A good read

Fratton Fred

As there is no book thread on this forum, I though i would start a thread to tell you about a bokk I have just finished.

Pheonix Squadron, by Rowland white is about the HMS Ark Royal squadron and how they rushed to Belize (Or British Honduras as it was at the time) to counter a threat of invasion by Guatemala.

Not only does it go into detail on the politics behind the action, but it gives loads of very interesting facts about the planes and pilots involved. If you are interested in reading about Buccaneers and Phantoms, then this is definately worth a punt. HMS Ark Royal was a fascinating ship and the way they managed to not only keep her going, but shoehorn an effective cold war deterrent on board is quite impressive. There are loads of great photos, schematics and technical details included as well, including an explanation of the boundary layer control system.

As a kid, I spent most of my summers at my uncle's farm near calender in scotland and saw several buccaneers flying low through the valley, quite an impressive site. As was waching the sheep dropping dead form the noise!!

ytareh

Theres a Bucaneer parked up here permanently in Leixlip ,Weston Aerodrome.I read recently that these would still be amongst the fastest planes in the world at ultra low ,ground hugging level...Crazy!