Cold War ‘Top Gun’: A Career Flying Fast-Jets With the USAF, GAF and the RAF

In November 1981, Alan Dyer-Perry returned to the UK after a successful exchange tour with the USAF, having flown 2,900 hours on iconic British and American strike/attack aircraft, including the English Electric Canberra, Blackburn Buccaneer, and General Dynamics F-111A.Praised for his cool and unassuming approach to aviation, Dyer-Perry was optimistic about his future, expecting a rapid rise in rank. He then took on a new challenge as flight commander of the RAF’s prestigious 617 Squadron, the Dambusters, where he managed a team flying the Tornado GR 1.Despite his earlier success, he quickly learned to set aside his assumed superiority and adapt to the squadron's unique culture.Under his leadership, the squadron won both the Curtis E.LeMay and John C. Meyer trophies in a USAF bombing competition. Later, as a NATO tactics instructor and operations wing commander at RAF Cottesmore, Dyer-Perry honed his tactical skills and gained insight into high command challenges.His career culminated