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The Epic Story of the Most
Remarkable
British Air Attack since
WWII
| Author | Rowland White |
| Publisher | Bantam Press |
| ISBN # | 0593053915 |
| On-line Merchant |
Cover Notes
The first full account of
the most ambitious British bombing raid since the Dambusters: the dramatic
Vulcan attack on Port Stanley airfield at the start of the Falklands War
When the Argentinian forces invaded the Falklands on 2 April, 1982, it
took the British government under Margaret Thatcher completely by surprise.
They needed a response, and fast. The military chiefs were
ordered to come up with
a plan of retaliation. Operation Black Buck, the plan to bomb Port Stanley
airfield, was their only realistic option. And even that was fraught with
difficulties and danger. The plan itself was relatively simple: take two
long range bombers and land a stick of bombs on the airfield in the immediate
aftermath of the Argentine invasion. The realities were rather more complicated:
the nearest friendly airbase was 4000 miles from Port Stanley and the only
suitable long range bomber had just been taken out of service by the RAF.
It wasn't an auspicious start .. And yet just over a month later, before
dawn on 1 May, a lone RAF Vulcan B2 bomber made its way towards the runway
at Port Stanley airport, about to strike the first blow of Britain's campaign
to retake the Falklands. Through British pluck, ingenuity and determination
by the hundreds of military personnel involved, the operation achieved
its goals and will go down in history as the moment when Britain fought
back.
Now, for the first time, the true story of the legendary raid on Stanley is told in Vulcan 607. Using extensive interviews with the combatants, residents of Stanley and military command, and with unprecedented access to military records of the time, Rowland White has reconstructed the flight and its preparation in gripping detail. It's an extraordinary and thrilling telling of a heroic enterprise - the last time that the RAF flew heavy bombers into combat, before being replaced with precision-guided modern weaponry - and looks set to join the classics of aviation literature with its blend of fascinating detail, compelling narrative and nailbiting action.
ROWLAND WHITE was eleven years old when the Falklands War broke out and reading the papers everyday for news quickly became his daily routine. He has been absorbed by the conflict ever since, and in particular with the Vulcan raid on Stanley airfield. He works in publishing in London where he lives with his young family. Rowland White is available for interview about his book
Reviews
Stacy Squires rated this book Excellent
I have read this book twice and am amazed at how such a complex story reads so easily. For me Rowland White has briliantly humanised this unique military operation giving the reader an insight to the dedication and commitment of those involved. I also would like to see this book made into a movie.
Sebastian L rated this book Excellent
Vulcan 607 is both nail biting & an epic page-turner! Finished it in 3 days!
Daniel Maloney rated this book Excellent
Bloody good book, please make a movie!!
Glenn rated this book Excellent
Fantastic read. If this was a work of fiction you would have to say it was over dramatised! How can so many things be wrong and still manage to be a sucess? Made me want to know more.Well done Rowland White.
Robin Plummer rated this book Excellent
Recommended to me by my son, who is involved in TV documentaries about hair raising adventures, I read this book in 3 days. (A book normally takes me 2 weeks.) The literary style and attention to detail slowly wind up the tension on an already staggering achievement, to make for one of the best adventure stories I have ever read. My son needs to make a film out of it.
Mark Spiers rated this book Excellent
What a read. Fantastic. Read a lot of modern army books and stupidly thought this would be a bit tame. How wrong i was. I was hooked. Could not put it down. So interesting and an amazing achievement. Makes you so proud of what we can achieve. Am hooked on finding all about Vulcans now. Highly recommended
Ben Marshall rated this book Excellent
Simply exhilarating. A very historically accurate thriller that fails to disappoint. It paints a very realistic picture of what the Falklands campagne was like and how many different people played a vital role in achieving one aim. I would recommend to anyone in the world, even though it's aimed at aircraft enthusiasts and people interested in the military, it would still appeal to even my grandma.
Graham Walker rated this book Excellent
Fabulous book. An adventure in its own right, pity that someone had to say it was poor, still they have a right to their opinion, which everyone clearly disagrees with. All thats left now is for some brave soul to turn it into a film for the big screen with british actors, it would do well at the box office. If they can do it for Apollo 13 why not do it for Vulcan 607?
Jim Baumann rated this book Excellent
Eye-opening narrative of a very ambitious plan-that could have collapsed around the mission almost at any time.
Truelife -wing-and-prayer stuff!
Paul Wilson rated this book Excellent
"So good I read it twice!" What a fantastic adventure. Talk about determination and bravery. The aircrews of all the Vulcans that flew those Falkland Island missions knew that they had a very good chance of being shot down after flying over 4000 miles to their targets. The logistics are simply mind-boggling. I worked on the Vulcans at Cottesmore and Waddington between 1965 and 1973 so I'm well aware of the technical details, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the Vulcan, so I can confidently say that "Vulcan 607" is a very accurate and convincing account.
Travis Goodwin rated this book Excellent
You could make it up if you tried!
Nick Simmons rated this book Excellent
Excellent book! For someone who never read's a book!!! I actually could not put the book down and read the whole book, while on my honeymoon recently in the maldives. (and still married!!!)
This book needs to be made into a movie and would be absolutely MINT! then i may understand the fueling brackets flight plan!?!
just a super read! well done Rowland White!
W.S.Becket rated this book Poor
An interesting episode in the Falkland's campaign, the narrative was marred by the schoolboy-style writing. The reader's impression is that the writer is a thirteen-year old with limited literary skills. The result was to detract from the efforts of those involved in the bombing rather than the reverse. In the right hands, it could have been a very good book indeed.
Ted Falcus rated this book Excellent
Excellent
Stanley was not the first time that the Argies had encounted the Vulcan I was lucky enough to be selected part of the ground crew to accompany 2 Vulcans to Argentina as guests of their airforce in 1960,great guys pity it all went pearshaped and as luck would have it one of the Vulcans went u/s and we had to leave it in their care untill it was sorted and recovered later.
David Jarvis rated this book Excellent
Excellent
Nearly finished - I am on the bombing run at the moment, but had to break off to agree with all before me. The level of Roland's research is mind-boggling. I am fortunate enough to have flown 6th seat in a Victor B2 and played golf with Sir Rex Hunt! with these experiences come some understanding of what everybody went through to position this aircraft over the target and pace and style of the telling are second to none. One of the truly great war stories.
David Loveday rated this book Excellent
Excellent
Great book, difficult to put down, shows what determination can do.
John M rated this book Excellent
absolutely unputdownable.
Bought at 8pm, finished at 0130 !
Excellent, when is the film going to be made ?
Craig Webster rated this book Excellent
I chose the book for summer holiday homework. It caught my eye in the book shop and began reading it straight away.
Fantastic detail with great diagrams.
I am 14 and a keen future RAF pilot and this has really made me more determined. Great job!
david andrusyszyn rated this book Excellent
wow what an amazing book and wow what an amazing plane so much so that i cant help but buy some sovineirs of ebay lol, its true what was said earlier this book would make one hell of a film which would be far better then america could do and better still they would be able to copy it and make a worse version "italian job"...ummm one more thing is xm607 still out side waddington?????? really wanna go see it touch it just makes reading the book a bit more special
Barry Walch rated this book Excellent
Outstanding book,I've read it twice and perhaps when 558 flies a film could be made about this epic raid. As an ex-Vulcan ground crew fitter and serving in the RAF at the time it was nice to read a book that was so error free.
Glyn Davies comments that 2 Vulcans were shot down the week prior to the raid. Never heard that one before.
Andy Ross rated this book Excellent
Brilliantly written - an adrenalin rush with just the right level of technical detail to get me hooked. Felt the ending was a bit flat and the analysis a little biased, as a lot of people seem to question the strategic impact of Black Buck. What the heck, it's a cracking yarn and a fitting tribute to the dedication of the huge team that made it possible to put 607 on target so far from home.
Martin Needham rated this book Excellent
Why can't they make this book into a film??? very hard to put down.
Keith Walton rated this book Excellent
I think this book will in time turn out to be an avation classic.A gripping read from start to finnish and in certain parts it reads like the whole episode was fiction although we all know that it actualy happend
Bruze Canton rated this book Excellent
I have not as yet read the book but will at the earliest convenient time now that I know the raids were documented.
My reason for this submission is to inform all those interested that Vulcan XM607 is now sited close to the A15 road at Waddington air force base, 2 miles south of Lincoln. Its location is opposite the Waddington aircraft viewing enclosure (WAVE) this is a free area for a large number of cars and offers superb views of the aircraft landing etc. it has a toilet and a superb little cafe that caters for us aircraft fans. (bacon butty anyone) XM607 has recently been repainted and stands proudly close to the road so that a camera becomes a must. Be aware that the A15 at this point is a fairly busy road so pulling into the Wave car park is a must......
Matthew Aubrook rated this book Excellent
Couldn't put this book down, it is amazing. I managed to read it in less than 2 days that's how much it grabs your attention. one of the best books I have read in a long time.
Glyn Davies rated this book Excellent
No mention of the 2 Vulcans shot down the week before this attack took place?
Christopher Yorke-Edwards rated this book Excellent
As a journalist on RAF News sent on detachment to Ascension Island and who interviewed the aircrews of the first two Black Buck raids, "Vulcan 607" leapt off the shelf when I saw it at my local book shop. Naturally, the chaps who flew on these remarkable operations were rather circumspect about giving me too much detail for publication while the war continued. But I never guessed just what a cliff-hanger of a story they had to tell - a story Rowland White recounts with brilliance. It's not only the story of the raids themselves that enthrals, but the background to Black Buck and how these venerable aircraft were made ready for these operations is truly amazing. You don't have to be an RAF buff to enjoy this highly readable adventure story.
Steve Wood rated this book Excellent
Couldn't put it down. Fantastic read.
Barrie Clyne rated this book Excellent
A well written account of that amazing action performed by the Martin Withers and the crew of 607, ably supported by crews of the Victors and so many others.
It's an excitng story on a par with any of those from WW II, but technically more revealing!
John Beacock rated this book Excellent
Superb book - I could not put it down. As an ex-Vulcan engineer (my first posting was Waddo in 1960) I found it both fascinating and accurate.I remember the raid of course but had no idea of the drama behind it. My only surprise is that it has taken this long to tell the story. It would make a cracking movie, a sort of mixture of The Dambusters and Apollo 13.
Brent Day rated this book Excellent
A tremendous read. A true-life 'Boys Own' story brought to life by the style of writing. Simply "un-put-downable"
Graham Redman rated this book Excellent
Got it for christmas, could not put in down, true grit !
Chris Seedhouse rated this book Excellent
16 Nov 2006. I havent read his book yet but ive asked my family to buy it for my christmas present. XM607 has a soft spot in my heart as I was stationed at RAF Waddington from 1995 to 1999 and the first thing you saw driving up to the guard post was the mighty vulcan XM607. I know it sounds silly but as an MT driver I went through the gates on long haul trips many times and always said "see ya in a bit" and "hiya black buck", when I saw that aircraft I had more than a lot of respect for her and she was always there to greet me on my return, I knew I was home safe.
James Smith rated this book Excellent
Having waited weeks, my local library informed me it was ready for collection on Wednesday morning. Having been told there was great demand for this book I started early afternoon (Wed). I finished reading it in the bath Thursday evening. A truly remarkable record of a truly remarkable operation. JS
Andrew Gray rated this book Excellent
I have thoroughly enjoyed this read, it is all that the reveiwers say it is.
I have seen one of the Falkland Vulcans at East Fortune and understand it was one that had to divert to Rio due to broken probe.
AG
Peter Williams rated this book Excellent
Outstanding. A factual thriller, and very difficult to put down. Makes my time at Ascension on the RAF Search & Rescue Helicopter crew very serene.
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