Michael Napier

Michael Napier joined the RAF in 1978 and qualified as a Tornado GR1 pilot. He was posted to RAF Brüggen in Germany, flying in the Strike/Attack role during the last five years of the Cold War. After a tour as a tactics instructor flying the Hawk at RAF Chivenor between 1990 and 1991, he returned to Brüggen, and the Tornado GR1 in 1992 and took part in operations over Iraq in the aftermath of the first Gulf War. Michael left the RAF in 1997 for a second career as an airline pilot with British Airways, retiring as a Boeing 787 captain in 2019. As well as television and radio appearances, he has lectured at both the RAF Historical Society and the Brooklands Museum, and he is the author of 18 published books on military aviation history.