RAF Tornado Units of Gulf War I (Combat Aircraft, 138)

The Tornado fighter-bomber was fielded for the Cold War with the Soviets over central Europe. Instead, in 1990-1991, the RAF deployed theirs to the Middle East for the Coalition confrontation with Saddam Hussein's Iraq. This well-written Osprey Combat Aircraft series book covers their deployment, training and operational actions in the Gulf War.The narrative is built around lots of first-person accounts, detailing the scramble for trained crews and useable aircraft after the invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Like other coalition partners, Tornado units deployed into austere operating conditions under the need to train, quickly, for a new opponent and a new battlefield. Missions during actual combat were quite dangerous and not without loss.The book features a nice selection of period photographs. It also includes color plates of aircraft markings and configurations. The details of combat haven't lost their immediacy. Of note is the discussion of how various electronic systems worked, or didn't. Well recommended to students of the conflict.