USN F-4 Phantom II vs VPAF MiG-17/19

USN F-4 Phantom II vs VPAF MiG-17/19
Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2011-12-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1780962282

The Vietnam War placed unexpected demands upon American military forces and equipment.The principal US naval fighter, the McDonnell F-4 Phantom, had originally been designed to defend the Fleet from air attack at long range. However, its tremendous power and bomb-carrying capacity made it an obvious candidate for the attack mission in Vietnam from 1965 onwards. Its opponent was the MiG-17, a direct descendant of the MiG-15, which had given USAF Sabre jets a hard fight in the Korean War. This book brings to life their dangerous duels and includes detailed cockpit views and other specially commissioned artwork to highlight the benefits and shortcomings of each plane type. It was in the skies over Vietnam that many of the techniques of air combat evolved as pilots learned how to use and to defeat supersonic fighters for the first time.

USN F-4 Phantom II vs VPAF MiG-17/19

USN F-4 Phantom II vs VPAF MiG-17/19
Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 81
Release: 2011-12-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1849081344

The Vietnam War placed unexpected demands upon American military forces and equipment.The principal US naval fighter, the McDonnell F-4 Phantom, had originally been designed to defend the Fleet from air attack at long range. However, its tremendous power and bomb-carrying capacity made it an obvious candidate for the attack mission in Vietnam from 1965 onwards. Its opponent was the MiG-17, a direct descendant of the MiG-15, which had given USAF Sabre jets a hard fight in the Korean War. This book brings to life their dangerous duels and includes detailed cockpit views and other specially commissioned artwork to highlight the benefits and shortcomings of each plane type. It was in the skies over Vietnam that many of the techniques of air combat evolved as pilots learned how to use and to defeat supersonic fighters for the first time.

F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21

F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21
Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2013-05-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472803930

This book draws us into the dangerous world braved by American and North Vietnamese airmen in the skies over Vietnam. Influential leaders and tacticians are profiled to provide a comparative evaluation of their contrasting skills. This book also reveals the technical specifications of each jet with an analysis of the weaponry, avionics and survival devices of the F-4 Phantom II as flown by the USAF and the MiG-21. The fighters' strengths and weaknesses are also compared, including turn radius, performance at altitude, range and structural integrity. First-person extracts reflect on the dangers of these aerial duels, as USAF pilots and their counterparts struggled to overcome each plane's shortcomings.

MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War

MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War
Author: István Toperczer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2012-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782006869

The erstwhile enemy of the USAF and US Navy during the nine years of American involvement in the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese Peoples' Air Force (VPAF) quickly grew from an ill-organised rabble of poorly trained pilots flying antiquated communist aircraft into a highly effective fighting force that more than held its own over the skies of North Vietnam. Flying Soviet fighters like the MiG-17, and -19, the VPAF produced over a dozen aces, whilst the Americans managed just two pilots and three navigators in the same period.

F-86 Sabre vs MiG-15

F-86 Sabre vs MiG-15
Author: Douglas C. Dildy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 126
Release: 2013-05-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1780963211

As the routed North Korean People's Army (NKPA) withdrew into the mountainous reaches of their country and the People's Republic of China (PRC) funneled in its massive infantry formations in preparation for a momentous counter-offensive, both lacked adequate air power to challenge US and UN. Reluctantly, Josef Stalin agreed to provide the requisite air cover, introducing the superior swept-wing MiG-15 to counter the American's straight-wing F-80 jets. This in turn prompted the USAF to deploy its very best – the F-86A Sabre – to counter this threat. Thus began a two-and-a-half-year struggle in the skies known as “MiG Alley.” In this period, the unrelenting campaign for aerial superiority witnessed the introduction of successive models of these two revolutionary jets into combat. This meticulously researched study not only provides technical descriptions of the two types and their improved variants, complete with a “fighter pilot's assessment” of these aircraft, but also chronicles the entire scope of their aerial duel in “MiG Alley” by employing the recollections of the surviving combatants – including Russian, Chinese, and North Korean pilots – who participated.

MiG-17/19 Aces of the Vietnam War

MiG-17/19 Aces of the Vietnam War
Author: István Toperczer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2016-10-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472812573

At the beginning of the Vietnam War, the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) were equipped with slow, old Korean War generation fighters – a combination of MiG-17s and MiG-19s – types that should have offered little opposition to the cutting-edge fighter-bombers such as the F-4 Phantom II, F-105 Thunderchief and the F-8 Crusader. Yet when the USAF and US Navy unleashed their aircraft on North Vietnam in 1965 the inexperienced pilots of the VPAF were able to shatter the illusion of US air superiority. Taking advantage of their jet's unequalled low-speed maneuverability, small size and powerful cannon armament they were able to take the fight to their missile-guided opponents, with a number of Vietnamese pilots racking up ace scores. Packed with information previously unavailable in the west and only recently released from archives in Vietnam, this is the first major analysis of the exploits of Vietnamese pilots in the David and Goliath contest with the US over the skies of Vietnam.

MiG-17/19 Aces of the Vietnam War

MiG-17/19 Aces of the Vietnam War
Author: István Toperczer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2016-10-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472812565

At the beginning of the Vietnam War, the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) were equipped with slow, old Korean War generation fighters – a combination of MiG-17s and MiG-19s – types that should have offered little opposition to the cutting-edge fighter-bombers such as the F-4 Phantom II, F-105 Thunderchief and the F-8 Crusader. Yet when the USAF and US Navy unleashed their aircraft on North Vietnam in 1965 the inexperienced pilots of the VPAF were able to shatter the illusion of US air superiority. Taking advantage of their jet's unequalled low-speed maneuverability, small size and powerful cannon armament they were able to take the fight to their missile-guided opponents, with a number of Vietnamese pilots racking up ace scores. Packed with information previously unavailable in the west and only recently released from archives in Vietnam, this is the first major analysis of the exploits of Vietnamese pilots in the David and Goliath contest with the US over the skies of Vietnam.

F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21

F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21
Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 82
Release: 2013-05-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1846037816

This book draws us into the dangerous world braved by American and North Vietnamese airmen in the skies over Vietnam. Influential leaders and tacticians are profiled to provide a comparative evaluation of their contrasting skills. This book also reveals the technical specifications of each jet with an analysis of the weaponry, avionics and survival devices of the F-4 Phantom II as flown by the USAF and the MiG-21. The fighters' strengths and weaknesses are also compared, including turn radius, performance at altitude, range and structural integrity. First-person extracts reflect on the dangers of these aerial duels, as USAF pilots and their counterparts struggled to overcome each plane's shortcomings.

USN McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

USN McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2016-03-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472804961

Originally designed as a carrier-borne long-range interceptor armed with radar-guided missiles and tasked with defence against missile-launching bombers, the Phantom II went on to establish itself as one of the most important multi-role fighter, attack and reconnaissance aircraft of the 20th century. Arguably the United States' most important aircraft in the Vietnam War, where it played the role of workhorse as well as being a deadly MiG interceptor, the Phantom was also a mainstay of Atlantic Fleet operations ? intercepting Soviet bomber and reconnaissance aircraft and turning them away from the carrier groups at the height of the Cold War. This book reveals the design and development history of the naval Phantom, its variants and the exported designs adopted by other NATO countries. Packed with illustrations, photographs and first-hand accounts, it provides a technical history of one of the most famous aircraft ever built.

F-8 Crusader vs MiG-17

F-8 Crusader vs MiG-17
Author: Peter Mersky
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 84
Release: 2014-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 178200811X

Revered by Naval Aviators as the 'last of the gunfighters' due to its quartet of Colt-Browning Mk 12 20 mm cannon, the F-8 Crusader enjoyed great success against VPAF MiG-17s during the Rolling Thunder campaign of 1966–68. But, the MiG-17's unequalled low-speed manoeuvrability, small size and powerful cannon armament meant that the American forces didn't have it all their own way. This fully illustrated book, featuring photographs, maps and battlescene artwork, reveals the tactics that were developed by pilots on both sides to give themselves the edge in air-to-air dogfights, allowing the reader to understand how the differing design and development doctrines played a part in combat.