Flashpoints

From acclaimed aviation historian Michael Napier, this is a highly illustrated survey of the aerial fighting in the flashpoints of the Cold War.

The Cold War years were a period of unprecedented peace in Europe, but they also saw a number of localised but nonetheless very intense conflicts in which air power played a vital role. The postwar years saw a revolution in aviation technology and design, particularly in the fields of missile development and electronic warfare, and these conflicts saw some of the most modern technology of the NATO and Warsaw Pact forces deployed, alongside some relatively obscure aircraft types such as the Westland Wyvern and the Folland Gnat.

Flashpoints describes eight of these Cold War conflicts: the Suez Crisis of 1956, the Congo Crisis of 1960–63, the India-Pakistan Wars of 1965 and 1971, the Arab-Israeli Wars of 1967 and 1973, the Falklands War of 1982 and the Iran-Iraq War of 1980–88. In each of these campaigns, both sides had a credible air force equipped with modern types, and air power played a significant part in the outcome of the whole conflict. While some accounts of these conflicts have been previously published, none give a comprehensive, detailed and unbiased description of the events at a tactical level.

Highly illustrated, with some 250 images and maps, Flashpoints is an authoritative account of the most important small air wars of the Cold War.

About the Author

Michael Napier joined the RAF in 1978 as a University Cadet and studied Aeronautical Engineering at the Imperial College, London. He qualified as a fast jet pilot in 1985, and his military flying career encompassed both the Cold War and operations over Iraq after the Gulf War. Michael left the RAF in 1997 and joined British Airways, first as a First Officer and later as a Captain. Michael has written articles for aviation magazines including Aircraft Illustrated, Flypast, Aeroplane Monthly and Cross & Cockade. He is the author of various books published by Osprey including In Cold War Skies, Korean Air War and RAF Tornado Units of Gulf War I in the Osprey Combat Aircraft series. Michael lives near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.