This book explores the reconnaissance aircraft used by the British armed
forces in the 1970s and '80s, namely the Avro Shackleton, Hawker
Siddeley Nimrod, Fairey Gannet and English Electric Canberra. The
maritime patrol and airborne early warning (AEW) Shackleton was a
descendant of the Avro Lancaster and Lincoln and was in service from
1951 to 1991. The Nimrod, based on the de Havilland Comet, was also a
maritime patrol aircraft and served between 1969 and 2011. The Gannet
first flew in 1949, but, during the period covered by this book, flew in
the AEW role with just one Royal Navy squadron. Finally, the Canberra,
which first flew in 1949, was used as a bomber and then mainly in the
reconnaissance role. It was finally retired from the RAF in 2006. With
over 180 black and white and color photographs, this book, the fourth in
a series covering British combat aircraft of the 1970s and '80s, looks
at the aircraft used in the reconnaissance or AEW roles.