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Hellfire by Ed Macy

In 2006, Ed Macy was part of an elite group of pilots assigned to the controversial Apache AH Mk1 gunship programme. For a start, the monstrously expensive attack helicopters had their detractors and had done little to prove the critics wrong, but one event in the skies over the Afghan settlement of Now Zad was to change this. Under fire, and out of options, Ed had one chance to save himself and the British soldiers on the ground. It meant using a weapon in the Apache’s arsenal that had never been fired before in combat, its fearsome hellfire missile.

That one split second decision forever changed the course of the Afghan war. Overnight the Apache went from expensive liability to the British Army’s greatest asset. It was also the start of a steep learning curve for Ed and his mates, fighting missions fraught with danger against a constantly evolving enemy. Hellfire is the account of operations carried out in Afghanistan by 656 Squadron Army Air Corps over several months in 2006.

Hellfire is the second book from ex-British Army pilot Ed Macy. His first book, Apache covered the now legendary Jugroom Fort rescue in January 2007, for which Ed was awarded the Military Cross.

For anyone interested in avionics, military history or the war in Afghanistan, this is a must read. It gives good insight into what it takes to fly an Apache gunship and some of the capabilities that make it such a devastating machine. Readers will also discover some of the realities of fighting a quickly evolving enemy like the Taliban.

Through his own story of how he came to be flying Apaches, ed also gives readers important messages on setting goals, not being put off by obstacles and how by hard work and determination you can achieve them. While in 2 Para, Ed was determined to get into the SAS, but a car accident put an end to that dream and almost put an end to his career as a soldier. He then thought if he couldn’t make into the SAS regiment, at least he could fly with them, starting him on a new goal to be an army pilot and leading him to be selected as a member of another elite group.

RRP $36.99
Published and distributed by HarperCollins Publishers
 

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