Napier, Michael

The Vickers Wellington was one of very few aircraft types to have been in production and frontline service throughout World War II, and more than 10,000 Wellingtons were built in the period. They took part in the first RAF bombing mission of the conflict when, on 4 September 1939, 14 examples from (...)

After the Gulf War of 1990, No Fly Zones (NFZ) were established over northern and southern Iraq and the Tornado GR 1 force stepped up to operations over the southern NFZ.The Tornado GR 4 took responsibility for RAF combat air operations in Afghanistan from the Harrier force in 2009, and in 2011 was (...)

Michael Napier details the critical role of air power in the skies over Afghanistan, from the ten-year occupation by the USSR in the 1980s through to the US and NATO campaign from 2001 to 2021. US and British forces, strongly supported by air power, invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 in response to (...)

A spectacularly illustrated new history and analysis of the strategic bombing campaign in the Korean War, which saw the last combat of America's legendary B-29s. Just five years after they defeated Japan, at the dawn of the jet age, the most advanced bomber of World War II was already obsolescent. (...)

Former RAF Tornado pilot Michael Napier chronicles the action-packed history of the Harrier GR 7/9, and its missions in West Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Afghanistan over a 14-year period of ceaseless operations.The Harrier GR 7/9 was at the 'tip of the spear' for the RAF when it came (...)