Mayday Over The Arctic

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With historical research and rare interviews, explore the highs and lows of aviation north of the 60th parallel. This journey takes readers from hot air balloons above the Klondike gold fields, to international bids for the North Pole, to high-profile crashes and search-and-rescue operations.

SLIPPERY SLOPE The PT Chevron Pacific Gulfstream banks towards the north after lifting off from the international airport at Kuala Lumpur. The oil-exploration team has reason to celebrate: The new oil field outside of Minas will be the biggest reserve in the history of Indonesia. And the country desperately needs it. The team breaks open the fifty-year-old bottle of scotch they’ve been saving for just this moment. But in the next moment, the jet drops abruptly, like a rock, then turns sharply west on a path similar to that of a well-known commercial airliner from the recent past, descends through radar coverage . . . and disappears. Decorated Marine colonel and small-town Georgia D.A. Will Parker has nothing to do with Chevron Pacific—until the wife of a former Marine buddy calls. She understands that her husband, who had been working for Chevron, is gone. But she wants answers, and the FBI and CIA are of little help. It’s a request Will can’t refuse. Will’s contact on the ground is Retno Karims, a sharp, multilingual, former Miss Indonesia who speaks Bahasa Indonesian, Chinese, and Javanese. She also happens to be from Banda Aceh. Rumor has it that the terrorist group Laskar Mujahidin has reawakened and is operating somewhere in Banda Aceh on the northern point of Sumatra. No one doubts they’re involved in downing the oil-company jet. Then again, no one believes any proof will stick, even if authorities locate the wreckage. Parker believes otherwise . . . Praise for RETRIBUTION “Tense and authentic—reading this book is like living a real life mission.” —Lee Child “I seldom come across a thriller as authentic and well‐written as Retribution. Andy Harp brings his considerable military expertise to a global plot that’s exciting, timely, and believable . . . to say that I’m impressed is an understatement.” —David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of The Protector “Retribution is a stunner: a blow to the gut and shot of adrenaline. Here is a novel written with authentic authority and bears shocking relevance to the dangers of today. It reminds me of Tom Clancy at his finest.” —James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of Bloodline “Outstanding thriller with vivid characters, breakneck pacing, and suspense enough for even the most demanding reader. Harp writes with complete authenticity and a tremendous depth of military knowledge. A fantastic read—don’t miss it!” —Douglas Preston, #1 bestselling author of Impact

651 was the first Air Observation Post (AOP) Squadron, formed at Old Sarum on August 1 1941 to work closely with army units in artillery spotting and liaison. It was still part of the RAF but all the pilots, drivers and signalers were from the Royal Artillery, while the RAF supplied the Adjutant, Engineer Officer and technicians. It is therefore the premier Army Air Corps squadron. Its first aircraft were an assortment of Taylorcraft Plus Cs and Ds, three Piper Cubs and a Stinson Voyager. Then later that year all 651s aircraft were replaced by the version of the Plus D manufactured by Taylorcraft in Britain and renamed the Auster I. These were deployed on active service in November 1942, to Algeria and then Tunisia, as part of Operation Torch. Its main duties were the direction of artillery fire, reconnaissance and light liaison. By May 1943 Tunisia was under Allied control and 651 moved to Sicily in support of offensive operations by 8th Army in August. Now equipped with Auster IIIs and flying by night and day, support was given to XIII Corps on the coast of the island, registering targets and directing counter-battery fire, including that of Royal Naval warships. On September 4, it became the first AOP unit to cross the Straits of Messina to participate in the invasion of Italy, again with 8th Army. In May 1944, the Squadron flew in support of 2nd Polish Corps during the capture of Monte Cassino, a major obstacle in the advance of Allied forces on Rome. Throughout the remainder of the war the Auster IVs and Vs of 651 Squadron worked with almost every division in Italy as they came in and out of the front line. Over the years that followed, 651 Squadron served in Austria, Palestine on internal security duties (where a landing was made on the aircraft carrier HMS Ocean in 1947), Eritrea protecting Italian civilians from Shifta bandits, Libya, Iraq during the Persian Oil Dispute, Egypt patrolling the Canal Zone and Cyprus, where in August 1953 HQ and 1910 Flights were the first AOP assets to deploy there. Further marks of Auster were introduced, AOP 6s, 9s and T.7sIn 2000 it was selected as the Attack Helicopter Fielding Squadron to bring the Westland Apache AH.1 into service, in which role it served very successfully for the next three years at Middle Wallop. Then in 2004 it was all change again with a move to RAF Odiham to operate the Defender AL.1 in the ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance) support role as part of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing. Since that time it has been continuously engaged in operations.

From the authors of the bestselling The Finest Hours comes the riveting, deeply human story of President John F. Kennedy and two U-2 pilots, Rudy Anderson and Chuck Maultsby, who risked their lives to save America during the Cuban Missile Crisis During the ominous two weeks of the Cold War's terrifying peak, two things saved humanity: the strategic wisdom of John F. Kennedy and the U-2 aerial spy program. On October 27, 1962, Kennedy, strained from back pain, sleeplessness, and days of impossible tension, was briefed about a missing spy plane. Its pilot, Chuck Maultsby, was on a surveillance mission over the North Pole, but had become disoriented and steered his plane into Soviet airspace. If detected, its presence there could be considered an act of war. As the president and his advisers wrestled with this information, more bad news came: another U-2 had gone missing, this one belonging to Rudy Anderson. His mission: to photograph missile sites over Cuba. For the president, any wrong move could turn the Cold War nuclear. Above and Beyond is the intimate, gripping account of the lives of these three war heroes, brought together on a day that changed history.