US Navy Hornet Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Part Two)

Description

This book explores the role of the US Navy Hornet units in the northern Iraqi campaign. These units were the first Navy Reserve unit to be mobilized since the Korean War, and their attacks were launched from carriers off the coast of Turkey. The conflict for these squadrons was very different from the campaign fought in southern Iraq: they worked almost exclusively with clandestine Special Forces teams from the US Army, Marine Corps, Navy SEALs, British and Australian SAS and Kurdish guerrillas. First-hand accounts accompany the indispensable role these units had in the battle to liberate Iraq.

Osprey Aviation Editor since 1989, Tony Holmes is a native of Fremantle, Western Australia. Responsible for devising the Aircraft of the Aces, Combat Aircraft and Aviation Elite Units series, Tony has also written more than 20 books for Osprey in the past 17 years. He was the only foreign journalist granted access to returning Operation Iraqi Freedom Hornet and Tomcat crews in the aftermath of the campaign. Based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, Chris Davey has illustrated more than 20 titles for Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces, Combat Aircraft and Aviation Elite Units series since 1994. He is one of the last traditional airbrush artists in the business and has become Osprey's artist of choice for both USAAF fighters and RAF subject matter, proving his undoubted skill when dealing with large aircraft subjects such as the Halifax and Sunderland.

"Tony Holmes does an excellent job covering a complex subject and making it accessible to readers. The reliance on eye-witnesses is an inspired choice which, combined with the excellent photo-coverage, makes this a very useful reference for historians and modellers alike." --Rowan Baylis, AeroScale