In the second volume of his lengthy history of 14 Sqn, Michael Napier takes the story from the end of World War Two to the present day. And what a story he has to tell! The squadron served in Germany on NATO's front line, much of it in the nuclear strike role, through the entire period of the Cold War. Since the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, 14 Sqn has been almost constantly engaged in combat operations. Its Tornados first saw action during the Gulf War of 1991 before policing the Iraq no-fly zone. Operations over Kosovo were followed by bombing attacks during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, before shifting focus to Afghanistan. When the unit fell victim to cuts in the Tornado force, it was re-formed with the Shadow R1 in the intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) role in support of ground forces in Afghanistan - a remarkable parallel to its 1915 guise when it flew in support of the army on operations in Arabia. It remains a key asset in providing support to ground and air commanders to this day.
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