RAF Tornado Manual 1974 onwards (all marks and models)

Since 1986 the multi-role swing-wing Panavia Tornado has been the cornerstone of the RAF's jet fighter and bomber forces, designed to intercept Cold War Soviet bombers and drop conventional and nuclear weapons on invading Warsaw Pact forces. RAF Tornados have seen action in both Gulf Wars, over Kosovo, and most recently over Afghanistan and Libya. Former RAF Tornado ADV pilot and air-to-air photographer Ian Black gives an 'insider' insight into operating, flying and maintaining the air defence and strike versions of the swing-wing jet.

Written by former RAF Tornado F3 pilot Ian Black and published with the full cooperation of the RAF, the Haynes RAF Tornado Manual gives a unique insight into operating, flying and maintaining the air defence and strike versions of the supersonic swing-wing jet.

As the RAF approaches its 100th anniversary in 2018, the Tornado stands out for having served with distinction for almost half a century. The swing-wing jet has seen more combat than any other.

RAF type since the Second World War and will go down in history as one of the greatest aircraft ever operated by the RAF.

From a pilot's perspective the Tornado is a satisfying aircraft to handle: as an interceptor it was extremely competent and as a bomber/recce aircraft it has been exceptional. Thanks to the RB199 turbofan engine the jet has also excelled in terms of reliability and ease of maintenance.

The Tornado F3 benefitted from some serious weapons upgrades throughout its life - extra Sidewinders, then ASRAAM and AMRAAM; while the GR force has been totally transformed from old style iron bombs to modern smart weapons. More than ever before the GR4 is a weapons delivery platform par excellence. Fitted with the Goodrich RAPTOR pod the Tornado GR4A has become an airborne recce platform without equal.

Official RAF title
Last of the RAF's Cold War air defence jet fighters
Vivid insights into owning, operating and maintaining
Author Ian Black is a former RAF Tornado pilot
Stunning air-to-air photography

Author: Ian Black flew the Tornado F3 in Gulf War 1. He is now an A340/A330 Airbus captain with Virgin Atlantic. An accomplished aviation author and photographer, he has also written the Haynes McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Manual (2011). Ian lives in Surrey.