Patrick McLanahan

Patrick Shane McLanahan II is the fictional primary character in most of the books written by thriller author, Dale Brown. McLanahan is originally a B-52 radar navigator but in later books works on other aircraft such as the B-2 Spirit and B-1 Lancer. Similar to the Jack Ryan character by Tom Clancy, he is mentioned in every book (except "Silver Tower", "Chains of Command", and "Act of War"), and has an ongoing history starting with a deep interdiction mission into Russia.

Detailed Biography

Patrick McLanahan was an Irish-American born to a California police officer. McLanahan was the oldest of six children, mostly girls. McLanahan's father died when he was very young. McLanahan took over his father's place in the family while helping his mother run the family-owned pub "The Shamrock".

McLanahan joined the United States Air Force in his twenties and discovered he had a natural talent as a radar navigator in a B-52. Soon he is referred to as the best radar navigator in the USAF. While McLanahan is based at Ford Air Force Base in California, he is sent on a mysterious trip to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada, to work on a new bomber program. The original EB-52 Megafortress is being used to test a new weapons system that will be eventually fitted to a B-1 strike force. The bombers will be utilized to destroy a new and dangerous Soviet laser system. During this assignment Nellis falls under attack by KGB operatives. In the chaos created by the attack McLanahan and the crew of the Megafortress take off and are soon headed to the laser installation in Russia.

McLanahan and the crew fight their way through Soviet air defences until finally they are in range of the laser. With his radar system blacked out McLanahan takes a one in a million shot using a Striker TV-bomb. Against all odds McLanahan hits, destroying the laser. However the Megafortress, low on fuel must land in Anadyr, a PVO Strany airbase to refuel. With most of the crew injured McLanahan must take-off with no flying experience. He takes off bring the crew to safety in Alaska, however; the mission is not without loss of life. McLanahan's long-time friend David Luger sacrificed himself to allow the crew to escape from Anadyr. This mission would be known as the Old Dog mission after the nickname for the Megafortress. McLanahan returns with Brad Elliot (the pilot) to the super-secret research facility known as HAWC (High-Technology Aerospace Weapons Centre) or Dreamland.

After the Old Dog mission McLanahan worked with Elliot as "advisers" to other government projects. Most notable of these is the Border Security Force, a new branch of the US military to track down drug dealers entering the country. It is during this time that McLanahan and test pilot J.C. Powell fly a stolen Su-27 fighter to spy on Cuban drug dealers. Also this is the first time McLanahan works with the V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft, which will be used many times by HAWC commandos.

McLanahan and Elliot then work closely with Sky Masters, a private aviation research company to upgrade the new B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Halfway through the research the People's Republic of China attacks American units in the South Pacific. McLanahan flies the modified B-2 ( known as the EB-2 Black Knight) and some of the newly upgraded EB-52 Megafortress bombers against the Chinese war machine, effectively stopping an attack. However, the action proves the EB-52 Megafortress to not be invincible, one of them being shot down by a Chinese Surface-to-Air Missile.

McLanahan continues to work with Brad Elliot when he receives news that Luger, the radar navigator who sacrificed himself in the Old Dog mission is still alive. Captured and brainwashed, he is in a research center known as Fiskious in Lithuania working on a prototype Russian stealth bomber, the Fiskious Fi-170. McLanahan, John Ormack (Old Dog co-pilot) and Hal Briggs (personal assistant to McLanahan) convince the U.S. Marines to plan a strike into the research center. In less than a month the team has been trained and ready to complete the mission.

However when the team is poised to strike, chaos breaks loose. The former Soviet state of Belarus is attacking Lithuania while the Lithuanians are staging a revolt by attempting to destroy Fiskious, where Luger is kept. McLanahan and his team go on with the mission despite this but their V-22 is brought down by Russian anti-air fire over Fiskious. Surviving from the crash, McLanahan, Ormack and Briggs press on finally freeing Luger, stealing the Fiskious Fi-170 and escaping to Scotland. Two EB-52 Megafortresses supported them on the mission, one destroying two nuclear missiles launched at Lithuania and halting the advance.

McLanahan continued to work at HAWC on many advanced combat aircraft. At the foremost of these designs is the XF-34 DreamStar. This aircraft is piloted by Kenneth James, one of the most talented test pilots ever. However, during a normal day, James steals the DreamStar, revealing himself as a Russian deep-cover agent. During his escape James destroys the original EB-52 Megafortress, killing John Ormack, Angelia Peraria, J.C. Powell and severely injuring Wendy Tork. McLanahan pilots the F-15F Cheetah, a modified F-15E against James. After a fierce dogfight, James surrenders Dreamstar and is later killed by a KGB deep agent whilst he is detained at HAWC. McLanahan returns to HAWC which is being closed down by the government. He soon discovers that he is made a charter member of Future Flight, a White House backed agency that does the same as what HAWC did. He continues to live with his wife Wendy Tork.

McLanahan worked at the Shamrock with his new wife. Soon, the government needed his help. The Iranian aircraft carrier "Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini" was terrorizing the Persian Gulf. The USAF had been forming an operation to knock out the aircraft carrier with an advanced version of the EB-2 Black Knight used against the People's Republic of China operation in the South Pacific. McLanahan trains hard and soon the mission is ready. McLanahan flies the EB-2 and knocks out the aircraft carrier using 'Disruptor'-series weaponry. The aircraft carrier is sent to China and Iran pulls some forces out of the Persian Gulf.

McLanahan worked with Sky Masters again and developed the newest version of the EB-52 Megafortress equipped with the newest air-to-air missiles, cruise missiles, guided bombs, and various electronic countermeasures. These new EB-52's came just in time. Tensions heat up in the People's Republic of China when Taiwan becomes its own country. The Chinese navy, equipped with the repaired Khomeini "(now renamed Mao Zedong)" launches a sea based nuclear missile during a small skirmish between Chinese and Taiwanese navy. The USAF is caught flat footed after sending many B-52 and B-1 bombers to the junkyard. McLanahan and the HAWC crew including Brad Elliot and Dave Luger quickly begin missions in the new EB-52's against China.

During one of these missions McLanahan's crew launches a TV-guided bomb against a supposed destroyer that turned out to be a civilian cruise liner. Facing military charges McLanahan and his crew flying two EB-52 Megafortress and the Sky Masters DC-10 to Taiwan right before a nuclear attack against their base in Guam. As China prepares to invade Taiwan McLanahan's two EB-52 Megafortress bombers fly to destroy they Chinese army and nuclear silo's. Just as McLanahan's EB-52 Megafortress prepared to make a final run against the last nuclear silo a USN strike force begins attacking the invading navy. McLanahan's EB-52 Megafortress falls under heavy fire and is critically damaged. Elliot makes every crew member eject and turns the EB-52 Megafortress into a flying bomb and pilots it into the last silo. McLanahan receives full pardon from the USAF and him and Wendy Tork have a son, Bradley James McLanahan.

McLanahan continued to work with the USAF. After Brad Elliot was killed and all the EB-52 Megafortress destroyed McLanahan and General Terrill Samson began working on an upgraded B-1 Lancer variant, the EB-1C Megafortress-2. Turmoil erupted again in North Korea and South Korea when the two nations joined and formed United Korea. McLanahan recruited the Reno National Guard to work with him on the EB-1C witch became an aircraft more potent than the EB-52 Megafortress and equipped with anti-ballistic missile ABM-3 plasma-yield missiles. The National Guard, now known as the Air Battle Force, flies to Korea and destroys former North Korean nuclear missiles. The EB-1C and the plasma-yield missiles were restonding success.

McLanahan returns to the United States of America. When he returns he finds Doctor Jon Masters of Sky Masters working on an armor suit known as the BERP or Tin Man suit. Utilizing the latest military technology McLanahan teams up with Hal Briggs, Chris Wohl, and his brother Paul McLanahan to stop a terrorist plot in McLanahan's hometown.

McLanahan soon returns to the skies of Europe. Many former Soviet Union states are raising tensions over mysterious air attacks. These attacks are by oil manager Pazel Kazakov using the Mt-177 Tynee stealth bomber, a variant of the Fisikous Fi-170 designed by Dr Pyotr Viktorievich Fursenko and colonel David Luger( . During a botched spy extraction mission McLanahan orders his EB-1C Vampire II's to entire Russian airspace to save the extraction V-22. Facing a court martial when he returns to the USA McLanahan and his crew leave the US with the Sky Masters DC-10 to fight Kazakov personally. During a fierce dogfight and ground operation the Mt-177 is destroyed and Kazakov is captured vowing to destroy McLanahan by any means possible. However, the President of the United States would not let McLanahan back into the country so McLanahan and former president Kevin Martindale form the mercenary group "Night Stalkers" to destroy any threat to the free world.

The Night Stalkers are soon assisting Egypt against an impending Libyan assault. McLanahan, his brother Paul McLanahan, Hal Briggs, and Chris Wohl launch a Tin Man attack against Libyan nuclear missiles. During this attack Paul McLanahan is killed in the explosion caused by the explosion of the missiles. However, the ship the Night Stalkers are based at falls under attack and McLanahan's wife, Wendy Tork McLanahan is captured. McLanahan soon plans an attack against the Libyan command center to rescue Wendy McLanahan. Aided by the new AL-52 airborne laser aircraft. He is too late as Kazakov's assistant murders Wendy McLanahan. Torn with grief he returns to the United States of America. Chris Wohl then goes to Iceland and murders Pavel Kazakov.

McLanahan is soon given a command of his own. Based at Battle Mountain Air Reserve Base, the Air Battle Force is the cutting edge of military airforce technology. Soon they get their baptism of fire. Muslim fanatics are destroying the country of Turkmenistan. Aided by the Russian Federation, McLanahan and the ABF go to Turkmenistan to fight using aircraft such as the EB-1C, AL-52, and the new QB-1C, QB-52, and RAQ-15 StealthHawk UCAVs. During a tense battle, McLanahan's QB-1C Vampire III's attack and destroy the a Russian airbase, making personal enemies with the Russian Federation general Anatoliy Gryzlov and forcing the President of the United States of America to demote him to a desk job.

Gryzlov soon plans the impossible, a nuclear strike against the United States of America. McLanahan sees the attack coming, but no superiors believe him. Within a week it happens. Flights of Tu-95 bombers begin the attack and severely cripple the United States military arsenal. McLanahan and the ABF are the only team available. In a daring strike, they destroy Gryzlov's bunker and stopping a potential war. McLanahan returns to the United States to retire from the military and help America rebuild.

See also

*Fictional Aircraft in Dale Brown Novels
*Weaponry In Dale Brown Novels