Harrier: How To Be a Fighter Pilot

by Paul Tremelling

This is the story of what it takes to make it in fighter combat. In the cockpit or crew room, the pressure is relentless, the humour merciless. It's no place for the faint-hearted. Whether landing on a pitching aircraft carrier deck at midnight, or saving heroes under fire in Afghanistan, there is no room for self-doubt; only confidence and do-or-die hard truth. In return, Paul Tremelling and his comrades enjoyed levels of exhilaration unimaginable anywhere else. Combining visceral action with sharp intelligence, laced with acerbic humour, Harrier brings to life the hi-octane, unforgiving world of the fighter pilot. Strap in...

Genres: Aviation, Military Fiction, History, Nonfiction, War, Biography

368 pages, Hardcover

Published April 28, 2022

Reviews

[Piers Cadman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read and thorough insight into the challenging world of becoming a sea harrier fighter jet pilot. Commander Tremelling has a magical way of telling the plethora of dits that he has accrued over an extraordinary career. Highly recommend this book!

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hats off to Tremors, this was an excellent read which I managed in only 5 days. I couldn’t put it down. His description of flying the Sea Harrier, Harrier and F-18 was well detailed, interesting and humorous. I particularly liked that it wasn’t too ‘dumbed down’ either, he has kept it real.

Paul takes us through his career and the paths he took throughout the years including combat in Afghanistan to take out some baddies. His descriptions of the missions are gripping.

He has supported the narrative with plenty of funny footnotes and there’s also a glossary to fall back on. F3 was one of my favourites, you’ll have to read it to find out!

Highly recommended to anybody with an interest in aviation.

[Oliver Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read. A good mix of funny stories and the more serious stuff. Very insightful. I am a massive fan of how much info the footnotes added as you read along.

[Mark Speed · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's difficult for pilots - especially fighter pilots - not to come across as a bit smarmy and arrogant. The author does a good job of being self-deprecating, whilst explaining just how elite his cadre is. It's interesting that the Royal Navy pilots and their crews are close in a way that the RAF ones aren't.

This is as close as you're going to get to finding out just what it's like to be a fighter pilot, from training to combat. I do have some experience (I have a commercial pilot's licence and multi-engine instrument rating), so I know what the workload is like - and it's really not as easy as it looks. The workload that the author describes is absolutely beyond anything I could handle, even on a good day. Add into that the fact that you've got someone trying to kill you, and you're flying at 7 miles/minute at 200' with a fuel endurance better measured in minutes than hours, then I can tell you these guys perform the impossible.

Although it's a 'serious' book, it is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny in places. I probably burst out laughing at least a dozen times. Military pilots do an extremely stressful task, and often the only way to let off steam is childish behaviour - and these tales (or 'dits' in Navy lingo) are terrific.

[Tom M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

In summary, I've enjoyed reading this book, which is quite good overall, but I recommend the hardcover or the paperback edition over an electronic version.

The author describes multiple aspects of a pilot career, from the training to the end of flying and all the other steps in between, like changing directions, going to war, and learning new aircraft.

He does it pretty well, structuring the book as 32 relatively short stories. Each story has its specific theme, and thankfully, there usually is a sense of continuum that keeps them together rather than making them feel random and unrelated. The style is descriptive enough but with a focus on the current story. Sometimes, it's the details of flying a Harrier from a carrier; sometimes, it's about communications or other procedures. Some of the stories are more captivating than others, but all are instructive as they reveal a part of this fascinating world.

The author doesn't spare the reader any technical term, jargon, or acronym. As a fan and someone who's flown a few aircraft, it didn't bother me - on the contrary, but it may intimidate other people, and that's where the Kindle edition showed its limitation. The book is strewn with acronyms and footnote references, which the device doesn't always handle well. Sometimes, pointing at a reference would load the page with all the footnotes, or once in a blue moon, it would more adequately show the footnote at the bottom to keep the context. Other times, though, it would open the dictionary or flip the page. Therefore, I think the physical book will give a better experience than the electronic version.

The editor has been somewhat lazy; obvious typos and punctuation issues are not uncommon in the text. While it's not a significant problem, it could easily have been avoided by proofreading the text and working with the author to improve the clarity of those few sentences.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

2025 Review 027. Harrier : How to be A Fighter Pilot by Commander Paul Tremelling

Page Count : 358

Whenever I saw a Harrier FA.2 or GR.7/GR.9 at an airshow I was amazed by the way the jet would be hovering in the air and then just accelerate away.

When I saw this book when it was released I thought I would grab it to find out more about one of my favourite aircraft and what it is like to be a pilot of one.

But....while this book goes into a lot of different of combat with harriers, you don't really get the idea of what it is like to be a pilot of one.

There was plenty of action in this book, but it was mainly just when the author was in Afghanistan just before the Harrier was retired completely from the UK armed forces early (a decision which I do not agree with personally).

While I enjoyed the aircraft sequences and did learn a lot about how it could be operated, I didn't really get a feel that I knew how to be a fighter pilot after reading it.

I was also hoping that the author would go into a bit about how he trained to become a fighter pilot of F-18 Hornets from the deck of US Navy aircraft carriers but this wasn't covered and the time he spent with them was only very briefly covered.

I'm not sure if this is a book that I will read again in the future and will be deciding whether to add it to my charity pile for donation soon.

3.5*
***

[Tom Thornton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay. It opens the argument as to whether memoirs by people whom readers aren't familiar with are a good idea or not. What Mr Tremelling does well in that regard is keep things strictly to his professional career and leaving personal details to one side. Very little information about him outside of the Harrier cockpit was a wise move for the benefit of the subject matter. Although, picking up on a quote from early-on where he says how [paraphrasing] "Servicemen don't speak to each other like normal people, they do so through a series of stories". - It did at times feel as if this was written for and towards those who know what he's talking about. The complex aviation world can't easily be translated to people with zero understanding and he didn't find a way of bridging the gap to novices like Saul David, for example, can do in his books on military history. I also wasn't a fan of the footnoting as the footnotes were often too long, disrupting the reading flow, or used ironically, to the same effect. The attempts to insert humour often land like a cringey supply teacher. Nonetheless I'm grateful for this book and it was overall a welcome addition to other military memoirs / non-fiction I've read.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened, I think the paper version would have been useful, assuming there is a glossary for all the acronyms. There are introductions to most acronyms but it did get tedious during the listen to try to comprehend some of them.

That said, some great dits and the author tried hard to convey the different elements of flying, training and working in the roles. It all sounded challenging and filled with machismo. As the listener I couldn't help but be chuffed, he achieved this amazing career after wishing for it as a small boy and by working very hard and with some lucky breaks.

I did not understand the drinks references throughout but recommend this book to anyone interested in aviation or the Afghanistan war.

[Martin Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no military background but was a teenager when the harrier featured so well in the Falklands war, so was interested in a bit more information about it. This book is written as a collection of stories and is all the better for it. There are plenty of acronyms, as you might expect, but a full explanation for these is provided at the back of the book. In summary, a great read about what it takes to become a fighter pilot, including the experiences of taking off and landing on an aircraft carrier and "taking out" the baddies!

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the huge pleasure of seeing Paul Tremelling talk at the Royal Aeronautical Society (check them out! Anyone can go along! https://www.aerosociety.com/events-ca...) and he is exactly the same in real life as on the page: funny, modest and utterly competent.

A view of flying and war by someone who's experienced them; who loves being a pilot but is fully aware that a plane is a machine with a purpose; who achieved his childhood dream and found it wonderful despite the many frustrations.

[Capt McBride · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good story, but not well written.

The content is interesting and clearly the author has operated in a very specialised environment. Not only that but he is part of a very elite group of people who have flown above the earth in very special machines. Did I enjoy the book? Yes, but with a proviso that I could empathise with the author - not all readers would do that. Do I think the book was well written? No, it was not. Too much in the way of jargon, abbreviations and esoteric expressions to be appreciated by the average reader.

[Mr N P Leversuch · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read, I could hardly put it down.
It did a good job of illustrating the significant demands made on individuals to end up the top of their professions and only a few can succeed.
I am tempted to say he came across as slightly arrogant, but that would be unfair. He achieved a lot and had a lot to be arrogant about. I will settle for him being a high achiever!
I look forward to finding similar books to read.

[Aloysius Teng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting autobiography by a Harrier pilot. Paul Tremelling was able to give a detailed account of what it’s like to train and fight in the Harrier jets. However, some parts of the book regarding the air manoeuvres can be a little confusing and take a little imagination to understand.

Overall a great book to read if you want to know what life is like being a RN pilot.

[Michael Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really well written book, and when reading I am enjoying it. I'm just ovet half way through and there hasn't been much war action yet. The story so far has been very well written, interesting and gripping but not quite the book I'm looking for. May return to it one day, but for now I have to put down.

[Tommo Guchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Anyone that purports to be ‘the best’ is likely a complete turkey”

Totally honest account of the not so glamorous route to getting to fly a harrier. I was really looking forward to this and want disappointed. Top man, great book 🤙

[ZebZebs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant account of the journey of a fighter pilot filled with humour

[Jamie McLean · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful read of a world often unseen, experienced first hand by one of the few talented enough to defend us at home and overseas. Well written, informing and personal. An easy read.

[Richard Hickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. The author has a good sense of humour and some interesting comments on MOD decisions. Very informative about use of air power in Afghanistan.

[Snakeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read through the career of a Royal Navy fighter pilot ! Fly Navy !

[Jacob Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting book and great read about being a fighter pilot, it was slow at the beginning but towards the end was exciting!