Sea Harrier over the Falklands

Cassell Military

By: Sharkey Ward

Narrated by: Sharkey Ward

Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sharkey Ward commanded 801 Naval Air Squadron, HMS Invincible, during the Falklands war of April to June 1982 and was senior Sea Harrier adviser to the Command on the tactics, direction and progress of the air war. He flew over 60 war missions, achieved three air to air kills, and took part in or witnessed a total of 10 kills; he was also the leading night pilot and was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry.

Those are the bare facts though they do no sort of justice to this remarkable and outspoken book nor to its author. For what after all could 20 Sea Harriers operating from a flight deck bucketing about in the South Atlantic do against more than 200 Argentine military aircraft flown by pilots who, as the raids against British shipping proved, displayed enormous skill and gallantry? The world knows the answer now, as it knows the debt owed to the author and his fellow flyers. What is puzzling therefore is this book's truthful depiction of the attitudes of some of the senior non-flying naval officers and of the RAF towards the men and indeed the machines that made possible the victory in the Falklands.

This extraordinary firsthand account charts in clear and forthright detail the naval pilots' journey to the South Atlantic and how they took on an triumphantly conquered the challenges they faced. It is a dramatic story leavened with brilliant accounts of air to air fighting and of life in a squadron at sea and on a war footing. But it is also a tale of inter-service rivalry, bureaucratic interference, and the less-than-generous attitudes of a number of senior commanders who should have known better. Indeed, some of them might even have lost the campaign through a lack of understanding of air warfare - particularly if all the instructions had been followed to the letter and without question. The author puts the record straight - no one interested in the Falklands or in aircraft and air combat as a whole can afford to miss this marvelous book.

©1992 Commander N D MacCartan-Ward DSC AFC RN (P)2020 Commander Nigel MacCartan-Ward DSC AFC

Great Story but painful recording..

The author recorded the reading in his home in tropical Granada.. During the entire recording the sound of tropical birds, dogs in the background and bells and ringers are going off. The story itself is great. The author is an arrogant bastard but he's a fighter pilot so that's par for the course. Its worth putting up with the trouble because the story is interesting.

Play at 1.2 speed! A great read

Audio issues aside and his slow very slow reading (this set at speed at least 1.2x), engrossing no holds barred story.

Good book and narrator, but poor recording

The book is good and the narrator is good as well. However the recording is made in an unsuitable environment where one continually hears bird song, dogs barking, people going about their day, mouse clicks and computer beeps. It really breaks the immersion. This is a careless defect on an otherwise good product.

Excellent accounting of the Falklands campaign.

This is the truth about the Fleet Air Arm and their wholesale contribution to the fleet protection in and around the TEZ. It also fleshes out why the conflict wasn’t quite as one sided as it should have been and points a glaring finger at the Admiralty. All while laying the ground work for his next book about why and how the Fleet Air Arm was shafted and it’s implications for British military power.

In short, good action, human story, very interesting politics. Sharks is the man and reads this himself. In short if you’re interested in this type of stuff you’ll ignore the occasional dog barking.

Honest stick and rudder opinion

Fantastic overview of the intricacies of the development and application of a historical icon in fighter aviation.
The Sea Harrier exceeded expectations when thrown into the deep end in spite of major efforts to get rid of it.
Any military pilot or war historian will love the technical expertise of Mr Sea Harrier's explanations and frustration with people making the wrong decisions in a war scenario. So often in war are missions tasked by higher authority without listening to the experts who have to risk their lives in flying those missions.
The only major drawback of the audiobook is the recording quality. Since the author is the narrator, the correct pronunciations of all the technical terms are appreciated, but it sounds like he made the recording at home. Constantly dogs are barking in the background or vehicles drive by with the ever annoying sound of switching some sort of gadget. The nearby cell phone's message notifications are also out of character. If you can look past all that the book is a very, very good listen and compels the listener to get immersed in the Falklands conflict all over again. Well done.

Awesome Story, Painful Listen

Don't let what I'm about to say put you off this audio book.. it's worth the pain. If Sharky Ward piloted a Sea Harrier like he narrates this book, he probably wouldn't be with us today.. That aside, I did enjoy the book. Whilst some might be irritated by such a massive ego, it does 'come with the territory' when choosing such a genre. Sharky doesn't always get it right, there are a few lapses in attention to detail.. Invincible wasn't equipped with Vulcan Phalanx until well after the conflict (I wish she had been).

amazing story really let down by audio

sharkeys exploits and battles of the Falklands are truly awe inspiring and the level of detail in this book is very impressive. But the narration ruins it !!
There are dogs barking birds singing and at one point a constant squeal in the background makes it a very difficult listen. Battle through and you will be happy you did but sort it out this should not have made it to sale the quality of the sound is so poor

More like a Bird call identification app.

If you enjoy listening to a story featuring 8 types of British songbirds, Barking Dogs, Door Bells,
Random people and a bloke cutting slabs with a Stihl saw for Sharkeys patio then this is for you.

Otherwise, he sounds pretty chippy about any other branch of the air force.

Great Story - Poor Delivery and Production

This is probably the definitive account of Sea Harrier operations during the Falklands conflict, well written, engaging and informative - however, “Sharkey” Ward is certainly no narrator and the poor production values makes this a very difficult listen - Audible should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to be released without some serious editing/re-recording…. on balance, disappointing

An outstanding pilot and leader, but no story-teller...

An interesting and detailed insight into the Harrier air war in the Falklands from ‘Sharkey’ Ward’s and 801’s perspective... but a Shane that he clearly didn’t hire a ghost writer or voice actor. So-so quality narrative with a great deal of repetitious harping on about 801’s and the Naval Air Arm’s woes sometimes at the expense of what could have been scintillating narrative. The recording quality is hilariously bad, clearly done in an active home with sounds of dogs, birds, mowers, cars, mobile phones and even constant mouse clicks as he reads his text. Lastly, Ward himself - clearly one of Britain’s great pilots and wartime squadron leaders as he UNDOUBTEDLY is - reads his account with the pace and vigour of a semi-illiterate overdosed on Valium. And as an early teenager when the war fought, Ward can be assured that any sense that the RAF ‘stole the glory’ is absurd - to me and all of my peers, the ‘air war’ meant the ‘we counted them all out and we counted them all back’ sea harriers and the harrier carriers. When one recalls iconic images of that conflict, one sees the harriers, the carriers departing, the air attacks in the landing area and the yomping troops- the RAF barely registers. A great pilot but very blinkered and chippy about supposed slights and that becomes tiresome after a while.

Lots of detail poor narration

The introduction is far too long and boring. The narration lacking, I could hear the dog barking and doors closing in the back ground. If you get passed the boring bits, there is a lot of good stuff in here but you need to get through that first. For a book like this I don’t understand why the author did the narration on the cheap.

Brings back many memories for me.

I am really enjoying this book very much and unlike many other readers I find the "Homemade" audio very engaging. I can imagine sitting in the room with Sharkey while he reads it to me, after all he is a Fighter Pilot not a voice-over artist. I was part of the Meteorological team on Invincible during this engagement and oddly enough I was also on Ark Royal with him when he was flying Phantoms. (I was the one lifting the arrester wires and blinding him with the flash on "Entry Speed Camera" during recoveries). This brings back many mixed memories for me and being part of the Met team I felt I had a reasonable insight as to what was going on but this paints a different picture of the struggle 801 had with Hermes and the Flag staff. Well done Sharkey!

Have read better

As others have said poor narration and lots of background noise.
I have read better histories of the Falkland’s war. Some have commented on sharkey’s ego and chip on his shoulder which shows up throughout the book. Everyone who did not support his views were assumed to be wrong. Go’s on about the vulcan raid and yes the shas could have carried out the raid but he doesn’t mention the psychological effect on Argentina to show that the RAF could carry out bombing raids so far from base. The shas could not have raided Argentina.
The military have throughout history had their share terrible leaders as can be seen in both world wars so the Falkland naval/air command is no surprise.

Phone, dog and bird noise in background throughout

At first I thought it was quite amusing that the narrator was clearly reading the book from home, birds chirping, the odd dog barking, added to the click of his mouse as he was reading from his computer. After a few chapters though, I got really distracted by it, with the final straw being his phone going off mid paragraph.

It's quite sad really, as it takes away from what is a fantastic book.

Fascinating book

Excellent book, giving the truth from someone who was there and in a position of responsibility. Much of the true story was hidden by a government wanting to bask in the the jubilation of victory and not wanting to sour the mood by criticism. This was also the case with the sinking of HMS Sheffield, which was disgracefully unprepared for air attack, yet this was covered up for decades afterwards. It's essential reading for anyone wanting to learn what actually happened as opposed to following mainstream media which just parrotts the same old narratives. It's read by the author, clearly not in a professional studio, there are dogs barking and the occasional stumble, but this didn't bother me, it actually served to give it more credibility and authority.