable
accomplishment given the
secretive nature of its work.
Beginning with the post-1945
electronic intelligence (ELINT)
gathering missions off the coasts
of the Soviet Union and China
using converted PBY Privateers,
the chapters are crammed full
of period colour and black-
and-white images. The steady
development in technology and
changes in aircraft types are well

documented
and include
the EA-3
Skywarrior,
P-2 Neptune,
EC -121
Constellation
and EP-3
Orion. Details
of operational
sorties
cover early
operations in
the Cold War,
Vietnam, and
even EP-3Es
during
the 1991
Gulf War
and more recent operations
in the region.
Highlights included the photo-
spreads of EA-3Bs aboard carrier
decks and forward deployed
to Naval Air Facility Naples.
The colour reproduction is
excellent, and images are pin-
sharp despite many being more
than 30 years old. The best

reference to date of electronic
warfare operations by US Navy
squadrons. Glenn Sands

From Bats to


Rangers
A Pictorial History of Electronic
Countermeasures Squadron Two
(ECMRON-2) Fleet Air Reconnaissance
Squadron Two (VQ-2)

Publisher: Ginter Books
Authors: Angelo Romano
and John D Herndon
Pages: 241
ISBN: 9780996825894
Price: £53.99

Orion. Details
of operational

the Cold War,

and more recent operations
in the region.

reference to date of electronic
warfare operations by US Navy

Time Flies – Refl ections of a Fighter Pilot
A 30-year career in the Royal
Air Force took the author into
the cockpits of some of the
most iconic fighters of the time,
including the Lightning, Phantom
and Tornado. It was a period
when the service was undergoing
rapid change and attempting to
adapt to ever-evolving threats
on the world stage. Few people
are better placed to tell the
story than David Hamilton. He
doesn’t dwell too much on his
early days of elementary flying
and basic training and quickly
gets into the action of flying
some of the RAF’s greatest jets.
As a serving RAF officer flying
Phantoms in the 1970s, the
author undertook an exchange
tour with 892 Naval Air Squadron
aboard HMS Ark Royal. He
goes into great detail explaining
the differences in terminology
between the Royal Navy and the

RAF. The former calls the aircraft
‘cabs’, navigators are ‘observers’,
and in formation the position
of the wingman is reversed.
Later in his career Hamilton
worked for the Ministry of
Defence at Whitehall and was
a key figure in the advisory and
sales teams for the Eurofighter.
He pulls no punches in explaining
his frustrations with BAe and
other partners in the programme
who failed to push the true
potential of the jet to possible
customers. It’s clear that
opportunities were missed, and
the Typhoon could have been
a more successful export.
Hamilton has had a remarkable
career and while the numerous
flying accounts and exchange
tours are a highlight, it is the
politics that occurred within
Whitehall that provide most food
for thought. Glenn Sands

Publisher: Fonthill Media
Author: David Hamilton
Page s: 176
ISBN: 9781781555842
Price: £18.99

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #361 APRIL 2018 // 93


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These titles are available from: The Aviation Bookshop, 31-33 Vale Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent,
TN1 1BS, United Kingdom. Telephone: +44(0)1892 539284 Website: http://www.aviation-bookshop.com
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