ROYAL AIR FORCE — YEARBOOK 1977 —
Prix régulier 25,00 € TTC 6%
Characteristics
| Book cover finish(es) | Stapled |
| Special Features |
INTRODUCTION by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal |
| Condition | Good |
| Author(s) | William Green, Gordon Swanborough |
| Publisher | Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund |
| Number of pages | 68 |
| Published date | 1977 |
| Language(s) | English |
| Collection / Series | ROYAL AIR FORCE YEARBOOK |
| Size | 20 x 27 |
| Categorie(s) | • AVIATION MILITAIRE |
Description
As you know, this is Her Majesty The Queen's Silver Jubilee Year, the highlight for the Royal Air Force being the Royal Review of the Service at Finningley and the presentation to us by Her Majesty of 25 new Colour. A great deal has happened to the Service during Her Majesty's reign: we have an air force refined and reshaped to fit it for a European and NATO role. At the same time, cuts in the amount of money available to us over the years have forced further change upon us. Practising judicious housekeeping, we have fought hard and sacrificed much in order to retain our combat front line, especially over the difficult years since the Defence Review. In this we have been successful, so that today we have an Air Service which may not be large in numbers, but is of high quality. This quality has its roots in our aircraft and in the professional and dedicated people who fly and support them.
Turning our minds to the new equipment we shall have in the future, the introduction of the Tornado is the event we most eagerly anticipate and I believe it will join the Hurricane, Spitfire, Lancaster and Hunter as one of the great aircraft in the history of our Service. It will start to appear before the end of the decade. The air defence version will follow rather later and will be armed with a new missile — Skyflash. Because Tornado will be able to operate at night and in all weathers, it will greatly enhance the all-round air capability of Allied Command Europe. We are also extremely proud of our new training aircraft, the Hawk, deliveries of which have now begun.
Finally, the country must not forget that the threat posed by the Soviet Air Force is growing daily in both quality and quantity. In my view, proper appreciation of this calls for an air-minded nation competent to appreciate the value of air power in the part we shall continue to play alongside our allies in NATO in the maintenance of peace. We very much hope that you will support the Royal Air Force by joining us during the year at the various displays and open days throughout the country.
