A Cold War fighter pilot in peacetime and war / Derek J. Sharp.
Material type: TextPublisher: [Stroud, Gloucestershire] : Fonthill Media Limited, 2019Copyright date: ©2019Description: 208 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, (some colour), portraits ; 26 cmContent type: text | still image Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9781781557242; 1781557241Subject(s): Sharp, Derek J. 1945- | Great Britain. Royal Air Force -- Biography | Great Britain. Royal Air Force. Squadron, No. 151 | Fighter pilots -- Great Britain -- Biography | Air pilots, Military -- Great Britain -- BiographyGenre/Form: Personal narratives. | Autobiographies. Summary: This is the remarkable and true story of Squadron Leader Derek J. Sharp and his incredible adventures. Nothing perhaps was more astonishing than his survival after striking a mallard duck at 500 mph and his subsequent return to pilot in command. That he survived to the age of thirty was astonishing; that he continued unashamedly on to a ripe old age was nothing short of a miracle. Conceivably, he followed the advice written on a fridge magnet in his kitchen: ‘Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly’. This fascinating book follows the adventures of Sharp from schoolboy to highly respected aviator. He flew fighters and nuclear bombers, finally seeing action in the first Gulf War flying defenceless transport jets close to the Iraq border. Sharp consequently survived Saddam Hussein’s Scuds and American Patriot missiles – ‘friendly fire’ aimed directly at the author. He flew Her Majesty The Queen and lived in a time long before political correctness, the breathalyser and motorcar safety checks. He achieved all that he set out to do, and more. That would undoubtedly be his epitaph…Item type | Current library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
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wnor- Book | Wundowie Wundowie Adult Non Fiction | B SHA (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 31111076560877 |
This is the remarkable and true story of Squadron Leader Derek J. Sharp and his incredible adventures. Nothing perhaps was more astonishing than his survival after striking a mallard duck at 500 mph and his subsequent return to pilot in command. That he survived to the age of thirty was astonishing; that he continued unashamedly on to a ripe old age was nothing short of a miracle. Conceivably, he followed the advice written on a fridge magnet in his kitchen: ‘Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly’. This fascinating book follows the adventures of Sharp from schoolboy to highly respected aviator. He flew fighters and nuclear bombers, finally seeing action in the first Gulf War flying defenceless transport jets close to the Iraq border. Sharp consequently survived Saddam Hussein’s Scuds and American Patriot missiles – ‘friendly fire’ aimed directly at the author. He flew Her Majesty The Queen and lived in a time long before political correctness, the breathalyser and motorcar safety checks. He achieved all that he set out to do, and more. That would undoubtedly be his epitaph…
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