De Havilland Sea Vixen : 1952 to 1972 (all marks)

Designed and built by the same company that was responsible for the legendary de Havilland Mosquito in the Second World War, the Sea Vixen is one of the great carrier-borne jet fighters of the Cold War.

The iconic, all-British twin-boom twin-turbojet fighter flew from Royal Navy aircraft carriers at the height of the Cold War from 1959 to 1972, helping to transform Britain's carrier aviation capability.

The Sea Vixen was one of the most notable aircraft designs of its era, with cutting edge technology and the capability to go transonic.

It was also the first British aircraft to be armed with guided missiles, rockets and bombs instead of guns and was formidably capable.

It was replaced by the F-4 Phantom. Today, the world's only flying Sea Vixen (G-CVIX, XP924) is based at RNAS Yeovilton, where it is owned by the Fly Navy Heritage Trust and operated by Navy Wings (formerly known as the Royal Navy Historic Flight).

It forms the centrepiece of this Haynes manual. The Haynes De Havilland Sea Vixen Manual is published in association with the Fly Navy Heritage Trust and authors Denis Calvert and Brian Johnstone had access to Sea Vixen, G-CVIX, XP924.

Individual chapters cover the genesis of the Sea Vixen in the DH110 that claimed the lives of test pilot John Derry and his flight test observer in the highly publicised crash at the Farnborough Air Show in 1952; the Sea Vixen Story; the Sea Vixen in Royal Navy service; restoration to flight of G-CVIX, XP924; the Pilot's view; and the Ground Engineer's view. Because the Sea Vixen underwent deep maintenance as this book was being prepare, detailed photography of the aircraft's structure is featured.