F-14 Tomcat Units of Operation Enduring Freedom

Description

The legendary F-14 Tomcat was the weapon of choice to strike against the enemies of the United States in the wake of the September 11 attacks, with F-14s flying thousands of bombing missions on al-Qaeda and Taliban positions. Written by aviation expert Tony Holmes, this book explores the F-14 pilots and aircraft involved in Operation Enduring Freedom, with insights into the tactical approach and strategic aims provided by officers. Exclusive access to mission reports, combat diaries, fullcolour artwork and photographs from the author's collection reveal the battle experiences of the most famous modern fast jet.

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 Elite Units series, Tony has also written more than 25 books for Osprey in the past 17 years. Awarded the Tailhook Association's contributor of the year award last year for his coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he has written four books in the last 18 months in the Combat Aircraft series. Jim Laurier is a native of New England, growing up in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He has been drawing since he could hold a pencil and throughout his life he has worked in many mediums creating artwork on a variety of subjects. He has worked on the Osprey Aviation list since 2000, and in that time he has produced some of the finest artwork seen in these volumes.

"The text is nicely written and hard to put down once you start reading, especially if you are familiar with the F-14's original mission. The OEF Tomcats could not be further from that initial mission, but it performed with outstanding ability, and the praise comes through in the recollections of the pilots and ground crew. The anecdotes included help put the reader in the cockpit with the pilots, keeping the text from becoming too dry. Coupled with the great photos and dozens of color profile illustrations, this book is a great tribute to the final operations of USN F-14s... This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in the Tomcat, as it does an excellent job of detailing the operational swan song of the F-14." --Chris BanyaiRiepl, Internet Modeler (April 2008) "Here he turns his attention to the F-14's use in Operation Enduring Freedom, producing a totally convincing account of the type's involvement. Holmes' empathy with the Tomcat community is evident in the numerous first-hand acounts that he gathered for the book and his ability to set them perfectly in the context of the Operation." --Scale Aircraft Modelling (July 2008) "Auther Tony Holmes covers these operations in considerable detail and includes stories from pilots and crews about their more interesting missions. This is all enhanced by quality...images provided from official sources. Artist Jim Laurier adds to the book with his superb profiles." --Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (March 2008)