Air War South Atlantic

by Jeffrey Ethell, Alfred Price

'HE WAS AT ABOUT ZERO FEET... BEFORE HE COULD START TO PULL ROUND I PUT MY SIGHT ON HIS COCKPIT, PRESSED THE FIRING BUTTON, AND AS THE FIRST ROUND STRUCK, THE AIRCRAFT EXPLODED. JUST DISINTEGRATED.' On April 2, 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. Three days later a Royal Navy Task Force set sail on an epic eight-thousand mile journey to recapture them. The South Atlantic War that followed remains one of the most remarkable conflicts of the modern era. In the air, a handful of carrier-based Sea Harrier jump jets faced the massed ranks of the Argentine Air Force fast jet squadrons and the Excocet-armed jets of the Argentine naval air arm. If the British Top Guns failed in their effort to protect the fleet, the war would be lost.Drawing on extensive interviews with pilots from both sides, Ethell and Price weave together the dogfights, record-breaking RAF Vulcan bomber raids, daring low-level attacks on warships and top secret helicopter missions behind enemy lines into the definitive story of a do-or-die struggle for supremacy in hostile skies. AIR WAR SOUTH ATLANTIC is a classic. If you like Tom Clancy, Dale Brown, Stephen Coonts, Max Hastins, Dan Hampton, Adam Makos, Mitchell Zuckoff, John Nicholl and Rowland White, you'll love AIR WAR SOUTH ATLANTIC as well as the other books in Ethell and Price's Air War Trilogy. 'One of the best accounts of aerial combat there's ever been. An astonishing, gripping and powerful recreation of an unlikely and distant clash of wings. A masterpiece of military history' Rowland White, author of Vulcan 607 'A gem of a book... intensely personal, heart-thumping accounts of air-to-air combat that exalt the ingenuity, teamwork, tactics and coolness of the British air warriors as much as they do their aircraft and weapons' Washington Post 'Exciting and authoritative. More than a good story well told. A must-read for action buffs' Military Review 'What an outstanding book! Exceptional, exciting, definitive' Naval War College Review For fans of Top Gun, The Flight of the Intruder, The Dambusters, The Battle of Britain, Air America and The Flight of the Old Dog.

330 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2019

Reviews

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, providing a detailed history of the air war components during the 1981 Falklands War. The authors, Jeffrey Ethel and Alfred Price, did great investigations into the many ins-and-outs of the Falklands air battles. The work is one of the most in-depth and enlightening histories of the Falklands War I have read. It dives right into the conflict, only pausing for a short but detailed synopsis of the aviation forces both sides committed to the campaign. It provides a day by day accounting of the battles, jumping from place to place to do so. All aspects of the air campaign are covered, from the very long range bombing and patrol flights made by the Royal Air Force to the transport flights made by Navy and Army helicopters. Of course, the main action revolves around the various strike missions flown by the Argentine Air Force and Naval Aviation against the forces of the British and their interception by Royal Navy and RAF Harrier jump-jets. Each engagement is covered in detail, with the advantages and disadvantages of both sides fully analyzed. The most intriguing elements of the book are the author’s inclusion of personal stories from both sides. Thus the official accounts are compared against the memories of the pilots themselves. It makes for interesting reading and shows how singular claims of pilots involved in a fast-paced action need to be taken with many grains of salt. The one detriment to the book is its intense focus on the involved aviation elements at the cost of perspectives from the naval and land forces involved in the fighting. Their stories are told, but almost wholly as the recipients of bombs or the provider of interception vectors. The complex elements of air defense, both of the British fleet and of the Argentine land forces, are barely mentioned. But, despite that exclusion, this is a good book for anyone interested in how modern air-sea combat plays out. Highly recommended for those wanting to better understand the complexities of air combat in the jet and missile age.

[James W3bb · Rating 5 out of 5]

An in depth look at The Falklands Conflict with an emphasis on the Air Combat, from the Vulcan Raid to the Sea Harriers inital trial by combat. This is a must read for all interested in the Falklands Conflict..

[B. Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Very good book about Falkland war focusing on aircraft rather than ground conflict. Well worth a read for anyone who likes war books

[Mark Polino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on the Falklands War I’ve read. Well written, clear timelines. Well done.

[Scifimoth · Rating 4 out of 5]

What was surprising to me was just how much equipment failure influenced the course of events.

[ERIC WALLACE · Rating 5 out of 5]

fascinating

Well written and well researched. The Brits so many of the Argentinian bombs failed to explode. Had they the result might have been different.