Authors: Ed Macy
Longbow:
The Longbow Radar is the Apache’s Fire Control Radar. It looks like a large Swiss cheese and sits on top of the main rotor system
LS:
Landing Site
LSJ:
Life Support Jacket – survival waistcoat
Lynx:
British Army Light Battlefield Helicopter – used for movement of small teams
M230:
The cannon on the underside of the Apache; 30mm chain fed
ManPADS:
Man Portable Aid Defence System – shoulder-launched heat-seeking missile
MC:
Military Cross – awarded in recognition of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land.
MI6:
Military Intelligence Section 6 – nickname for the British Government’s Secret Intelligence Service
MIA:
Missing in action
MiD:
Mentioned in Despatches – award for gallantry or otherwise commendable service
MIRC:
Military Internet Relay Chat
MoD:
Ministry of Defence
Monocle:
The pink see-through glass mirror over an Apache pilot’s right eye that displays green symbology and images from the onboard computers and sights
Mosquito:
Taliban slang for the Apache
MPD:
Multi-Purpose Display – 5-inch screen on the console in the Apache
MSR:
Main Supply Route – route for equipment and personnel
Mujahideen:
Afghan opposition groups – fought the Soviets during the Soviet invasion and each other in the Afghan Civil War – plural for the word mujahid meaning ‘struggler’
NAAFI:
Navy, Army and Air Forces Institute – a British military shop and café
NATO:
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation – multi-national military force
Negative:
Air speak for No
Nimrod MR2:
Royal Air Force large-bodied jet that is used as a spy plane
NSA:
National Security Agency – US Government’s communications intelligence (same as GCHQ)
NVG:
Night Vision Goggles – night sights that magnify light by 40,000 times
OC:
Officer Commanding – Major in charge of a Squadron or Company group
Ops:
Operations – as in Ops tent, Ops room, Ops Officer or literally an operation
ORT:
Optical Relay Tube – the large console in the front seat with PlayStation type grips on either side
P Company:
Gruelling fitness tests used by the Parachute Regiment to test suitable candidates for parachute training and airborne forces
Para:
Nickname for a soldier from the Parachute Regiment or the Regiment itself
Paveway:
Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) – the laser guidance system bolted onto 500–2000 lb bombs
Pepper-Potting:
One patrol goes firm. The other passes it and goes firm. Then the original patrol passes and goes firm. On and on – one foot on the ground at all times advancing forward or backwards
Pinzgauer:
Small 4x4 All Terrain Utility Truck
Piss Boy:
The loser of a game who has to make the tea and coffee
PJHQ:
Permanent Joint Headquarters – located at Northwood; Commands overseas joint and combined military operations and provides military advice to the Ministry of Defence.
PK:
Soviet designed General Purpose Machine Gun – 7.62mm bipod machine gun
PNVS:
Pilot’s Night Vision System – the thermal camera that sits above the TADS on the Apache’s nose
Pongo:
Derogatory slang used by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force for Army soldiers
Port:
Left-hand side of an aircraft or vessel
Predator:
Large US UAV that contains sophisticated sights and radios similar to those on the Apache. It can be armed with Hellfire
PX:
Post Exchange – huge US Military shop that sells almost anything
QHI:
Qualified Helicopter Instructor – flying instructor
R and R:
Rest and Recuperation – break from combat
RAF:
Royal Air Force
Rearm:
Reload the Apache with ammunition
REME:
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
RIP:
Relief in Place – Apache Flights handing over the battle between each other maintaining support to the ground troops
RM:
Royal Marine/s
RMP:
Royal Military Police – British Military Police
ROE:
Rules of Engagement – law set by a country’s Government laying down the rules as to which arms may be brought to bear
Rocco:
Rocco Siffredi – Italian actor, director and producer of pornographic movies
RPG:
Soviet-designed Rocket Propelled Grenade – shoulder-launched rocket with a powerful grenade warhead on the front
RSM:
Regimental Sergeant Major – WO1 and the senior soldier in a Regiment
RTB:
Return To Base
RTA:
Road Traffic Accident
RTS:
Release to Service – the document that details what can and can’t be done with the Apache regarding flight, firing, etc.
RV:
Rendezvous – designated meeting place
SA7/14:
Soviet-designed Surface to Air Missiles – ManPADS
SA80:
British Forces Rifle – 5.56mm automatic
SAM:
Surface to Air Missile
Sappers:
Military engineers – slang for the Royal Engineers
SAS:
Special Air Service – an independent British Special Forces Unit of the British Army
Sausage Side:
A term for enemy territory dating back to the World Wars. The sausage loving Germans’ side of the battlefield
SBS:
Special Boat Service – an independent British Special Forces Unit of the Royal Navy’s Royal Marines
Scimitar:
British Army Armoured Recce Vehicle
SERE:
Survive, Evade, Resist and Extract
SF:
Special Forces – e.g. SAS and SBS
SIB:
Special Investigation Branch – detectives of the RMP
SigInt:
Signal Intelligence – intelligence gained from radio, telephone, texts and email intercepts
Small Arms:
Infantry light weapons – pistols, rifles and machine guns – weapons capable of being fired by a foot soldier on the move
Snatch:
Lightly armoured military Land Rover
Spoof:
Game played with coins to decide who has to do a task
Spooks:
Nickname for spies
SRR:
Special Reconnaissance Regiment – an independent British Special Forces Unit of the British Army, specialising in close target reconnaissance
Stack:
Fast Air that is queued up and held before being passed on to whoever is in need of its offensive capability
Standby Standby:
Warning call to watch out for something
Starboard:
Right-hand side of an aircraft or vessel
Steering Cursor:
The rocket symbol used to line up the Apache so the rockets land on the target, also known as the ‘I’ Bar
Stingers:
US-designed Surface to Air ManPADs (Man Portable Air Defence system) missile. Taliban slang for any shoulder-launched surface to air missile
Sunray:
Callsign for a commander
SUSAT:
Sight Unit Small Arms, Trilux – the 4-times magnification day/night sight that sits on top of an SA80 rifle or SA80 carbine
Symbology:
Flying and targeting information beamed onto the monocle
T1:
Triage Casualty Code 1 – needs to be in an operating theatre within an hour to save life
T2:
Triage Casualty Code 2 – needs to be in an operating theatre quickly before they become T1
T3:
Triage Casualty Code 3 – injured and needs medical help
T4:
Triage Casualty Code 4 – dead
TADS:
Target Acquisition and Designation Sight system – the ‘bucket’ on the nose of the Apache that houses the Apache’s cameras
Taliban:
Collective term used in this book for Taliban, Al Qaeda and Hezb-I Islami Gulbuddin (HIG)
Theatre:
Country or area in which troops are conducting operations
Thermobaric:
Enhanced blast Hellfire – thermobaric means heat and pressure
Topman:
Callsign for the British Harrier
Tornado:
Royal Air Force multi-role strike warplane
TOC:
Tactical Operations Cell
TOT:
Time On Target – the time until an aircraft is due over or weapon is due at the target
TOW:
Tube-launched Optically-tracked Wire-guided anti-tank missile – fired from the British Army Lynx helicopter
TPF:
Tactical Planning Facility – mobile planning room
TPM:
Terrain Profile Mode – the Longbow’s terrain mapping mode
Tracer:
Bullets that burn with a red, orange or green glow from 110m to 1100m so they can be seen
Tusk:
Callsign for the A10 Thunderbolt aircraft
UAV:
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
UFD:
Up Front Display – an LED instrument that displays critical information to the Apache crews
Ugly:
The callsign chosen by 656 Sqn for the British Apaches – ‘Ugly Five Zero to Ugly Five Seven’
USAF:
United States Air Force
Viking:
Armoured amphibious tracked vehicle
VIP:
Very Important Person
VU Radio:
A VHF and UHF capable secure radio in the Apache
Widow:
Callsign for normal JTACs in Afghanistan
Wingman:
The other aircraft in any pair of aircraft
Wizard:
Callsign for the Nimrod MR2
WMIK:
Weapons Mounted Installation Kit – an odd-looking Land Rover with bars all over it to which weapons can be attached
WO1:
A soldier who holds a Royal Warrant is known as Warrant Officer – a WO1; Class one is the highest non-commissioned rank in the British Army
Wombat:
Weapon Of Magnesium Battalion Anti-Tank – a huge wheeled or mounted rifle barrel
Zulu Company:
A company of marines detached from 45 Commando to the Information Exploitation (IX) Battlegroup for this tour of Afghanistan
ZPU:
Soviet Anti-Aircraft Gun – 14.5mm – ZPU 1 is single-barrelled, ZPU 2 has twin barrels and the ZPU 4 has quadruple barrels
Thank you, Emily, my soul mate, for the love and the freedom to catch my dream and for supporting me in my choice. Thank you also for finding and for pushing me in the direction of my friend and agent Mark Lucas.
Thank you, Mark, for believing that my stories were good enough to tell, and for priceless guidance and advice. Thanks also to Mindy for putting up with my calls at every conceivable hour, and to Alice for keeping me in check.
My sincere gratitude to Tom Newton Dunn for tireless dedication in helping me to tell my story, and to Dominie and Rebekah Wade for putting up with Tom’s absences. And huge thanks to wee Arthur for keeping Tom sane.
The groundcrew and technicians are the unsung heroes of the Apache squadrons and the JHF (A). Thank you for your unswerving professionalism.
Chris, Billy, Geordie, Carl and my fellow Apache aviators in 656 Squadron – my door is always open and for once words fail me.
Thanks to Colonel Rob Magowan MBE RM for taking the time to explain the bigger picture and, more importantly, for having the confidence to allow us to return Mathew to his family.
I owe a special thank you to the old DAAvn, Brigadier Thomson, for his support in the aftermath of the Fort, to the new DAAvn, Brigadier Short, and to Colonel Turner for supporting me in the writing of this book.
Arabella Pike, John Bond and everyone at HarperPress, I can’t thank you enough for your support, enthusiasm and sheer hard work.
To everyone in Mathew’s family, especially Joan, Bootsy and Ina, thank you for allowing me to tell my story.
I am eternally grateful to my wonderful Dad and the British Army for making me who I am today.
To my children, my little AAC: you are my world.
Thank you to my family and friends who have supported me throughout.
Ed Macy left the British Army in January 2008, after twenty-three years’ service. He had amassed a total of 3,930 helicopter flying hours, 645 of them inside an Apache. Ed was awarded the military cross for his courage during the Jugroom Fort rescue - one of the first ever in Army Air Corps history.
Apache
is his first book. He hopes it won’t be his last.
‘You do not need to ask them about their contribution, you need to ask those on the ground who depended on them, day after day, to provide the crucial military edge over the enemy. They will leave you in no doubt about what the Apache achieved, and the praise of the praiseworthy is beyond measure.’ AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR JOCK STIRRUP, CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF
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Afghanistan
19
British Army history in
65
,
166
–7
opium trade in
1
–
2
,
19
,
20
,
63
,
68
,
82
–4,
94
,
96
,
155
,
284
reconstruction programmes
22
Soviet occupation of
20
,
63
,
83
,
84
,
112
,
136
,
193
see also under individual area
Afghan National Army
346
Afghan War, Second, 1880
166
–7
air support:
A10 Thunderbolt
2
,
32
,
147
,
270
,
271
,
273
–4,
275
,
284
,
285
,
298
,
338
B1B Lancer
197
,
198
,
209
,
210
,
213
,
217
,
227
,
241
,
284
,
285
,
286
,
338
CH47 Chinook
3
,
6
,
11
,
16
,
21
,
30
,
44
,
45
,
87
,
97
,
105
,
106
,
114
,
137
,
141
,
148
,
167
,
171
,
186
,
187
,
236
,
243
,
244
,
246
–7,
262
,
317
,
319
,
324
,
329
,
330
,
331
,
333
–4
F16
135
–6
Hercules transport planes
16
,
132
,
339
Lynx
32
,
38
,
45
,
96
,
141
,
171
,
236
,
254
,
324
,
331
Harrier GR7
2
,
39
,
50
,
119
,
120
,
121
,
125
,
145
,
146
,
147
,
180
,
201
Nimrod MR2
22
,
93
,
154
,
168
,
198
,
208
,
217
,
224
,
227
,
240
,
243
,
275
,
276
,
280
,
297
Predator drone
9
,
208
,
217
,
223
,
253
,
254
,
275
,
276
Alice
92
–3,
94
,
95
,
97
,
109
,
110
,
111
,
125
,
134
,
137
,
151
,
159
,
170
,
195
–6
Apache AH64A
17
Britain acquires and adapts
32
–4
‘Fire and Forget’
32
first active service
31
–2
heat signature
30
Longbow Radar
32
,
35
,
36
,
186
–7,
207
,
293
name of
29
Radar Warning Receiver
208
resilience under fire
30
size of
29
stealth technology
29
surveillance capabilities
29
weapons systems
30
–1
weight
29
Apache AH Mk
1
xxii–xxv
Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE)
60
,
61
ammunition
44
,
320
–1,
335
–6,
347
see also
weapons
Automatic Direction Finder
207
Britain acquires and adapts
32
–4
cameras
Day TV camera
30
,
55
,
73
,
84
,
187
,
246
,
252
,
286
,
291
,
292
Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) thermal camera
30
,
73
,
74
,
122
,
160
,
172
,
178
,
206
,
213
,
214
,
221
,
224
,
246
,
256
,
257
,
261
,
325
,
335
,
344
Pilots Night Vision Sight (PNVS) camera
36
,
87
,
204
,
205
climb rate
61
closing down procedure
87
–8
cockpits
174
combat manoeuvre
66
combat time
40
computers, on-board
30
,
35
,
55
,
79
control panel
54
–5
cost of
33
–4,
39
,
42
,
45
,
46
,
158
,
237
,
321
,
335
–6,
347
crash-landings
202
Defensive Aide Suite
110
de-icer
33
deployment in Afghanistan
12
,
13
,
39
–
41
descent
87
ECM (Electronic Counter Measures)
33
fire extinguisher
176
first sight of
53
fly-by-wire sensors
173
GPS
200
gun tape laptop
43
,
90
,
107
,
136
,
192
,
236
,
341
health monitoring system
33
heat signature
30
Helicopter Integrated Defensive Aid System (HIDAS)
137
–9,
233
,
276
hydraulic line
176
monocle
36
,
58
,
66
,
76
,
77
,
117
,
118
,
175
,
204
,
220
,
254
,
313
,
318
Multi Purpose Display (MPD)
55
,
60
,
67
,
71
,
74
,
77
,
79
,
87
,
121
,
122
,
124
,
145
,
186
–7,
204
,
208
,
212
,
214
,
223
,
225
,
246
,
252
,
319
name of
29
pairs, fly in
48
pilots
Black Brain
50
,
116
,
169
,
222
,
233
,
243
day pattern of
104
–9
‘Deliberate Tasking’
105
,
106
,
144
,
155
,
185
,
238
–9
‘Duty Ops’
105
escape plan
201
–4
ethos and role of
37
–9
evening brief
109
fatigue
189
–91
flying regulations
42
–3