ISBN: 978-1-909166-02-8
Softcover
Pages: 223
Illustrations: multiple colour photos
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
The
Nimrod Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) aircraft was a mainstay workhorse of the
RAF for over 40 years before coming to a sudden and rather inglorious end in
March, 2010. Blackman’s book traces the development and evolution of this
aircraft as well as providing the reader with an in-depth review of the
technical, doctrinal and operational details that were of a more delicate
nature during its operational lifetime.
The initial chapters deal with the history and development of the ASW program within the RAF, identifying the various unique aspects and technologies associated with sub-hunting. This includes the development of acoustics, passive and active sonobuoys and radar systems. He follows this with a detailed discussion of the Nimrod MR2 which was the primary configuration of the Nimrod for a majority of its operational life. His detailed description of the roles of the different flight stations, weapons systems, acoustical equipment and aircraft layout, all replete with photographs, are quite in depth and technical. ASW is a very complicated skill and the language is often steeped with acronyms and data that is completely foreign to the casual reader; Blackman assumes this and goes to great lengths to compensate for this.
The
follow-on chapters deal with the operational use of the Nimrod as an ASW
platform, search and rescue (SAR) platform, long range patrol aircraft and intelligence
gathering tool. The author takes full advantage of the plethora of experience
available through past crew members and provides numerous first-hand accounts
of missions; some harrowing, some humorous and all adding depth and scope for
the reader. The versatility of the aircraft is clearly exemplified by renditions
of the tracking and photographing of the Soviet carrier Kuznetsov and Flanker
aircraft launching from it. Additionally, the Nimrod, with its vast range was
ideally suited to be a SAR/patrol aircraft. This dovetailed very nicely with
the fact that the Soviets had numerous intelligence gathering assets disguised
as trawlers. The Nimrod would easily be able to transition roles from fisheries
patrols to SAR to maritime security all within the same mission. Its excessive
suite of communications and monitoring equipment made it an ideal command and
control platform for a variety of circumstances.
Blackman
discusses in detail the events surrounding the Piper Alpha disaster from 1988
when an oil rig in the North Sea caught fire and became the focus of a major
rescue operation involving a myriad of civilian air and sea units. Utilizing
extensive firsthand accounts as well as general narrative, Blackman provides a
comprehensive example of the versatility of the Nimrod as it coordinated the
rescue operation on scene between the various onsite assets and the Rescue
Coordination Centres. He follows this with a fascinating look at the involvement
of the Nimrod in the Falkland’s war emphasizing the flexibility and utility of
both the airframe (ie the ability to engage in air to air refueling) as well as
the technology within it.
The
final two chapters deal in depth with major blows to the Nimrod and the
resultant economic storm that ultimately caused the government to cancel the
entire program. The first involved the attempted transition of the Nimrod from
an ASW platform to an AEW (Airborne Early Warning) platform. Initiated in 1977
as a home-grown answer to a command and control platform deficiency; it
witnessed the spending of hundreds of millions of pounds over a period of ten
years before ultimately being declared a failure by the government and
cancelled. Eleven aircraft were destroyed as a result. The final chapter brings
to a close the story of the Nimrod. Faced with a significant domestic economic
shortfall and an aircraft upgrade program (to the MR4 variant) that was heavily
over budget and behind schedule; the British government made the decision in
2010, despite having crews trained, infrastructure in place and
operational/upgraded aircraft being delivered, to not just cancel the program
outright but to destroy the fleet itself. Blackman, a strong Nimrod supporter,
is very critical of both the decision making process and how it was
implemented.
