ABSTRACT
It is early morning on 24 February 1991. Michael Riley is monitoring the radar screens on the British destroyer HMS Gloucester. He’s been staring at blips all night. Suddenly a new radar trace appears on the screen. There’s something about it that makes him suspicious. It seems to be heading straight for a battleship in a Coalition convoy located within 20 miles of the Kuwait coast. Is it an Iraqi missile? Or is it one of those A6 American jet fighters which fly regularly in that same airspace? His heart’s racing, his palms are clammy. If it’s a missile, Riley needs to act on his fear and shoot it down immediately to prevent the deaths of hundreds of sailors. But what if it’s an American plane? Riley gives the order to fire, the target is hit.
