Customer Reviews

Sea Harrier Over the Falklands (Cassell Military Paperbacks)

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Lt Com. Ward has written a fascinating and honest memoir about his participation in the Falklands War of 1982 and he reveals many interesting details of the action there. He was the CO of 801 NAS, equipped with Sea Harriers and based on the brand new carrier "Invincible". Half the book is decoted to the prewar months, when Ward and his pilots were preparing for combat in a most professional way, absolutely dedicated to their duty and doing their utmost for proficiency in the air. Despite some teething problems of the Sea Harrier, they expertly managed to take the most out of the Blue Fox radar, they practised night missions and strikes and they explored the innermost secrets of the close air combat. As a result, 801 NAS was a tremendous outfit in 1982, having beat US Aggressors 27-10 and F-15s 7-1! Ward does not imply that there was no anxious moments during the actual campaign and in many cases praises the Argentine pilots for their curage and flying skill which was really breath taking! Superior tactics and weapons (i.e. AIM-9L all-aspect missiles) won the day for the British but there are also some bitter battles to be won against the bureaucracy and the Navy people who didn't know or didn't care to learn about the Sea Harrier operational abilities and liabilities. Ward faced opposition many times and he even clashed head-on with his immediate superior but he preserved his integrity and proved that wars are won by a different kind of people than those who teem the corridors of peace-time military hierarchy. His visit to the Falklands after their liberation produced some very interesting notes and the insulting behavior of the RAF against this war hero with three air-to-air "kills" is extremely frustrating. The book has some nice black and white photographs in two sections, three diagrams of particular air engagements (Sea Harriers against Mirage III and Pucaras on 1 May 1982 and against Daggers on 23 May) and an appendice of air combat fundamentals for the layman. Highly recommended!

Commander Ward led the Royal Navy's 801 Sea Harrier squadron against the Argentinean Air Force during the 1982 Falklands War.
Apart from his vivid writing and fascinating descriptions of combat, his in-depth involvement in the development of the Sea Harrier as a weapons platform (he was director of the program) lend the book even more credibility and interest.
Extraordinary too are the facts about the contrasting abilities of the two Sea Harrier squadrons involved. 800 squadron, embarked in the flagship, were far less capable at air combat due to their inability to make the most of the Sea Harrier's avionics package.
The force commander too, seems to have been less than understanding of the capabilities of the aircraft.
Finally Commander Ward comments with great candour on the politics of the Royal Navy and Airforce and the reluctance with which the success of the Sea Harrier was accepted.
Altogether an intriguing book on all levels - the detailed descriptions of combat; the development of the Sea Harrier; the idiocy of Whitehall bureaucracy.
I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Falklands conflict or indeed in modern air combat.

Sharkey immerges the reader in the world of sea harrier before and during the Falklands war. The book is well written, being both precise and exciting. It depicts with maestria the tactics and technics of naval air warfair as seen from the deck and from the cockpit. It also describes all the hassle of interservice rivalries (mainly between the navy and fleet air arm, and RAF and Navy).

Sharkey's tactical points of view are convincingly explained and supported by real cases. However it seems definitely one-sided (Sharkey himself admit it) and I guess I should read another Falklands war story as seen from the Navy or the RAF (although it seems they were not really present on the battlefield) point of view.

In summary, this a good book in which you will learn a lot about modern air warfare and carrier-based operations.

A very interesting book and I still dont know what to make of it - you would have thought that Sharkey won the falklands war on his own (and the squadron).
This is especially confronting when reading other books like Vulcan 607 and other historical books that attribute very little to the harrier force -especially on CAP and ground attack.
In saying that it is probably the best book on understanding how the task force operated it's air cover and covers some of the "politics" of being in the task force

History of training and tactical development of Sea Harrier aircraft. Description of preparations and training as task force sails to Falkland Islands. Graphically exposes ship-to-ship and inter-service rivalries that compromise the mission. Describes command and staff failures to understand abilities of weapons systems causing unnecessary deaths and ship losses. Makes one wonder if wars are won because losers bureaucracy was more incompetent than winners.

Like him or hate him, Sharkey is a colorful figure. The book makes very interesting reading although its seems a tad biased in favor of Sharkey.... in my humble opinion!

Great story of what it is really like to be a harrier pilot in a war. The book goes into detail about the problems with equipment and bureacracy, the manoeuvres and strategies used to gain an advantage. This complements the descriptions of the actual air battles against the Argentinians.

Wonderfully blunt first person account of the Falkland's air campaign, the Harrier jet, and air combat in general. Read along side of Admiral Sandy Woodward's "100 days" on the naval campaign, one gets contrasting views of the same events. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the Falkland's war in general or in air combat in particular.