Combat aircraft (since 1945): books - Royal Air Force (RAF)

RAF in Camera: 1950s

For aviation, the 1950s was a fascinating decade. For the Royal Air Force, it witnessed the transition from propeller to jet in the fields of fighter, bomber, trainer and transport aircraft.
The 1950s saw the end of the Second World War veterans - Lancasters, Spitfires, Mosquitoes and Sunderlands. They were replaced by the first generation of jet aircraft including the Vampire, Hunter, Javelin and, at the end of the decade, the English Electric P.1 - later named the Lightning.

This photographic record of the RAF during the period illustrates the full varied and wonderful array of equipment in use and also considers the important events of the decade including Korea, the Malayan Emergency, Kenya and the Suez Crisis.
The decade also saw the beginning of the Cold War, which in turn led to significant developments in military aviation. For the RAF this included the
V-bomber force of Valiant, Victor and Vulcan. Another development was that of the nuclear weapon and this volume includes images and information from Operation Grapple, the testing of Britain's first live thermonuclear weapon - seventy times more powerful than that dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 - which was dropped from Vickers Valiant XD818 at Christmas Island on 15 May 1957.

Each chapter focuses on a specific year, relaying all the fascinating events and highlights. Lavishly illustrated from the archives of the Air Historical Branch, this is a colourful and insightful history, told with narrative flair and a clear passion for the subject matter.

RAF in Camera: 1960s

The 'Swinging Sixties' was a remarkable decade. For the Royal Air Force it was a most interesting period in their history, representing a period of base closures, contraction and a significant change in equipment - especially in the level of technology operated.

In 1960, all three of the V-bombers - Valiant, Vulcan and Victor - were in service. The English Electric Lightning established a firm place in British aviation history by being the first single-seat fighter designed to exceed the speed of sound in level flight.
Within Transport Command, the Britannia C.1 was operating alongside the Comet C.2, providing an excellent strategic transport capability. The Comet C.4 would enter service in 1962, the VC-10 C.1 in July 1966 and the Belfast C.1 by the end of 1966.

During the decade, the RAF celebrated its 50th Anniversary, having been formed on 1 April 1918. They also came to be embroiled in a number of conflicts, while still playing their part (alongside the British Army and the Royal Navy) in policing a number of territories and theaters including Malaya, Indonesia, Cyprus, Kenya, Rhodesia, Aden, Libya, Bermuda and Anguilla in the West Indies.

Here, Keith Wilson takes us on a richly illustrated journey through the decade, with each chapter focusing on a specific year and relaying all the fascinating events and highlights that characterized it. This is a colourful and insightful history, told with narrative flair and a clear passion for the subject matter at hand.

British Military Aviation - 1960s in Colour (No.1) - Meteor, Valiant and Beverley

This title features a wealth of rare colour photographs depicting the Gloster Meteor, Vickers Valiant and Blackburn Beverley in the 1960s - as well as some foreign visitors to Britain during this period! A history of each of the three aircraft types is also included.

RAF in Camera: 1970s

The 1970s were an event-filled and action packed decade for the Royal Air Force. Many events are worthy of note and all are recorded here, in words and images. Keith Wilson takes up from where he left off with RAF In Camera 1960s in order to take us on a journey through a particularly significant decade.

The start of the 1970s saw the retirement of the Dakota from service, followed shortly after by the formation of the first Buccaneer NATO Squadron.
In 1972, the landmark RAF Museum at Hendon was opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth.
The midpoint of the decade was particularly notable due to the fact that it saw the ending of the Vietnam War and, in the dying hours of the conflict in March 1975, RAF Hercules were used to evacuate civilians from Cambodia.
The Queen's Silver Jubilee Review at RAF Finningley occurred in 1977 and there are plenty of photographs of the event on display here.

In 1978, the Sea King replaced the Whirlwind and the Wessex in the Air Sea Rescue role and, in 1979, the British Aerospace Hawk replaced the last Hawker Siddeley Gnats in RAF service when it became the mount of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows.

All of these landmark events are referenced in this thorough, well-researched and image-packed publication. Each chapter focuses on a specific year, relaying all of the highlights that characterized it.

British Military Aviation in the 1970s

The 1970s were a decade of great change for Britain's military air arms. The RAF handed over the role of operating Britain's nuclear deterrent to the Royal Navy in 1969. Its primary role once again became that of providing battlefield and tactical support. For this, new aircraft in the form of Jaguars and Harriers joined the ranks of the RAF.

Nimrods replaced Shackletons in guarding Britain's seaways. Several older types were phased out of service including the Belfast, Britannia and Comet. Many other aircraft, however, which were in service in the 1960s lingered on throughout the following decades. The world of the RAF also grew smaller with the withdrawal of the forces east of Suez.

The Royal Navy also had its wings clipped in the 1970s with the retirement of its last large aircraft carrier for fixed wing aircraft. In its place the vertical take-off and landing Sea Harrier was delivered to the Fleet Air Arm. Helicopters now had a more dominant role. Sea Kings and Wasps operated from nearly all the Royal Navy's warships.

Unlike the other two air arms, the Army Air Corps saw its role expanded in the 1970s. It changed from purely providing support to a role of an offensive nature. Large numbers of new helicopters equipped in squadrons in the form of the Lynx and Gazelle which were capable of being armed. A small number of fixed wing aircraft were also on strength.

The Americans who first established air bases in Britain in the Second World War still retained a large number of combat aircraft in the country. Phantoms and the larger F-111 countered a potential Russian threat when the Cold War was at its height.

In this book, Malcolm Fife uses his wonderful collection of photographs to display many of the military aircraft types that could be seen in British skies during the 1970s.

The Royal Air Force in the Cold War, 1950-1970 - Rare photographs from Wartime Archives (Images of War)

Soon after the Second world War, wartime allies became Cold War adversaries, and by 1950 the perceived threat of a Soviet strike on Western Europe or Britain dominated military planning. For the next forty years, the Royal Air Force was in the front-line of the Cold War.
In Britain and Germany, light bomber crews exercised in preparation for a future conflict, while interceptor pilots stood by ready to counter incursions by Soviet aircraft. Between 1956 and 1969, the elite crews of the iconic V-Force of nuclear bombers trained to perform the ultimate mission, striking targets deep in the heart of Russia. Protecting British interests overseas, personnel at stations across the Middle East and Far East were regularly engaged in supporting operations during the many colonial conflicts which occurred throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
Undertaking these duties were new British-designed aircraft introduced to squadrons from the early-1950s. The names of these extraordinary aircraft, which included the Hunter, Lightning, Vulcan and Canberra, became synonymous with the Cold War.

In this book, Ian Proctor uses over 150 highly evocative colour images from a single remarkable Air Ministry collection to portray the RAF and its personnel between 1950 and 1970. He provides a selected insight into service life, the aircraft, recruitment and training, and the operations and exercises undertaken by the RAF during a twenty year period of the Cold War.

Britain's Military Helicopters

From its beginnings as a curiosity with little operational use, Britain's armed forces soon embraced the helicopter with the Whirlwind for the Royal Navy and RAF and the Skeeter for the Army Air Corps.
Finding these helicopters limited, it was the advent of the turboshaft that revolutionised the helicopter, with the Belvedere, Wessex, Wasp and Scout bringing new capabilities.
The next generation, the Puma, Lynx, Sea King and Chinook, all designed for turboshaft power, made the helicopter an essential machine for all the armed forces and have proven their worth to Britain's forces since the 1970s.

In "Britain's Military Helicopters", Chris Gibson describes the evolution of the helicopter in British service, from their beginnings with the Sikorsky R-4B test flown by Fleet Air Arm pilots in the USA to the latest Wildcat and Apache Guardian.
Lavishly illustrated throughout, this book includes original photographs and images from archives, many of which are previously unpublished.