A military aviation expert chronicles the decades of breathtaking innovation that took place at Britain’s secret airbase. In 1951, Hawker Aircraft started using Dunsfold Aerodrome to test its new jet projects. The Sea Hawk was followed by the superlative Hunter. Then came a radical new engine design for an aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing. While nay-sayers claimed it would never work, the Harrier proved them wrong, becoming a vital asset during the Falklands War. Then came the Hawk, which—after completion of the RAF requirement—was sold into air arms across the world, including the US Navy. It was an incredible achievement for a UK design. British Aerospace then brought forth its upgraded Harrier, the Harrier GR.5. One might expect that this prolific output was the result of some massive industrial plant in the Midlands rather than an isolated aerodrome tucked in the rural hinterland of south Surrey. Shrouded in secrecy for most of its life, Dunsfold has largely escaped the notice of the general public. This volume shines a light on the remarkable work carried out there.

Set in the north Norfolk countryside, Sculthorpe was the hub of offensive operations until its closure in 1944 for upgrading as a base for heavy bombers, its runway ideal for US Strategic Air Command bombers like the B-29. By 1951, it was formally handed over to US control and became a prime front-line nuclear bomber base as well as a centre of intelligence gathering via secret surveillance flights over Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. There are many unanswered questions about the base during this period, not least regarding the 'RAF Special Duties Flight' which carried out two overflights of the Soviet Union in 1952 and 1954. After 1962, the airfield once again became a standby base used by the USAF, the RAF and the Army.

Tells the story of the secret aerial espionage war between the West and the Soviet Union during the Cold War era. Uncovers evidence of secret missions flown by US Air Force and Royal Air Force crews into the Soviet Union, drawing on interviews with US, UK, and Soviet pilots, and reveals details of an alarming 1950s US Air Force plan to use spy flights to provoke a nuclear war that would wipe out the Soviet Union and China. Distributed by Books International. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Espionage, American -- Soviet Union -- History. Air warfare -- History. Cold War.

"Unknown to the public and cloaked in the utmost secrecy, the United States flew missions against the Communist bloc almost continually during the Cold War in a desperate effort to collect intelligence and find targets for all-out nuclear war. The only hint ot the relentless, clandestine operations came when one of the planes was shot down. Many of the air force and navy flyers were killed on top secret missions. But now, for the first time, award winning historian William E Burrows, shows that others were captured by the Russians, Chinese, North Koreans, and were tortured, imprisoned, and killed, while their loved ones grieved and their government ooked the other way. In an effort to improve relations with Russia, Washington is still looking the other way, though it pretends otherwise. urrows has interviews scores of men who flew these 'black' missions, as well as the widows and children of those who never returned, all of whom want the full story finally told. He has done so with an eye to this story's immensely human dimension. BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY is not about aeroplanes but about the people who've sacrificed their lives in the interest of national security."