Originally printed by General Dynamics and the United States Air Force in the 1960s, this F-111 Flight Operating Manual taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Classified "Restricted", the manual was recently declassified and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been reformatted and color images appear in black and white. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text.

In Australia, the Government purchased 24 F-111Cs in 1963. These were completed during 1968 and early 1969, and the first of the aircraft was handed over to the RAAF on 4 September 1968. The aircraft had a long life with the RAAF, nicknamed the ‘pig’ in Australia. Following the F-111s' retirement in 2010, 13 of the surviving aircraft (12 F-111Cs and a single F-111G) were preserved in aviation museums and RAAF air bases.

With USA forces, the F-111 Aardvark flew 4000 combat missions during the Vietnam War, struck Libya in 1986, and saw action during Operation Desert Storm. Originally designed as a medium-range fighter-bomber, the versatile aircraft proved its meddle as a strategic bomber, tactical strike aircraft, and reconnaissance platform. When it debuted in 1964, the F-111 ushered in a new era. Equipped with variable-geometry wings, afterburning turbofan engines, and terrain-following radar, the high-tech F-111 was at that time truly groundbreaking.