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Firefox (novel)
Encyclopedia
Firefox is a thriller novel written by Craig Thomas
and published in 1977. The Cold War
plot involves an attempt by the CIA and MI5
to steal a highly advanced experimental Soviet
fighter aircraft. The chief protagonist is fighter pilot turned spy Mitchell Gant
. The book was subject to a 1982 film adaptation
produced and directed by Clint Eastwood
who also played the role of Gant in the film.
during the Cold War
. The highly advanced fighter aircraft
(given the NATO code name "Firefox") includes a form of stealth technology
that makes it completely undetectable to radar and is capable of attaining speeds of Mach 5
or more with a range in excess of 3,000 miles. Its weapons are controlled by the thought impulses of the pilot, allowing them to be very rapidly aimed and fired.
Faced with an aircraft which will give the Soviet Union the ability to completely dominate the skies, the CIA and MI6 launch a mission to steal one of the two Firefox prototype aircraft. The first section of the book details how fighter pilot Mitchell Gant
covertly travels to Russia. Gant is ideally trained to steal Firefox, having already trained to fly in captured Russian planes. But he is also scarred by his experiences in Vietnam
, including his capture by Viet Cong after being shot down, an ordeal exacerbated when the enemy guerrillas are wiped out almost immediately by napalm
from an American air strike.
With the help of a network of dissidents and sympathizers, he makes his way to the Bilyarsk air base on which the two prototype aircraft are being developed. With the assistance of some of the scientists working on the project, he is able to penetrate the base and successfully steal a MiG-31.
The second section of the book deals with Gant's flight. Here the novel focuses on military technology and tactics. First heading east towards the Ural Mountains
, then north to the Barents Sea
, Gant narrowly escapes a Soviet reconnaissance aircraft and cruiser. Low on kerosene
, Gant makes a pre-arranged rendezvous with an American submarine
to refuel, using an ice floe as an impromptu runway. Refueled and armed with captured Soviet missiles, Gant continues on his journey, only to confront the second Firefox prototype, which the Soviet dissidents failed to destroy. Nearly defeated by the second MiG, Gant accidentally destroys it when he reflexively orders his plane's thought-controlled weapon's system to launch a decoy flare
. The flare is immediately ingested by the jet intake of the pursuing MiG, triggering an internal explosion that destroys the other plane. Free of pursuit, Gant continues on his journey.
Firefox
was made into a movie by Warner Brothers based on the novel and released in 1982. Clint Eastwood
was the director, producer, and played Mitchell Gant.
The novel Firefox Down
is a continuation of the story of Firefox, beginning at the moment at which the previous book had concluded.
Many of the characters of Firefox and Firefox Down return for the novel Winter Hawk
(1987) and A Different War (1997).
Craig Thomas (author)
David Craig Owen Thomas was a Welsh author of thrillers, most notably the Mitchell Gant series.-Background:...
and published in 1977. The Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
plot involves an attempt by the CIA and MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
to steal a highly advanced experimental Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
fighter aircraft. The chief protagonist is fighter pilot turned spy Mitchell Gant
Mitchell Gant
Mitchell Gant is a fictional character in a series of books written by Craig Thomas. His first appearance occurs in the 1977 novel Firefox as a US Air Force major that steals a Russian MiG-31 Firefox fighter aircraft prototype.-Character biography:Gant grew up in Clarksville, a small town in rural...
. The book was subject to a 1982 film adaptation
Firefox (film)
Firefox is a 1982 American action film produced, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name written by Craig Thomas....
produced and directed by Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
who also played the role of Gant in the film.
Plot summary
The book focuses on a fictional MiG-31 aircraft developed by the USSRSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. The highly advanced fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
(given the NATO code name "Firefox") includes a form of stealth technology
Stealth technology
Stealth technology also termed LO technology is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection...
that makes it completely undetectable to radar and is capable of attaining speeds of Mach 5
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
or more with a range in excess of 3,000 miles. Its weapons are controlled by the thought impulses of the pilot, allowing them to be very rapidly aimed and fired.
Faced with an aircraft which will give the Soviet Union the ability to completely dominate the skies, the CIA and MI6 launch a mission to steal one of the two Firefox prototype aircraft. The first section of the book details how fighter pilot Mitchell Gant
Mitchell Gant
Mitchell Gant is a fictional character in a series of books written by Craig Thomas. His first appearance occurs in the 1977 novel Firefox as a US Air Force major that steals a Russian MiG-31 Firefox fighter aircraft prototype.-Character biography:Gant grew up in Clarksville, a small town in rural...
covertly travels to Russia. Gant is ideally trained to steal Firefox, having already trained to fly in captured Russian planes. But he is also scarred by his experiences in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, including his capture by Viet Cong after being shot down, an ordeal exacerbated when the enemy guerrillas are wiped out almost immediately by napalm
Napalm
Napalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
from an American air strike.
With the help of a network of dissidents and sympathizers, he makes his way to the Bilyarsk air base on which the two prototype aircraft are being developed. With the assistance of some of the scientists working on the project, he is able to penetrate the base and successfully steal a MiG-31.
The second section of the book deals with Gant's flight. Here the novel focuses on military technology and tactics. First heading east towards the Ural Mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
, then north to the Barents Sea
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...
, Gant narrowly escapes a Soviet reconnaissance aircraft and cruiser. Low on kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
, Gant makes a pre-arranged rendezvous with an American submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
to refuel, using an ice floe as an impromptu runway. Refueled and armed with captured Soviet missiles, Gant continues on his journey, only to confront the second Firefox prototype, which the Soviet dissidents failed to destroy. Nearly defeated by the second MiG, Gant accidentally destroys it when he reflexively orders his plane's thought-controlled weapon's system to launch a decoy flare
Flare (countermeasure)
A flare is an aerial infrared countermeasure to counter an infrared homing surface-to-air missile or air-to-air missile. Flares are commonly composed of a pyrotechnic composition based on magnesium or another hot-burning metal, with burning temperature equal to or hotter than engine exhaust...
. The flare is immediately ingested by the jet intake of the pursuing MiG, triggering an internal explosion that destroys the other plane. Free of pursuit, Gant continues on his journey.
Characters
- Mitchell GantMitchell GantMitchell Gant is a fictional character in a series of books written by Craig Thomas. His first appearance occurs in the 1977 novel Firefox as a US Air Force major that steals a Russian MiG-31 Firefox fighter aircraft prototype.-Character biography:Gant grew up in Clarksville, a small town in rural...
– American fighter pilot and spy, protagonist - Kenneth Aubrey – British spy master
- Colonel Kontarsky – Soviet head of counterintelligence at the Bilyarsk air base
- Dmitri Priabin – Soviet intelligence officer serving under Colonel Kontarsky at the Bilyarsk air base.
- Peter Shelly – British agent
- Charles Buckholtz – American agent with the CIA
- General Med Vladimirov – Soviet Air Force general tasked with stopping Gant.
- Air Marshal Kutuzov – Soviet Air Force chief
- Yuri AndropovYuri AndropovYuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...
– Head of the KGB (as he was when the novel was written in the mid-1970s)
Adaptations and sequels
Firefox (film)
Firefox is a 1982 American action film produced, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name written by Craig Thomas....
was made into a movie by Warner Brothers based on the novel and released in 1982. Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
was the director, producer, and played Mitchell Gant.
The novel Firefox Down
Firefox Down
Firefox Down is a 1983 novel by author Craig Thomas. It is a sequel to his novel Firefox. Craig Thomas dedicated the first edition of the novel to actor/director/producer Clint Eastwood, who starred as Mitchell Gant in the film adaptation of the first novel, stating, "For Clint Eastwood — pilot of...
is a continuation of the story of Firefox, beginning at the moment at which the previous book had concluded.
Many of the characters of Firefox and Firefox Down return for the novel Winter Hawk
Winter Hawk
Winter Hawk is a 1987 thriller novel written by Craig Thomas. It is the novel set within a larger continuum linking many of Thomas’s other books, including a number of characters last seen in Firefox Down, itself a sequel to Thomas’s Firefox...
(1987) and A Different War (1997).
Release details
- 1977, USA, Holt Rinehart and Winston ISBN 0-03-020791-6, Pub date 1 August 1977, hardback (First edition)
- 1977, UK, Michael Joseph ISBN 0-7181-1570-8, Pub date 8 August 1977, hardback
- 1978, UK, Sphere ISBN 0-7221-0445-6, Pub date 27 July 1978, paperback
- 1978, USA, Bantam Books ISBN 0-553-11820-X, Pub date ? ? 1978, paperback
- 1988, USA, Time Warner ISBN 0-7515-1138-2, Pub date 1 January 1988, paperback (reissue)
- 1992, USA, Chivers Audio Books ISBN 0-7451-4096-3, Pub date ? December 1992, Audio book cassette (narrated by Stephen Thorne)