Commando Helicopter Aircrewman

Commando Helicopter Aircrewman PDF Author: John Sheldon
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1399093800
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
A veteran aircrewman recounts his over five decades of service to the British military in this exciting memoir. This is the remarkable story of one man’s service in the Royal Navy, RAF and the Royal Naval Reserve Air Branch of the Fleet Air Arm. It is a flying career which lasted for an impressive 51 years and in which Warrant Officer Class 1 John Sheldon amassed over 8,000 hours in the air. Having joined the Royal Navy in 1968, as a fifteen-year-old boy entrant not long out of school, John was recruited into the Fleet Air Arm as a junior electrician. He went on to become a Commando Aircrewman and flew in all types of service helicopters and in all of their roles, from Arctic training in Norway to the balmy Mediterranean and the wilds of Canada. Having initially been involved in the evacuation of Cyprus and the Turkish invasion in 1974, in which his helicopter had to recover bodies from the water with a sprawl net, John went on to serve in Northern Ireland, was deployed to the South Atlantic in the Falklands War, where he operated from HMS Fearless and helped lift survivors from the RFA Sir Galahad tragedy, undertook a tour in Lebanon, and then saw action during the First Gulf War, in Bosnia, Sierra Leone and then in Afghanistan. In his extraordinary career, John was tasked with going around the UK undertaking aerial displays to support recruitment campaigns for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, as well as completing several tours as a Search and Rescue Aircrewman, Anti-Submarine Operator and also as an RN/RAF Test Aircrewman at the Rotary Wing Test Squadron at Boscombe Down. This unique memoir covers the military action that John encountered, the many incidents and close shaves he was involved in, and the friends he lost during his long and illustrious career. Praise forCommando Helicopter Aircrewman “This is an honest, readable, self-effacing record of an interesting career.” —Aeroplane Magazine “The amazing military career of John Sheldon – inspirational and above all, true.” —Books Monthly

Commando Helicopter Aircrewman

Commando Helicopter Aircrewman PDF Author: John Sheldon
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1399093800
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Get Book Here

Book Description
A veteran aircrewman recounts his over five decades of service to the British military in this exciting memoir. This is the remarkable story of one man’s service in the Royal Navy, RAF and the Royal Naval Reserve Air Branch of the Fleet Air Arm. It is a flying career which lasted for an impressive 51 years and in which Warrant Officer Class 1 John Sheldon amassed over 8,000 hours in the air. Having joined the Royal Navy in 1968, as a fifteen-year-old boy entrant not long out of school, John was recruited into the Fleet Air Arm as a junior electrician. He went on to become a Commando Aircrewman and flew in all types of service helicopters and in all of their roles, from Arctic training in Norway to the balmy Mediterranean and the wilds of Canada. Having initially been involved in the evacuation of Cyprus and the Turkish invasion in 1974, in which his helicopter had to recover bodies from the water with a sprawl net, John went on to serve in Northern Ireland, was deployed to the South Atlantic in the Falklands War, where he operated from HMS Fearless and helped lift survivors from the RFA Sir Galahad tragedy, undertook a tour in Lebanon, and then saw action during the First Gulf War, in Bosnia, Sierra Leone and then in Afghanistan. In his extraordinary career, John was tasked with going around the UK undertaking aerial displays to support recruitment campaigns for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, as well as completing several tours as a Search and Rescue Aircrewman, Anti-Submarine Operator and also as an RN/RAF Test Aircrewman at the Rotary Wing Test Squadron at Boscombe Down. This unique memoir covers the military action that John encountered, the many incidents and close shaves he was involved in, and the friends he lost during his long and illustrious career. Praise forCommando Helicopter Aircrewman “This is an honest, readable, self-effacing record of an interesting career.” —Aeroplane Magazine “The amazing military career of John Sheldon – inspirational and above all, true.” —Books Monthly

Commando Helicopter Aircrewman: 51 Years in Action with the RN and RAF

Commando Helicopter Aircrewman: 51 Years in Action with the RN and RAF PDF Author: John Sheldon
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 9781399093798
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
This is the remarkable story of one man's service in the Royal Navy, RAF and the Royal Naval Reserve Air Branch of the Fleet Air Arm. It is a flying career which lasted for an impressive 51 years and in which Warrant Officer Class 1 John Sheldon amassed over 8,000 hours in the air.Having joined the Royal Navy in 1968, as a fifteen-year-old boy entrant not long out of school, John was recruited into the Fleet Air Arm as a junior electrician. He went on to become a Commando Aircrewman and flew in all types of service helicopters and in all of their roles, from Arctic training in Norway to the balmy Mediterranean and the wilds of Canada.Having initially been involved in the evacuation of Cyprus and the Turkish invasion in 1974, in which his helicopter had to recover bodies from the water with a sprawl net, John went on to serve in Northern Ireland, was deployed to the South Atlantic in the Falklands War, where he operated from HMS Fearless and helped lift survivors from the RFA Sir Galahad tragedy, undertook a tour in Lebanon, and then saw action during the First Gulf War, in Bosnia, Sierra Leone and then in Afghanistan.In his extraordinary career, John was tasked with going around the UK undertaking aerial displays to support recruitment campaigns for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, as well as completing several tours as a Search and Rescue Aircrewman, Anti-Submarine Operator and also as an RN/RAF Test Aircrewman at the Rotary Wing Test Squadron at Boscombe Down.This unique memoir covers the military action that John encountered, the many incidents and close shaves he was involved in and the friends he lost during his long and illustrious career.

Air Commando

Air Commando PDF Author: Philip D. Chinnery
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312958817
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
From the glider pilots who landed deep behind Jpanese lines, to the gunship crews who hunted over the dark jungle of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, to Desert Storm's Special Operations choppers, al the daring rescues and last-minute landings are here, straight from the Air Commandos' own stories. Includes eight-page photo insert.

Scram!

Scram! PDF Author: Harry Benson
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1409051978
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
In April 1982 Harry Benson was a 21-year-old Royal Navy commando helicopter pilot, fresh out of training and one of the youngest helicopter pilots to serve in the Falklands War. These pilots, nicknamed 'junglies', flew most of the land-based missions in the Falklands in their Sea King and Wessex helicopters. Much of what happened in the war - the politics, task force ships, Sea Harriers, landings, Paras and Marines - is well-known and documented. But almost nothing is known of the young commando helicopter pilots and aircrewmen who made it all happen on land and sea. This is their 'Boys Own' story, told for the very first time. Harry Benson has interviewed forty of his former colleagues for the book creating a tale of skill, initiative, resourcefulness, humour, luck, and adventure. This is a fast-paced, meticulously researched and compelling account written by someone who was there, in the cockpit of a Wessex helicopter. If you liked Apache, Vulcan 607 and Chickenhawk, you'll love Scram! The word "Scram" was used to warn other junglies to go to ground or risk being shot down by their own side as Argentinean jets blasted through 'bomb alley'.

Immediate Response

Immediate Response PDF Author: Mark Hammond
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0718155521
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
2006 in Helmand saw British forces engaged in the most ferocious fighting since the Korean War. For much of the time they were hanging on by their fingertips, holed up in remote platoon houses, outnumbered, facing relentless assault and nearly overwhelmed. Only the Chinooks kept them in the game. But that meant their crews putting down in hot LZs, exposing their aircraft to withering attack from an enemy for whom downing one of the big helos would be the ultimate prize. They had been lucky. So far. Then they launched their biggest operation yet: a complicated, high-risk airborne assault that launched a fleet of heavily armed helicopters into the Afghan Heart of Darkness. And then a report came over the net that one of the Chinooks was down . . . In Immediate Response, Major Mark Hammond, a Royal Marine flying with the RAF, tells the gripping inside story of the Chinook squadrons' war for the first time. It's a visceral, unputdownable combination of hi-tech and old-fashioned grit; an action-packed story shot through with a mix of aviation fuel and cordite ...

Joint Helicopter Command

Joint Helicopter Command PDF Author: Lewis Gaylard
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781366829641
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Exercise Clockwork is the Commando Helicopter Force's annual chance to test their mettle - and metal - in the harsh arctic winter of northern Norway. Following a winter in Norway, In 1968, where the limitations of HMS Bulwark's Air group were keenly exposed, Flag officer Naval Flying Training (FONFT) ordered 846 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) to conduct trials and training in an Arctic environment in order to improve the aviation combat support provided to 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde) Royal Marines. The NATO Northern Flank reinforcement plans, in which 3 Cdo Bde played an essential part, identified the Royal Norwegian Air Force Base (RNoAF) at Bardufoss as a key area, and it was here that the arctic training came to be centred.RNoAF Bardufoss is located some 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle at 69 degrees north and sits across the E6, the only road to run the length of Norway.In March 2014 the author was given rare access to that year's exercise and was able to visit an area not normally open to the public. With contributions from those serving on the exercise and embellished with high-quality photos, this book is a must for those with an interest in modern day military training.This updated edition now includes a look at the transfer of the RAF's fleet of Merlin helicopters to the Royal Navy Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) and the early transition phase.

Helicopter Crew Chief

Helicopter Crew Chief PDF Author: Wil Mara
Publisher: Cherry Lake
ISBN: 1610805364
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
Learn what it takes to become a helicopter crew chief in the U.S. military.

Flying Light Helicopters with the Royal Marines

Flying Light Helicopters with the Royal Marines PDF Author: Robert Wilsey
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 9781399002509
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Little has been written about Royal Marines rotary aviation, the small and select unit which operated light helicopters between 1965 and 1995. Officer and senior non-commissioned officer pilots had the unique privilege of being both Commandos and aviators, flying from warships and operating ashore in support of the Royal Marines. Initially called Unit Air Troops, which then coalesced into 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron Royal Marines, they operated in hostile environments, including the Arctic, mountains, jungles and deserts. Robert Wilsey served in the Royal Marines from 1969 to 2000. Having qualified as a pilot he served through much of the existence of the Royal Marines Air Squadron, from a junior pilot right up to becoming its commanding officer. In this unique book, the author tells of the evolution and technological advances of Royal Marines aviation, flying the Westland Sioux, Scout, Gazelle, and, ultimately, Lynx helicopters. He describes the rigorous training undertaken, including flying from ships at sea, and of operating globally from Malta, Northern Ireland, the jungles of Brunei, the Pyrenees, Arctic Norway and, in 1991, Northern Iraq, protecting the Kurds during Operation Haven. Colonel Wilsey also describes the challenges of the British military's basic and advanced rotary flying training, from both a student's and flying instructor's perspectives. He explains the pressures of leading a flying display team and relates stories of accidents and incidents, many amusing, several chaotic and some tragic, previously unknown to the general public. This is a vivid first-hand account of military rotary wing flying which will appeal to aircrew both civil and military, aviation enthusiasts and military historians.

Immediate Response

Immediate Response PDF Author: Mark Hammond
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
launched their biggest operation yet: a complicated, high-risk airborne assault that send a fleet of heavily armed helicopters into the Afghan Heart of Darkness. And then a report came over the net that one of the Chinooks was down." --Book Jacket.

Fleet Air Arm Boys

Fleet Air Arm Boys PDF Author: Steve Bond
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
ISBN: 1911667807
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Helicopters have been going to sea with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm for over 70 years. Initially used for search and rescue (SAR) duties from aircraft carriers, the rapid development of both the helicopters and service experience resulted in them taking on the vital anti-submarine (and later anti-ship) attack roles. The 1956 Suez campaign saw the first operational use of Whirlwind helicopters for the insertion of troops by air into a battle zone, a capability which was expanded with more helicopters such as the Wessex, Sea King and today’s Merlin. Through their vital role in the 1960s Indonesian Confrontation, the Commando helicopter force became universally referred to as the ‘Junglies’. It is often said that if either of the 1982 Task Force aircraft carriers had been lost the Falklands War could not have been won. The same would surely have been true without helicopters. Their vital tasks, including inserting Special Forces behind enemy lines, protecting the Task Force from Exocet missile attack and recovering wounded troops whilst under enemy fire, are rightly hailed as being instrumental. At home, the essential SAR effort by both the Royal Navy and their RAF counterparts has resulted in incredible stories of saving lives against the odds. Royal Navy destroyers and frigates have also long since benefitted from having their own helicopter Flight aboard. Frequently operating in extremes of weather, flying a Wasp, Lynx or today’s Wildcat from and back to a heaving deck is every bit as risky as flying fixed-wing aircraft off the carriers of old. Once dismissed as a novelty, the helicopter has more than proved itself. Indeed, for ten years until the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, the Fleet Air Arm’s operational force was entirely rotary-wing. Today’s Merlins and Wildcats, with their dedicated aircrew, maintenance and support staff continue to demonstrate just how vital an asset the helicopter has become. Here are the words of the men and women themselves, skillfully brought to life by Steve Bond and profusely illustrated in color and b/w.