US Navy F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers 1965–70

US Navy F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers 1965–70
Author: Brad Elward
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2012-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782006583

For every American fighter pilot involved in the Vietnam War, the ultimate goal was to 'kill a MiG'. In eight years of conflict 43 Vietnamese Peoples Air Force aircraft were claimed by US Navy and US Marine Corps Phantom II crews, and one single ace crew produced. Navy Phantom IIs scored the first kills of the Vietnam War, in April 1965, as well as scoring the last in January 1973. This volume charts the successes of the navy fighter crews as they encountered 'MiGs, Missiles and AAA' over the jungles of North Vietnam.

US Navy F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers 1965–70

US Navy F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers 1965–70
Author: Brad Elward
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2012-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782007210

For every American fighter pilot involved in the Vietnam War, the ultimate goal was to 'kill a MiG'. In eight years of conflict 43 Vietnamese Peoples Air Force aircraft were claimed by US Navy and US Marine Corps Phantom II crews, and one single ace crew produced. Navy Phantom IIs scored the first kills of the Vietnam War, in April 1965, as well as scoring the last in January 1973. This volume charts the successes of the navy fighter crews as they encountered 'MiGs, Missiles and AAA' over the jungles of North Vietnam.

US Navy F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers 1972–73

US Navy F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers 1972–73
Author: Brad Elward
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2012-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782006591

The second of two books on the Navy's Phantom II MiG killers of the Vietnam War, this book covers the numerous actions fought out over North Vietnam during the Linebacker I and II operations of 1972-73. No fewer than 17 MiGs were downed during this period, five of them by the Navy's sole aces of the conflict, Lts Randy Cunningham and Willie Driscoll of VF-96. Drawing on primary sources such as surviving Phantom II aircrew and official navy documentation, the author has assembled the most precise appraisal of fighter operations involving US Navy Phantom II units and those elusive MiGs ever seen in print.

USAF F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers 1965–68

USAF F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers 1965–68
Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2012-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782007539

The USAF introduced the F-4C Phantom II into the Vietnam war in April 1965 from Ubon RTAB, Thailand. The F-4C/D soon became the Air Force's principal fighter over the North, destroying 85 MiGs by the close of 1968. This book describes how the USAF turned a gunless naval interceptor into an opponent to the more nimble VPAF MiGs. It explains how the Air Force gradually followed US Navy initiatives in the use of the F-4's missile armament but employed very different tactics and aircrew training. The roles of key personalities such as Col. Robin Oldany are discussed, together with armament and markings, crews and engagements.

US Marine Corps F-4 Phantom II Units of the Vietnam War

US Marine Corps F-4 Phantom II Units of the Vietnam War
Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2012-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782003185

Twenty-five US Marine Corps squadrons flew versions of the Phantom II and 11 of them used the aircraft in South-East Asia from May 1965 through to early 1973. Rather than the air-to-air missiles that were the main component in the original F-4 armament, these aircraft carried an ever-expanding range of weaponry. Some toted 24,500-lb bombs and others strafed with up to three 20 mm gun pods, while most flew daily sorties delivering napalm, Snakeye bombs and big Zuni rockets. Many US Marines holding small outpost positions in Laos and South Vietnam against heavy Viet Cong attack owed their lives to the Phantom II pilots who repeatedly drove off the enemy. The book will examine these missions in the context of US Marine Corps close-support doctrine, using the direct experience of a selection of the aircrew who flew and organised those missions.

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.

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.

MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War

MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War
Author: István Toperczer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2012-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782006877

Having honed their piloting skills on the subsonic MiG-17 and transonic MiG-19, the Vietnamese Peoples' Air Force (VPAF) received their first examples of the legendary MiG-21 supersonic fighter in 1966. Soon thrown into combat over North Vietnam, the guided-missile equipped MiG-21 proved a deadly opponent for the USAF, Navy and Marine Corps crews striking at targets deep into communist territory. Most of the VPAF's 12+ aces scored their bulk of their kills in the MiG-21, which was then the best fighter produced by Russia's premier fast jet manufacturer, Mikoyan Gurevich. Well over 200 MiG-21s were supplied to the VPAF, and the numerous models and the schemes they wore are chronicled in great detail in this unique volume.

MiG-21 Aces of the Vietnam War

MiG-21 Aces of the Vietnam War
Author: István Toperczer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 113
Release: 2017-09-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472823540

Having learned their trade on the subsonic MiG-17, pilots of the Vietnamese People's Air Force (VPAF) received their first examples of the legendary MiG-21 supersonic fighter in 1966. Soon thrown into combat over North Vietnam, the guided-missile equipped MiG-21 proved a deadly opponent for the US Air Force, US Navy and US Marine Corps crews striking at targets deep in communist territory. Although the communist pilots initially struggled to come to terms with the fighter's air-search radar and weapons systems, the ceaseless cycle of combat operations quickly honed their skills. Indeed, by the time the last US aircraft (a B-52) was claimed by the VPAF on 28 December 1972, no fewer than 13 pilots had become aces flying the MiG-21. Fully illustrated with wartime photographs and detailed colour artwork plates, and including enthralling combat reports, this book examines the many variants of the MiG-21 that fought in the conflict, the schemes they wore and the pilots that flew them.

US Navy F-4 Phantom II Units of the Vietnam War 1964-68

US Navy F-4 Phantom II Units of the Vietnam War 1964-68
Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 99
Release: 2016-08-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472814533

The F-4 Phantom II is perhaps the most famous post-war fighter. Primarily used as a land-based fighter-bomber and reconnaissance platform, its naval origins and the immense contribution made to the US war effort in Vietnam by its original carrier-based versions began its legend. This title examines the unique aspects of the Phantom that made it so crucial to US Navy pilots during the Vietnam War – its massive engine power, long range, speed, the most powerful airborne search and fire-control radar installed in a fighter at the time, and of course its versatility as a ground attack and air-to-air platform. Packed with first hand accounts, unique profile artwork and rare photographs this is the history of one of the most important aircraft to be stationed on carriers off Southeast Asia during the war.