£20.00
In stock
Contact! – Hardback
Author: Bob Tuxford
A Victor Tanker captain’s experiences in the RAF before, during and after the Falklands Conflict. Foreword by Rowland White, author of Vulcan 607.
Contact! is an enthralling set of recollections from ex-RAF pilot, instructor and test pilot Bob Tuxford. The book follows his twenty year career within the RAF and describes highlights of active service across the world, including an accomplished exchange tour in the US Air Force and the participation in the Falklands war.
The title, a nod to the crucial response during air-to-air refueling, underlines the important role that Bob carried out during his career as a captain of Victor K1s on 214 squadron in the 1970s, and K2s on 57 and 55 Squadrons in the early 1980s. This experience led to him playing a vital role in the first Black Buck mission during the Falklands campaign – by being the last Victor tanker (XL189) to refuel the Vulcan (XM607) piloted by Martin Withers before bombing commenced on that fateful night in 1982. For this he was awarded the Air Force Cross for gallantry. In the latter years of his career, Bob made the transition to test piloting and became the senior test pilot on the Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron at the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down.
This book is not just for aviation enthusiasts, but for those wanting a greater insight into the importance of the work carried out by tanker squadrons within the RAF during the Cold War.
Front cover: The author about to make contact on the Victor’s refuelling basket.
Back cover (from top to bottom): Operation Black Buck mission briefing on Wideawake Airfield, Ascension Island – 30 April 1982; Victor K2 landing on Runway 14 at Wideawake Airfield during the Falklands war; Squadron Leader Bob Tuxford’s crew by the tented medical centre, Operation Corporate, Wideawake Airfield – April 1982. (All photos taken from author’s collection)
