Phantom in Focus

Book excerpt: Have you ever wondered what it was like to fly the Phantom? This is not a potted history of an airplane, nor is it Hollywood glamour as captured in Top Gun. This is the story of life on the front line during the Cold War told in the words of a navigator who flew the iconic jet. Unique pictures, many captured from the cockpit, show the Phantom in its true environment and show why for many years the Phantom was the envy of NATO. It also tells the inside story of some of the problems which plagued the Phantom in its early days, how the aircraft developed, or was neglected, and reveals events which shaped the aircraft's history and contributed to its demise. Anecdotes capture the deep affection felt by the crews who were fortunate enough to cross paths with the Phantom during their flying careers. The nicknames the aircraft earned were not complimentary and included the 'Rhino', 'The Spook', 'Double Ugly', the 'Flying Brick' and the 'Lead Sled'. Whichever way you looked at it, you could love or hate the Phantom, but you could never ignore it for its sheer power and lethal payload. The Phantom in Focus: A Navigator's Eye on Britain's Cold War Warrior is unique in that the author flew in the legendary Phantom in the front line and captured beautiful and amazing unpublished photographs that will appeal to historians, military specialists and modelers alike.