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Gulf War Royal Air Force Jaguars in action over Kuwait. Individually signed by all 22 pilots who flew combat missions during Operation Desert Storm.
“Just off target there was a lot off flak, it's the first time I have ever seen tracer bullets coming up at me;.. it was the longest minute of my life". These sobering words brought home the reality of war when a Jaguar pilot spoke to press and TV reporters after coming under fire during an attack on Iraqi forces in Kuwait on 20 January 1991. As the Gulf War progressed, RAF Jaguar pilots continued to count the seconds during their dive attacks onto heavily defended targets but their luck held and none were shot down. In this evocative painting the last man in an 8-ship formation waits for his turn to attack a missile-site target, watching as Iraqi gunners throw up an intense anti-aircraft barrage over the target area. For this pilot the longest minute is about to begin.
Brilliantly led by Wg Cdr (later Gp Capt) William Pixton DFC AFC, with a team of No 41 Sqn engineers led by W.O. Mick Cartwright, the twelve Jaguars based at AI-Muharraq, Bahrain, flew 618 missions during Operation Desert Storm suffering only two hits from anti-aircraft fire. Often flying into treacherous weather and heavy calibre AAA, the Jaguars were proven in combat to be reliable and tough. Artist Michael Rondot flew on this and many other missions and remembers the harsh treatment given to the aircraft: "We thrashed the engines and airframes really hard, flew supersonic with full war loads and exceeded every published limitation on the aircraft, but they just soaked it up and kept going right through the war. It was a great achievement by our small team of engineers and armourers to produce twelve serviceable aircraft day after day, a real credit to them and the machine".
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