Harrier 809

 

Harrier 809 by Rowland White (2020 Bantam Press softcover 482pp)

 

I was 11 years old when the Falklands War broke out. I know it was on the news and I recall New Zealand’s Prime Minister Robert Muldoon offered the support of our Navy but I don’t recall learning much detail at the time. In the years that followed there was an explosion of books and magazine articles which mainly followed a jingoistic line applauding the UK’s great victory. Likewise, the Harrier jump jet’s role in the proceedings was mythologised to the max. Its only now, nearly 40 years later that sane and sober looks at the war are coming to light.

Anyone who’s read Rowland White’s earlier aviation-centric books knows what to expect here. He has an amazing ability to combine disparate events and well-researched facts into a coherent narrative. He uses one or two personalities to drive a story and recreates events in a way that gives you a feeling of having a front row seat as they occur.

This book is no different – the main story is about the hasty wartime re-activation of the Royal Navy 809 squadron and its Harrier jets. We follow as they manage somehow to get organised and ship out on the converted container ship the Atlantic Conveyor. Along the way we learn more about the jets, the woeful state of the British military and get a potted history of the conflict. White also is fairer about and gives more time to the stories of the Argentine pilots than most previous books I’ve read on the subject. Also included are details of several covert UK operations which have only been hinted at before over the years.

My only criticism is that so much time is given to building up to the tragic fate of the Atlantic Conveyor. Anyone who’s read about this conflict before will already know what happens. So, the attempt to build tension and the cliff-hanger ends to chapters fell a bit flat to me.

A great book for any history or military aviation buff.