Winged Warriors

Winged Warriors is an open and honest account of one man's perceptions and fears, his actions and mistakes, from a career that spanned four decades. The author spent fourteen years overseas and, at the height of the Cold War, served on two Tornado tactical nuclear squadrons in West Germany only fifteen minutes from responding in full measure to an anticipated Soviet onslaught. Earlier he had flown reconnaissance aircraft on NATO's vulnerable southern flank. He was decorated for gallantry in 1980 and appointed OBE in 1995. Later as the senior RAF adviser in Kuwait he witnessed the air war against Iraq in 1998. Winged Warriors touches on many aspects of military service but it is not about war or war-fighting; it is about real people and their highs and lows, ordinary people who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances. And it is about the training and tragedy that affected a generation of aircrew many of whom gave their lives in preserving peace. It is those crews who stand out in Winged Warriors: true warriors in every sense of the word, blessed with an irrepressible sense of humour regardless of circumstance, a humour that was typically British and very typically RAF. Paul McDonald is a retired RAF group captain and a former fast-jet pilot and flying instructor. In his youth he was an Air Cadet and he is a current Air Cadet Gliding Instructor.