100 Missions North

Download or read book 100 Missions North written by Ken Bell and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2000-12-01 with total page 609 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A harrowing personal account of the extraordinary dangerous missions the author and his comrades flew over North Vietnam in 1966-1967. At that time, American airmen were faced with unprecedented defenses and the highest pilot loss rate (exceeding 25%) since the early days of the US strategic bombing of Europe during World War II. This thrilling book tells what it was like to muster the courage to climb into the cockpit day after day as you watched your comrades fall one by one.and how the pilots fought back.

Download or read book Thud Ridge written by Jack Broughton and published by Crecy Pub. This book was released on 2006 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of a special breed of warrior, the fighter-bomber pilot; the story of valiant men who flew the F-105 Thunderchief 'Thud' Fighter-Bomber over the hostile skies of North Vietnam. From the briefing rooms to the bombing runs, Vice-Wing Commander Colonel Jack Broughton, recounts the tragedy and heartache, the high drama and flaming terror, the exhilaration and thrill of life on the edge. He relives the incredible feeling of high-speed, low-level sorties where SAM missiles, flak and MiGs were all in a day's work. The bravery of the pilots and their commitment to each other in times of extreme fear, crisis and catastrophe are highlighted by vivid, fast moving flying sequences. Thud Ridgeis a fascinating and graphic memorial to the courage of the men, the power of their machines and their dedication to their mission.

Download or read book When Thunder Rolled written by Ed Rasimus and published by Smithsonian Institution. This book was released on 2011-09-20 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ed Rasimus straps the reader into the cockpit of an F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber in his engaging account of the Rolling Thunder campaign in the skies over North Vietnam. Between 1965 and 1968, more than 330 F-105s were lost—the highest loss rate in Southeast Asia—and many pilots were killed, captured, and wounded because of the Air Force’s disastrous tactics. The descriptions of Rasimus’s one hundred missions, some of the most dangerous of the conflict, will satisfy anyone addicted to vivid, heart-stopping aerial combat, as will the details of his transformation from a young man paralyzed with self-doubt into a battle-hardened veteran. His unique perspective, candid analysis, and the sheer power of his narrative rank his memoir with the finest, most entertaining of the war.

Download or read book Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin written by Eileen A. Bjorkman and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2020-09 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On November 18, 1965, U.S. Navy pilot Willie Sharp ejected from his F-8 fighter after being hit while positioned over a target in North Vietnam. With a cloud layer beneath him, he did not know if he was over land--where he would most certainly be captured or killed by the North Vietnamese--or over the Gulf of Tonkin. As he ejected, both navy and air force aircraft were already heading toward him to help. What followed was a dramatic rescue made by pilots and other airmen with little or no training or experience in combat search-and-rescue. Told by former military flight test engineer Eileen A. Bjorkman, this story includes nail-biting descriptions of air combat, flight, and rescue. Bjorkman places Sharp's story in the larger context of the U.S. military's bedrock credo--No Man Left Behind--and calls attention to the more than eighty thousand Americans still missing from conflicts since World War I. She also explores the devastating aftershocks of the Vietnam War as Sharp struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder. Woven into this gripping tale is the fascinating history of combat search-and-rescue missions that officially began in World War II. Combining the cockiness and camaraderie of Top Gun with the heroics of Sully, Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin is a riveting tale of combat rescue and an unforgettable story about the U.S. military's commitment to leave no man behind.

Download or read book Thud Pilot written by Victor Vizcarra and published by . This book was released on 2018-01-19 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thud Pilot is the personal account of a combat fighter pilot who flew the Air Force's premier fighter-bomber in the most dangerous skies over North Vietnam. In the first five years of the Vietnam War, the F-105 Thunderchief conducted 75 percent of the Air Force bombing missions over North Vietnam. Thud Pilot tells the story of the courageous men who flew the F-105 from its earliest combat deployment in 1964, and on through 1966, the year of its heaviest losses. The author's more significant missions, including his ejection and rescue over North Vietnam are described in detail and are accompanied by map drawings depicting the mission routes from take-off to refueling orbits, the target, and return. The book is full of several 'firsts' in the expanding air war over North Vietnam, including 'Operation Spring High, ' the first counter Surface-to-Air-Missile (SAM) strike in the history of aerial warfare. The personal perspective from years of combat experience reveals just how the political mismanagement and inane Rules of Engagement made them as much the hunted as they were the hunters. Thud Pilot goes beyond the battle air space and shares the emotional impact on the families left behind.

Download or read book 100 Missions North written by Kenneth H. Bell and published by Potomac Books. This book was released on 1993 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 100 Missions North is a harrowing personal account of the extraordinarily dangerous missions the author and his comrades flew in F-105 Thunderchiefs over North Vietnam in 1966-67. At that time, American airmen were faced with unprecedented defenses and the highest pilot loss rate - over 25 percent - since the early days of the U.S. strategic bombing of Europe during World War II. This thrilling book tells what it was like to muster the courage to climb into the cockpit, day after day, as you watched your comrades fall one by one - and how the pilots fought back. You'll join Major Bell on his first flight "downtown", on a Medal of Honor bombing strike, and on his last, triumphant 100th mission. You'll see men sustained by faith in each other and joined by the unique bonds of combat overcome anxiety, fear, and even terror to achieve common goals. More than a gripping memoir of aerial warfare, 100 Missions North is a tribute to the men who fought against great odds in the skies over North Vietnam.

Download or read book Gradual failure : the air war over North Vietnam 1965-1966 written by Jacob Van Staaveren and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2002 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of the many facets of the American war in Southeast Asia debated by U.S. authorities in Washington, by the military services and the public, none has proved more controversial than the air war against North Vietnam. The air war s inauguration with the nickname Rolling Thunder followed an eleven-year American effort to induce communist North Vietnam to sign a peace treaty without openly attacking its territory. Thus, Rolling Thunder was a new military program in what had been a relatively low-key attempt by the United States to win the war within South Vietnam against insurgent communist Viet Cong forces, aided and abetted by the north. The present volume covers the first phase of the Rolling Thunder campaign from March 1965 to late 1966. It begins with a description of the planning and execution of two initial limited air strikes, nicknamed Flaming Dart I and II. The Flaming Dart strikes were carried out against North Vietnam in February 1965 as the precursors to a regular, albeit limited, Rolling Thunder air program launched the following month. Before proceeding with an account of Rolling Thunder, its roots are traced in the events that compelled the United States to adopt an anti-communist containment policy in Southeast Asia after the defeat of French forces by the communist Vietnamese in May 1954.