Kestrel Squadron Groundcrew Memoirs Brian Carlin Carlin Brian by Brian Carlin [carlin, Brian] instant download after payment.

Before the Harrier there was its direct ancestor the Kestrel - the first ever VSTOL jet fighter to enter military service. Only nine Kestrels were produced and they were for the exclusive use of a unique squadron that formed in the autumn of 1964. It comprised pilots and support crews from five different services that represented three nations, Great Britain, the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, prior to that nation’s reunification). The task was to put the Kestrel through its paces to see how its unique characteristics could be employed in a military environment. The unit’s official name was the Tripartite Kestrel Evaluation Squadron, but it was known to its members simply as Kestrel Squadron. Lessons learned during the 18 month-long evaluation were put to good use when the later Harrier entered service with the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy, and the United States Marine Corps. The author, a member of the RAF ground crew contingent on Kestrel Squadron, recalls what it was like for him and others to serve on such a unique and historic squadron. In researching this book, the author also followed up on the eventual fate of all nine Kestrels, which he reveals at the end of the book.