Nimrod Rise and Fall

Tony Blackman

• Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781909166028
• eBook ISBN: 9781909166349
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

The episodic history of Britain's infamous military reconnaissance aircraft, by the author of Vulcan Test Pilot and aviation expert who witnessed it all.
The scrapping of the Nimrod program has been one of the most controversial events in the military aviation world for many years. For most of its operational life, from 1969 to date, its contribution to the defense of the realm and its role in offensive duties was, of necessity, often shrouded in secrecy. It was the "eye in the sky" that was vital to a host of activities—from anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, to support of land battles throughout the world, to the Falklands campaign, to combating drug-running. Now the UK is bereft of such a multitasking reconnaissance aircraft.
The full story of the Nimrod, and its significance, has now been told. Tony Blackman, who was there at the beginning, test-flew nearly every aircraft, and was at Kinloss on the very day the project was canceled, has written this timely book, covering every facet of its history, its weapons system developments, and its tragic accidents. He writes in an approachable way, making technical subjects understandable, but his conclusions will, inevitably, not be welcomed by everyone.

Table of contents

• COVER
• TITLE
• COPYRIGHT
• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• AUTHOR’S NOTE AND DEDICATION
• PREFACE
• PROLOGUE
• CHAPTER 1 NIMROD FROM START TO FINISH
• CHAPTER 2 HISTORY OF ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE
• CHAPTER 3 NIMROD MR2
• CHAPTER 4 NIMROD ANTI-SUBMARINE AND ANTI-SURFACE UNIT WARFARE
• CHAPTER 5 NIMROD SEARCH AND RESCUE SORTIES
• CHAPTER 6 LAND BATTLES AND SPECIAL SORTIES
• CHAPTER 7 THE FALKLANDS CAMPAIGN
• CHAPTER 8 NIMROD ACCIDENTS
• CHAPTER 9 NIMROD AEW
• CHAPTER 10 NIMROD MRA4
• EPILOGUE
• APPENDIX 1 A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MR2 CREW
• APPENDIX 2 GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS
• APPENDIX 3 NIMROD TIME LINES
• APPENDIX 4 COMPARISON BETWEEN MRA4 AND MR2
• APPENDIX 5 MOD DEFINED TASKS FOR THE NIMROD
• INDEX