Description

‘A military adventure, written with expertise…a tale of initiative,skill and courage, of pushing beyond the rules.’ The Spectator

April 1982. Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.

In response, Britain despatches a naval Task Force. Eight thousand miles from home, its fate hinges on just twenty Sea Harriers against the two hundred-strong might of the Argentine Air Force.

The odds against them are overwhelming.

The MoD’s own estimates suggest that half the Harriers will be lost within a week. Against this background, 809 Naval Air Squadron is reformed, trained and sent south to fight.

Not since WWII had so much been expected of such a small band of pilots.

Combining groundbreaking research with the pace of a thriller, Rowland White reveals the full story of the fleet’s knife-edge fight for survival for the first time, and shows how the little jump jet went from airshow novelty to sealing its reputation as an icon of British aviation, alongside the Spitfire and the Hurricane.

‘Without the Sea Harrier there could have been no Task Force’
Admiral Sir Henry Leach, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff

Publisher Review

Set against the broader context of the Falklands War, Harrier 809 brings the squadron's story to life in fine and highly readable style. * Garth Ennis * Rowland White has scored again. Harrier 809 reads like a fast-paced military adventure novel only better because every word is true. White has brought us an up-close, inside-the-cockpit saga of a band of heroes in the Falklands air war. Riveting. * Robert Gandt * Rowland White has done it again! A compelling, fast-paced narrative that thrusts us into a fascinating cockpit-view of the Falklands War. Harrier 809 provides a true window into a conflict that shaped the modern path of Argentina and the United Kingdom; a "must read" for serious military aviation enthusiasts and historians alike! * Dan Hampton * Utterly thrilling and totally absorbing. White conveys brilliantly the spirit of a great aircraft - and the men who flew it * Patrick Bishop * This is utterly brilliant: a fantastically exciting book about those amazing Harrier jets in the Falklands War but so much more besides. White has a richly drawn cast of unforgettable characters ... this really does read like the best kind of thriller. His best book yet. * James Holland *