Gunship Ace

A former South African Air Force pilot who received a Honoris Crux during the Border War and later became a private military contractor, Neall Ellis is one of South Africa’s best-known combat aviators. He participated in several major Border War operations, including Operation Protea, Super and Meebos. Apart from flying Alouette helicopter gunships in Angola, he has fought in the Balkan War (for Islamic forces) and tried to resuscitate Mobutu Sese Seko’s ailing air force during his final days ruling the Congo. In war-torn Sierra Leone Ellis played a major role in the late 1990s and early 2000s in the fight against the rebel forces of Foday Sankoh. Twice he single-handedly turned the enemy back from the gates of Freetown, effectively preventing the rebels from overrunning the capital. Ellis was also the first private military contractor to work hand-in-glove with British ground and air assets in a modern guerrilla war and used his helicopter numerous times to fly elite Special Air Service (SAS) personnel on low-level reconnaissance missions into the interior of the diamond-rich country, for the simple reason that no other pilot knew the country – and the enemy – better than he did. Later in Afghanistan, Ellis flew helicopter support missions for three years where he had more close shaves than in his entire previous four decades put together. The author recounts these hair-raising missions, some of which he accompanied Ellis on as a war correspondent.

"Reading as dramatically as a finely scripted novel, "Gunship Ace: The Wars of Neall Ellis, Helicopter Pilot and Mercenary" is an impressively blending of biography and military history - making it certain to be an enduringly valued and unique addition to community, community and university library Military Aviation History collections."-- "Midwest Book Review", "Written by renowned author and photojournalist, Al J. Venter, this book spotlights the career of a fascinating modern warrior, while also shedding light on some of the conflicts that have raged throughout the world behind the headlines."-- "Tucson Citizen", "Al Venter can always be counted on to provide a good read...Recommend this book for military professionals who do not know Africa, helicopter pilots who enjoy a good tale and academics concerned with the growth of private armies and contract specialists in hotspots around the planet."--LTC( R ) Les Grau PhD, Foreign Military Studies Office, "Ellis is clearly a superb pilot, and I can't imagine how he survived it all. Not just surviving the usual hazards when hostiles are trying to shoot you out of the air, but surviving the actual aircraft. . . . I couldn't wait to finish the book to see what happened to Ellis in the end. Surely he was killed somewhere long ago, but no! Neall Ellis is still out there, somewhere, flying who knows what airframe in some nasty hotspot."--Major Tony Vanchieri, USMC (ret.), "From veteran International War Correspondent and author, Al J. Venter, we get a rare look into the profession and harrowing times of a talented pilot and gunship ace whose life reads more like an action/adventure novel than a carefully researched biography. Only this isn't fiction and the staggering risks and dangers Ellis faced time and again with daring and skill keep the story fast-paced and, well, I was going to say something trite like, entertaining. But the fact is, some parts of this story are flat out frightening... A fine tribute but then so is this book about a Gunship Ace and exceptional man who is still serving in combat zones today. This time it is in Afghanistan, where the legend and acclaim he never sought and was well earned, continues. "--Kregg P.J. Jorgenson, author of Acceptable Loss, LRRP Company Command, and Clubs Are Trumps- The Road From Plum Run.

Al J. Venter is a well-known military writer who has had 50 books published, including War Stories and War Dog. Venter was involved with Jane’s Information Group for more than 30 years and was a stringer for BBC, NBC News, as well as London’s Daily Express and Sunday Express. He also intermittently covered South Africa’s Border War in the 1970s and 1980s and has co-written the topselling South Africa’s Border War with Willem Steenkamp. He lives in the United Kingdom, but still regularly visits South Africa.