Tornado Over the Tigris

A Royal Air Force pilot recounts his service flying Tornados over Cold War-era Germany and post-Gulf War Iraq in this thrilling military memoir.

After achieving a boyhood ambition to qualify as an RAF pilot, Michael Napier was posted to RAF Bruggen in Germany where he spent five years flying Tornado GR1s at the height of the Cold War. Always exhilarating and often dangerous, Michael Napier’s Tornado flying ranged from ‘routine’ low-flying in continental Europe and the UK to air combat maneuvering in Sardinia and the ultra-realistic Red Flag exercises in the United States.

From a struggling first-tourist to a respected four-ship leader, Napier became an instructor at the Tactical Weapons Unit at RAF Chivenor. He later returned to flying the Tornado at Bruggen as a Flight Commander shortly after the Gulf War, flying a number of operational sorties over Iraq, which included leading air-strikes against Iraqi air defense installations as part of major Coalition operations. With candor and vivid detail, Napier offers an insider’s look at one of the RAF’s legendary, now retired, Torando aircraft.

About the Author

The elder son of an army officer, Michael Napier joined the RAF in 1978 and served with 14 Squadron as a Tornado pilot in the late 1980s and again in the early 1990s. These two tours engendered a deep interest in 14 Squadron’s distinguished history. He was appointed as Honorary Secretary of the 14 Squadron Association in 2003 and since then has carried out extensive research into the Squadron’s heritage. He is the author of Winged Crusaders: 14 Squadron RFC and RAF 1915-1945, Blue Diamonds: The Exploits of 14 Squadron RAF 1945-2015, Tornado Over the Tigris: Recollections of a Fast Jet Pilot and Gloster Javelin: An Operational History all published by Pen and Sword Books. Now an airline captain, he lives in the Cotswolds with his wife and two children.