Vulcan 607 - Couverture souple

White, Rowland

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0593053923 ISBN 13 : 9780593053928

Editeur : Bantam Press, 2006

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

The dramatic account of the last British bomber raid — the long-range attack on Stanley airfield that opened the Falklands War.

Before dawn on May 1st, 1982, a lone RAF Vulcan B2 bomber made its way towards the runway at Port Stanley airport. It was aiming to strike the first blow of Britain’s campaign to retake the Falklands. The flight was the culmination of a huge military effort and was the longest-range attack in aviation history. It was also the last time that the RAF flew heavy bombers into combat, before the old techniques and equipment were replaced with the digital, fly-by-wire, precision-guided weaponry of modern warfare.

When war broke out, the Vulcan was already facing retirement. The aircraft had to be completely overhauled, and the story of how a seemingly endless list of problems and unexpected difficulties was overcome is a story of true British ingenuity.

The mission came perilously close to disaster. Two Vulcan bombers took off in the late evening of April 30th to begin a twelve-hour round trip to the Falklands. Within minutes of take-off, the lead Vulcan was forced to turn back because of mechanical difficulties, leaving Vulcan 607 and her crew alone to undertake a mission. Vulcan 607 is the dramatic retelling of this singular mission. Using extensive interviews with the combatants, residents of Stanley, and military command, Rowland White has reconstructed the flight and its preparation in gripping detail.

From the Hardcover edition.

Quatrième de couverture :

It was to be one of the most ambitious operations since 617 Squadron bounced their revolutionary bombs into the dams of the Ruhr Valley in 1943 . . .

April 1982. Argentine forces had invaded the Falkland Islands. Britain needed an answer. And fast.

The idea was simple: to destroy the vital landing strip at Port Stanley. The reality was more complicated. The only aircraft that could possibly do the job was three months from being scrapped, and the distance it had to travel was four thousand miles beyond its maximum range. It would take fifteen Victor tankers and seventeen separate in-flight refuellings to get one Avro Vulcan B2 over the target, and give its crew any chance of coming back alive.

Yet less than a month later, a formation of elderly British jets launched from a remote island airbase to carry out the longest-range air attack in history. At its head was a single aircraft, six men, and twenty-one thousand-pound bombs, facing the hornet's nest of modern weaponry defending the Argentine forces on the Falkland Islands. There would be no second chances . . .

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Bantam Press
• Date d'édition: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0593053923
• ISBN 13: 9780593053928
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 432