F-4 Phantom II Wild Weasel Units in Combat

Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 147285456X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

Book Description
With first-hand insight into the into the key role of the US Air Force's fighter-bomber from the Vietnam War through to Operation Desert Storm during the First Gulf War, this book is an unmissable account of some of the most dangerous and demanding missions in the two wars. The advent of the surface-to-air missile (SAM) in the early 1950s threatened the whole concept of aerial bombing from medium and high altitude. Countermeasures were developed during the Korean War, but with little initial success. It was only in the closing stages of the Vietnam War, with the F-4Cww Phantom II (Wild Weasel 4), that this equipment started to become successful enough to allow a substantial investment in converting 116 F-4E Phantom IIs into dedicated SEAD aircraft. This move introduced a new generation of anti-radar missiles which became invaluable in later operations including operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Northern Watch over Iraq. This volume features dynamic archival photography from crews who flew the jet, alongside mission accounts and technical details of the development and fielding of the F-4 Wild Weasel in its various iterations. Including specially commissioned artwork of 'sharkmouthed' Phantom IIs in Vietnam jungle camouflage and more modern USAF 'Ghost Gray', this book is the ultimate visual and technical guide to the F-4 Phantom II Wild Weasel Units in combat.

Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat

Author: Farzad Bishop
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782007083
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 150

Book Description
Different versions of the jet have provided the backbone of the frontline strength of the Iranian air force since the 1970s, and whole generations of Iranian pilots and ground personnel have been trained to fly and maintain them. Indeed, the type bore the brunt of active combat operations during the long war with Iraq. Iranian F-4 Phantom IIs were also some of best equipped examples ever exported by the USA. Some Iranian Phantom II pilots gathered immense experience on the type, flying it in combat for more than ten years. This book removes the veil of secrecy surrounding Iranian Phantom II operations since the war with Iraq.

F-4 Phantom II Wild Weasel Units in Combat

Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472854586
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II at George Air Force Base, California

Author: Don Logan
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
ISBN: 9780764354496
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 112

Book Description
This concise, illustrated history focuses on the McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II aircraft and units assigned to George AFB, California, from 1964-92. George's association with the aircraft began with the arrival of the first F-4s in April 1964, and would last over twenty-eight years. The initial mission was to train F-4 aircrews, and from 1964 through 1973, the majority of these graduates went directly to Southeast Asia in support of the Vietnam War. As the need for newly trained aircrews decreased, the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, and later the 37th TFW, added an operational commitment flying F-4Es and F-4C Wild Weasels, as well as F-4G Advanced Wild Weasel aircraft. The training of aircrews for Germany's Air Force was added to the 35th TFW's mission in December 1972. F-4 operations continued at George under the 35th and 37th wings until inactivation of the 35th Wing in December 1992, and the closing of George AFB at the end of the Cold War.

F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21

Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472803930
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 183

Book Description
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.

From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog

Author: Steve Ladd
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526761254
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Book Description
This behind-the-scenes account of a USAF career is “an absorbing read, written with the classic humor fighter pilots seem to have” (Flight Line Book Review). From Baron von Richthofen to Robin Olds, the mystique of the fighter pilot endures. The skill, cunning, and bravery that characterizes this distinctive band of brothers is well known, but there are other dimensions to those who take to the skies to do battle that have not been given the emphasis they deserve—until now. You don’t have to be an aviation aficionado to enjoy Colonel Steve Ladd’s fascinating personal tale, woven around his twenty-eight-year career as a fighter pilot. This extremely engaging account follows a young man from basic pilot training to senior command through narratives that define a unique ethos. From the United States to Southeast Asia, Europe to the Middle East, the amusing and tongue-in-cheek to the deadly serious and poignant, this is the lifelong journey of a fighter pilot. The anecdotes are absorbing, providing an insight into life as an Air Force pilot, but, in this book, as Colonel Ladd stresses, the focus is not on fireworks or stirring tales of derring-do. Instead, this is an articulate and absorbing account of what life is really like among a rare breed of arrogant, cocky, boisterous, and fun-loving young men who readily transform into steely professionals at the controls of a fighter aircraft. “This book will appeal to a variety of readers with its Vietnam War combat stories and accounts of flying the Warthog in Cold War Europe. Fun, flying, international experiences—you won’t want to put it down.” —Aviation News

F-100 Super Sabre Units of the Vietnam War

Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782006990
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Book Description
The F-100 Super Sabre may have been superseded by the superior technology of the F-105 Thunderchief and the F-4 Phantom by the Vietnam War it remained in service. The Super Sabre was deployed as an air defence fighter, and was later given nuclear capability. The F-100's toughness, adaptability and reliability made it ideal for the incessant missions that were demanded by close support and counter-insurgency missions. 242 Super Sabres and 87 aircrew were lost during the war but their role, particularly in developing the tactics used for discovering and destroying SAM sites, was invaluable. This book describes some of the most important actions that the F-100 took part in, looks at the pilots who flew it and analyses the impact of the aircraft on the war.

Wild Weasel Fighter Attack

Author: Thomas Withington
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1848849567
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 392

Book Description
An in-depth look at the weaponry, tactics, and combat pilots involved in neutralizing enemy air defenses—from the Vietnam War to today. Detecting and destroying enemy Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) and radar is arguably the most dangerous mission that any pilot can undertake. Tactics differ with air forces, but the general principal is to fly a formation of aircraft into an area where the enemy’s air defenses are strong, wait for their radar to illuminate the aircraft and then launch a volley of anti-radiation missiles to destroy the radar and thus blind the SAMs and air defenses. Put simply, without the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) mission, the loss of other aircraft will be too high and the effectiveness of attack on the enemy too low. Despite the undeniable bravery of the aircrews who flew these missions for the United States Air Force in every conflict since the Vietnam war, and their colleagues in other air forces across the world who have risked their lives in similar missions, the tactics, history, aircraft and weapons of the SEAD mission have seldom benefited from rigorous historical examination. Using interviews with SEAD pilots, industrial experts and historical documents this book for the first time will give a detailed history of the SEAD mission from the Vietnam War to the present day.

RA-5C Vigilante Units in Combat

Author: Robert R Powell
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782005420
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
Developed from the A-5 nuclear bomber and used in a reconnaissance role, the RA-5C Vigilante was the largest and fastest aeroplane ever to operate from the deck of an aircraft carrier. During the Vietnam War it sustained the highest loss ratio of any American aircraft in that conflict. This volume includes compelling accounts of combat missions over key communist targets, where crews dodged Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft fire to secure all-important mission photographs. Written by a Vigilante combat veteran this book is crammed full of action-packed first-hand accounts.

Magnum! The Wild Weasels in Desert Storm

Author: Brick Eisel
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1848846991
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 231

Book Description
A detailed look at the day-to-day life of a pilot serving during the Persian Gulf War against Iraq. This book is based upon a journal Jim Schreiner kept during his deployment to the Persian Gulf region for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Building upon that record and the recollections of other F-4G Wild Weasel aircrew, the authors show a slice of what life and war was like during that time. The pawns in the game, the ones that actually had to do the fighting and dying were the hundreds of thousands of men and women who left their homes and families to live for seemingly endless months in the vast, trackless desert while the world stage-play unfolded. To them, the war was deeply personal. At times, the war was scary; at other times, it was funny as hell. Usually, if you survive the former, it turns into the latter.