Libyan Air Wars Part 2: 1985-1986: Part 2: 1985-1986

Description

While the first volume in this mini-series spanned the first decade of confrontations between Libya and several of its neighbours, but foremost the USA and France, between 1973 and 1985, the second is to cover the period of less than a year - between mid-1985 and March 1986, when this confrontation reached its first climax. Through mid and late 1985, relations between France and Libya became tense over the situation in Chad. By early 1986, the French felt forced to deploy their air force for an airstrike on the crucial Libyan air base at Wadi Doum, in the north of that country. Tripoli reacted with a high-profile aerial attack on N'Djamena IAP and by bolstering support for its proxies. This eventually provoked Paris to launch its third military intervention in that country, OperationEpervier. Meanwhile, a series of terror attacks on US citizens and interests in Europe and the Mediterranean area took place. While most of these saw the involvement of Iran and Syria too, Libya was recognized as major supporter of the activities in question. In the aftermath of several traumatic experiences, the US administration began planning for direct action against the government in Tripoli and various terrorist organizations supported by it. As the Pentagon planners prepared a contingency list of targets in Libya, and the US Air Force began planning its involvement, ships and aircraft of the US Navy launched intensive operations off the Libyan coast with the aim of provoking an incident that could be used as a reason for major military attack on Libya. Eventually, these operations culminated in Operation Prairie Fire- a series of short but sharp clashes between the US Navy and Libyan air defences and the Navy, in March 1986. Part 2 of this mini-series provides an unprecedentedly detailed and richly illustrated description of the involved air forces, their equipment and markings, and related military aerial operations, many of which have remained unknown until today, while others have been forgotten outright.

Tom Cooper is an Austrian aerial warfare analyst and historian. Following a career in worldwide transportation business - during which he established a network of contacts in the Middle East and Africa - he moved into narrow-focus analysis and writing on small, little-known air forces and conflicts, about which he has collected extensive archives. That resulted in specialisation in such Middle Eastern air forces as of those of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, plus various African and Asian air forces. Except for authoring and co-authoring more than 30 books - including an in-depth analysis of major Arab air forces at wars with Israel in period 1955-1973 - and over 1000 articles, Cooper is a regular correspondent for multiple defence-related publications. Military historian and aviation-journalist, Albert Grandolini, was born in France and gained an MA in history from Paris I Sorbonne University. His primary research focus is on contemporary conflicts in general and particularly on the military history of Asia. Having spent his childhood in South Vietnam, the Vietnam War has been one of his main fields of research. He is the author of the books "The Fall of the Flying Dragon, South Vietnamese Air Force (1973-1975)" with Harpia Publishing and "Armor of the Vietnam War: the Asian Forces", Concord Publishing. He is also co-author of the two volumes on Libyan Air Wars with Helion in the Africa@War Series. He had also written numerous articles for various British, French and German magazines, such as "Air Enthusiast", "Flieger Revue Extra", "Fana de l'aviation", "Tank Zone" and "Batailles et Blindes". He has regularly contributed to the Air Combat Information Group (ACIG) and the Au Dela de la Colline military history French Website.

color and B&W photos illustrate Helion's excellent account. Abbreviations, sidebars, tables, maps, selected bibliography and endnotes further season the study. And Tom Cooper's reliably outstanding artwork surveys participating warplane warpaint. My biggest gripe? I prefer more profiles of Libyan aircraft - not of its adversaries! I can't wait for Part 3. Can Operation Eldorado Canyon be far away? * Cybermodeler *