Sharkey Ward commanded 801 Naval Air Squadron, "HMS Invincible", during the Falkland War of April to June 1982, and was senior Sea Harrier adviser to the command on the tactics, direction and progress of the air war. He flew over 60 war missions, achieved three air-to air kills, and took part in or witnessed a total of ten kills; he was also the leading night pilot, and was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry. But what, after all, could 20 Sea Harriers, operating from a flight-deck bucketing about in the South Atlantic, do against more than 200 Argentine military aircraft flown by pilots who, as the raids against the British shipping proved, displayed enormous skill and almost suicidal gallantry? The world knows the answer - now. What is puzzling, therefore, is this book's truthful depiction of the attitudes of some senior non-flying naval officers, and of the RAF, towards the men (and indeed the machine) that made possible the victory in the Falklands. This first-hand account charts, in detail, the naval pilots' journey to the South Atlantic, and how they took on and triumphantly conquered the challenges they faced. It is a dramatic story, leavened with accounts of the air-to-air fighting and of life in a squadron at sea and on a war footing. But it is also a tale of inter-Service rivalry, bureaucratic interference, and the less-than-generous attitudes of a number of senior commanders who should certainly have known better; indeed, some of them might even have lost the war through a lack of understanding of air warfare. The author attempts to put the record straight.

This work demonstrates how maritime deterrence strategy in a challenging world is critically underpinned by strategic air power at sea and on land. In this book, the history and utility of land- and carrier-based strategic airpower is brought to life by the gallant exploits and photographs of B-17 aircraft “Quittin’ Time” and of its Navigator, “Fred” Julian in the Second World War, and by the unforgiving and unswerving dedication of “Sharkey” Ward and his Sea Harrier team in the Falklands war. The overarching message is that the strategic airpower lessons of the past eight decades underpin the urgent need for the UK government to invest more wisely in its Fleet so that the latter may work effectively in conjunction with the US Navy on the global mission to deter those that would harm us, and to maintain the freedom of passage of all shipping throughout the global commons. The authors show how a maritime deterrence strategy in a challenging world is critically underpinned by strategic air power at sea and on land.

The occupation of San Juan Island by the Royal Marines between 1860 and 1872 marked the last time "redcoats" would be stationed in lands south of the 49th parallel. Following the nearly disastrous "Pig War" crisis, their primary mission with their U.S. Army counterparts was keeping the peace on an island considered ripe for the taking by Britons and Americans alike. Drawing on historical, archaeological and photographic research, Outpost of Empire offers an intriguing glimpse of a frontier garrison in the Victorian age. Mike Vouri is the San Juan National Park historian and author of The Pig War.

This comparative study of piracy and maritime violence provides a fresh understanding of European overseas expansion and colonisation in Asia. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

'THE BIG SHOW IS AS CLOSE AS YOU'LL EVER GET TO FIGHTING YOUR LIFE FROM THE COCKPIT OF A SPITFIRE OR TYPHOON. PERHAPS MOST VISCERALLY EXCITING BOOK EVER WRITTEN BY A FIGHTER PILOT' Rowland White, Author of Vulcan 607 Pierre Clostermann DFC was one of the oustanding Allied aces of the Second World War. A Frenchman who flew with the RAF, he survived over 420 operational sorties, shooting down scores of enemy aircraft, while friends and comrades lost their lives in the deadly skies above Europe. The Big Show, his extraordinary account of the war has been described as the greatest pilot's memoir of WWII. ' A truly remarkable book ... the most gripping descriptions of aerial combat I have ever read' New York Times 'A thrilling read ... ranks among the finest accounts of war' Guardian 'A magnificent story' Daily Telegraph 'A classic ... gripping, ripping, full of action' Economist 'Vividly captures the spirit of air combat' The Times