Curtis Jackson

The Royal Navy emerged from the Second World War with the second largest fleet of aircraft carriers in the world and a year later had achieved the world''s first landing and take-off by a jet-powered aircraft from an aircraft carrier. The traditional roles of reconnaissance, aerial defence of the fleet and attack were joined by anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities. Technological advances in jet propulsion and helicopters offered new tactical possibilities, as well as new practical problems to be overcome to enable their operation from carriers. From the early 1950s the Fleet Air Arm operated a wide range of aircraft, from fighter-bombers, such as the Hawker Sea Hawk, to fully fledged nuclear-armed Blackburn Buccaneers and all-weather fighters like the de Havilland Sea Vixen and McDonnell Douglas F-4K Phantom. Westland''s family of anti-submarine helicopters, the Wasp, Wessex, Sea King and Lynx operated from a wide range of ships, ranging from small frigates to carrier decks. Defence cutbacks that saw the retirement of the fleet carriers and the transfer of the Phantoms and Buccaneers in 1978, but the British Aerospace Sea Harrier operating from smaller anti-submarine carriers maintained the Navy''s fixed-wing combat capability, this being memorably demonstrated in the South Atlantic in 1982. Today, the Royal Navy operates two modern carriers and shares the aviation commitment with the Royal Air Force, flying the most modern fighter in the world, the vertical take-off and landing capable Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning. Wings Over the Fleet describes the evolution and development of the Royal Navy''s frontline aircraft from the late 1940s to the present day. All the major types are covered, from all-weather fighters, interceptors, strike aircraft, anti-submarine helicopters and airborne early warning aircraft. The planning and requirements behind the aircraft such as the Sea Hawk, Sea Vixen, Buccaneer, Gannet, Wasp, Sea King and Sea Harrier are examined, as are many design studies and proposals that remained on the drawing board. Guided missiles during the post-war period and the evolution of the Royal Navy''s aircraft carriers and the new technologies required to operate jet aircraft from ships are also analysed.

The SEPECAT Jaguar was designed to meet the requirements of the Armée de l''Air and the Royal Air Force for a light tactical fighter and a supersonic two-seat training aircraft. First flown in September 1968, the Jaguar went on to serve in both air forces for forty years. Jaguars were exported and licence-built in India, where they remain in frontline service today. Jaguars have also been acquired by the air forces of Ecuador, Oman and Nigeria.Best remembered today as a Cold War attack aircraft, the Jaguar offered a potent mix of high speed at low altitude, excellent navigational and weapons accuracy and a diverse payload of air-to-ground ordnance including tactical nuclear weapons and laser-guided bombs and missiles. While the Jaguars of the RAF based in West Germany helped to deter the Warsaw Pact during the 1970s and 1980s, the Armée de l''Air used their Jaguars in combat in Mauritania and Chad in West Africa. Both air forces participated in the international coalition following Iraq''s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the Jaguar acquitting itself well during Operation Desert Storm. During the 1990s and 2000s, Jaguars served as peacekeepers in the skies over Iraq, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Sri Lanka. The Jaguar has also seen combat in other faraway places as diverse as the Andes and Kashmir in the Himalayas.Drawing on archival research, Jaguar: A Development and Operational History describes the history behind the requirements that gave birth to the Jaguar, its design and technical development, and service use in peacetime and war; including the Jaguars that have served in Ecuador, Oman, India and Nigeria. The stories behind the export deals that never came to fruition are covered, as are the numerous design studies during the 1970s for improved Jaguars to meet Air Staff Target 396 and the Big Wing Jaguar. Detailed appendices are included for all the Jaguars ordered by the Armée de l''Air and the RAF.Illustrated throughout with photographs, drawings and specially commissioned artwork, Jaguar: A Development and Operational History is a comprehensive reference book on the technical and operational history of the Jaguar.