Sharkey Ward's "Sea Harrier Over The Falklands" has proved a fascinating read!!! The time and effort that goes into developing a fighting unit like 801 NAS often isn't appreciated by casual observers.
The book goes into great detail of how Sharkey Ward builds up his team prior to taking command of 801 NAS, building the 801 team, mastering the Sea Harrier and all its systems including the Blue Fox radar.
One of the biggest surprises is just how capable the FRS.1 Sea Harrier was against the best US jets of the time including the F-15!!! Sea Harrier was pitted against the USAF Aggressor Squadron in the UK and this led to a fight with the F-15 Squadron.
The amount of training en-route to the South Atlantic is more than surprising. Weapons testing and night qualifications being the highlights and gives the reader and idea of just how proficient the pilots were.
Having the perspective of some who has been there dramatically focuses you on his view of the proceedings and the climax builds into some thrilling air combat over the Falklands.
While 801 NAS scored less victories than 800 NAS the tactics employed differs greatly and leaves one with the question of which did the better job. Potentially 801 deterred more attacks from their low level CAP than did 800 which conducted high level CAP and then intercepted their quarry from behind after they had struck.
The differing views and policies of the Flag and his Staff on HMS Hermes stands in stark contrast to that of Commander Sharkey Ward CO 801 and the Captain and officers of HMS Invincible. Interestingly the frustrations they're faced with is probably not very different to what operators and management face in the work place today.
Definitely a recommended read that will probably lead to the purchase of a Corgi 801 NAS Sea Harrier flown by Commander Sharkey Ward.
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