The Hornet units waged war in northern Iraq from the carrier decks of the USS Harry S Truman and USS Theodore Roosevelt from off the coast of Turkey. The conflict for these squadrons was very different from the campaign fought in southern Iraq, working almost exclusively with clandestine Special Forces teams from the US Army, Marine Corps, Navy SEALs, British and Australian SAS, and Kurdish guerrillas. This book tells the story of the first Navy Reserve unit to be mobilised since the Korean War and their role in the northern Iraqi campaign.

Author Biography

Osprey Aviation Editor since 1989, Tony Holmes is a native of Fremantle, Western Australia. Responsible for devising the Aircraft of the Aces, Combat Aircraft and Aviation Elite Units series, Tony has also written more than 20 books for Osprey in the past 17 years. He was the only foreign journalist granted access to returning Operation Iraqi Freedom Hornet and Tomcat crews in the aftermath of the campaign. Based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, Chris Davey has illustrated more than 20 titles for Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces, Combat Aircraft and Elite Units series since 1994. He is one of the last traditional airbrush artists in the business and has become Osprey's artist of choice for both USAAF fighters and RAF subject matter, proving his undoubted skill when dealing with large aircraft subjects such as the Halifax and Sunderland.