Book Description
Today aircraft combat survivability is now an established design discipline for U.S. military aircraft. More importantly survivability is now an essential part of the U.S. Department of Defense acquisition process. Furthermore, improving public health, safety, and survivability is now woven throughout the civil and commercial sector. From infant car seats to the design of aircraft cargo bay structures that can withstand internal bomb blasts, the government is taking the lead in establishing survivability standards.
Approximately 10,000 copies of the first edition were sold in five printings. It remains the only book of its kind and is required reading for anyone involved in design of air combat vehicles.
The extensively illustrated second edition of the textbook presents the fundamentals of the aircraft combat survivability design discipline as defined by the DoD military standards and acquisition processes. It provides the history of, the concepts for, the assessment methodology, and the design technology for combat survivability analysis and design of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, UAVs, and missiles. Each chapter specifies learning objectives; stresses important points; and includes notes, references, bibliography, and questions.
The Fundamentals of Aircraft Combat Survivability: Analysis and Design on CD-ROM is included with your purchase of the hardcover. The CD-ROM gives you the portability and searchability that you need in your busy environment. It is considerably smaller and lighter than the textbook so it is available when you are away from the office or traveling. It can also be searched to quickly locate a particular word or phrase.
Professors! To receive your solutions manual, e-mail your request and full address to custserv@aiaa.org.
Average customer rating:
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World War II Combat Squadrons of the United States Air Force: The Official Military Record of Every Active Squadron (Air Force Combat Units of World)
Manufacturer: Smithmark Publishers
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0831715014 |
Customer Reviews:
Full of Errors.......2007-01-08
I should have been wary when in reading the beginning pages of the book there are paragraphs of disclaimers of inaccuracy. This book is poorly put together. Many of the patches/badges shown are not those that originated during WWII, many are post WWII. They claim that the research material was not readily available.......but there are many other books published around the same time with accurate information.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Text Not For The Casual Reader.......2007-04-29
This book is a serious educational tool for modern fighter pilots. I tried reading it in high school when I thought I wanted to "grow up to be a fighter pilot." The best thing about it is that I learned that being a fighter pilot requires a lot more knowledge of math and physics than I'd ever imagined. Real fighter jocks have to be a great deal smarter than they are portrayed in movies.
The subject matter is fascinating, and the book is clear and well-written. If you read it carefully, you will certainly learn something, but unless you are also sitting in a cockpit day after day, you won't have any context for the information you've put in your head.
I suppose a die-hard combat flight sim pilot might be able to improve his or her air combat skills with this book, but, honestly, for a civilian, the only reason to read this book is because you are so obsessed with air combat that you simply must immerse yourself in this subject matter. I doubt someone who has never flown into real air-to-air combat will ever have a true appreciation of the knowledge this book has to offer.
If you are serious about Combat Flight sims..........2007-02-11
... then this book is a must-have. However if you are a pretty casual flight simmer and just are out for fun, this will just complicate your approach unnecessarily.
I got it with the intention of getting more serious, but unless you are a young person with ambitions of joining the air force, you may be better off just getting what info there is on line already.
This book covers all aspects of ACM, and it is excellent for that. Just that after having read the book, I found I lacked the time to PRACTICE the maneuvers covered therein. And practice is the only way you will be able to translate what's in the book into anything more real. If you have an interest in combat flight, you may enjoy the book anyway, on another level.
All in all I'd have to say that it was a good addition to my library- now just trying to get the time to implement it in my fav sim.
Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering.......2007-01-30
A very competent insight on the dynamics of ACM and the relationship of the aircraft and weapon systems.
The definitive book on air combat.......2006-12-13
Fighter Combat by Shaw is the definitive book on air combat in any decade.
Like so many others have said, Shaw's book is utterly comprehensive, covering everything from the most basic of basics, to advanced maneuvering tactics for fighting when faced with superior odds and superior aircraft. I originally purchased Fighter Combat as an aid to my knowledge in combat flight simulators, but I quickly found that even small portions of Shaw's book contained a level of knowledge that absolutely dwarfed my own.
Highly, highly recommended. If you're a flight-sim enthusiast, a jet fighter enthusiast or the like, there is no more authoritative work.
A fighter pilot's textbook.......2006-11-27
Although no previous knowledge is assumed, this textbook on fighter tactics is strictly no-nonsense and requires committed study. Diagrams show the movement of aircraft by tracing the path of their wingtips, then have marked discussion points, as is evident by this pretty typical excerpt:
"The direction chosen by the defender to stop his roll at time '3' is calculated so that the inverted, wings-level pull-down will place him at point '4', the peak of the maneuver, with his nose aimed at a point almost directly above the bogey's predicted position at that time..."
Here's a list of chapters:
Fighter Weapons
Basic Fighter Maneuvers
One-versus-One Maneuvering, Similar Aircraft
One-versus-One Maneuvering, Dissimilar Aircraft
Section Tactics, Two versus One
Section Tactics, Two-versus-Two
Division Tactics
Unlimited-Aircraft Tactics
Fighter Missions
Tactical Intercepts
Appendix: Fighter Performance
Each chapter is broken down into sections, most with a diagram and about 4 pages of text. Here's how "Basic Fighter Maneuvers" is broken down:
Pursuit Curves
Lag Displacement Rolls
High Yo-Yo
Low Yo-Yo
Lead Turn
Nose-to-Nose and Nose-to-Tail Turns
Flat Scissors
Vertical and Oblique Turns
Rolling Scissors
Defensive Spiral
Notes
Sprinkled throughout are pity quotes that illustrate particular points and lighten the mood:
"Aerial gunnery is 90 percent instinct and 10 percent aim"
Book Description
The 82nd Airborne Division-dubbed the All Americans during World War I, when Sgt. Alvin York was among its soldiers-parachuted into history on the July 9, 1943, as the opening salvo in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. This book, the first to tell the full story of the 82nd - America's first airborne division to see combat, and the only American parachute division still active today-follows the All Americans from their first perilous drop to their victory parade up 5th Avenue in January 1946.
Customer Reviews:
If your an Aiborne fan READ THIS BOOK........2007-09-05
The All American All The Way is the best book I ever read!!!
There is no foul language that I remember. It takes you through training to Berlin.
The 82nd Airborn Division stood and hooked up to jump the first mass combat jump in history, on July 10th 1943. Badly scattered on the drop,they looked at their maps to see if they knew where they were. Finally they arrived where they needed to be and in do time were fighting a small band of forces so they thought, but turned out to be tanks accompanied by infantry.
If you want to know more about the 82nd Airbore buy this book!
My Dad Lived this book.......2007-08-04
My father served in the 82nd with 504th parachute regiment from its inception to the war's end. He talked very little about his experiences. Mr. Nordyke's marvelous book, with its accounts by the men who fought the battles, helped me to know my dad better. It will help anyone to understand what combat is really like and the great heroism of these ordinary Americans - almost all of them mere boys. Highly recommended.
A Most Excellent Book!.......2007-07-24
I've just finished reading "All American All The Way" and I must say that this book is by far the very best book written on any WWII unit that I have read. With many veteran accounts, Mr. Nordyke takes the reader along from airborne training, the formation of the division, and the actions that the division participated in from Sicily through Germany.
One can almost hear the roar of battle as the author, and the veterans describe fighting in the hedgerows in Normandy, or street fighting in Holland. I very highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in WWII history.
Very Extensive and Total History of a Great American Division.......2007-03-21
This is a very extensive, impressive and total history of the 82nd airborne division, what was called by Generals in WWII as the greatest division of the time (of course the 101st airborne would probably argue that). The scope of this book is amazing. In its 776 pages (yes, it is long but very interesting), it lays out all the campaigns fought in WWII including Sicily, Salerno, Italy, Normandy, Netherlands, the Bulge, and Germany. And, the book tells the story at the individual unit (down to company and platoon) and individual level. It is told in the words of the heroes who fought in the 82nd during the war. As mentioned in one review, this should become the standard for not only this division but for any division for laying out the story of the heroism and the tragedy of this war.
An incredible book........2007-03-09
What can I say... This is one of the best works of military non-fiction, I have ever had the joy of reading. At first sight of the book, I was a little daunted by it's size. However, due to the fluidic quality of Phil's excellent writing, I found it to be an effortless read. The research involved behind this book is immense, and it thoroughly gripped me, all the way. I've not read such a book of this calibre, in a very long time. The action and information contained within, left me feeling that I had personally been fighting along side with these brave men, all the way!
This book provides a superb, first hand, graphic insight into the life and hardships of the 82nd Airborne campaigns, throughout the European theatre of operations. Sicily, Italy, Normandy, Holland, Belgium and the German `Siegfried' line, breakthrough.
It's difficult to find criticism, other than the accounts of life while they were camped in England, during 1944, are a little vague. And my interest in the Division stems from the fact that the 80th Anti-Tank and the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment were billeted only a mile or two, up the road from me, in Leicester. However, this doesn't detract from the fact it's an excellent read.
The quality of this hardback it of the highest, along with the inclusion of excellent maps illustrating the campaigns, and many archive photographs from the time.
I'm now at a loss as what to read after this book. This book's a tough act to follow. It's clear, exciting and most thought provoking. A must read for anyone interested in the 82nd Airborne Division, and the European theatre of operations during the Second World War.
Book Description
Fly with 1st Lt. John A. Clark in the cockpit of the famous B-17 "Flying Fortress" during his 32 bombing missions over Germany in WWII. Experience the terror of flying at 28,000 feet amidst enemy flak and fighter planes during the winter of 1944-1945. Lt. Clark flew as the co-pilot of a "fFlying Fortress" with "The Bloody Hundreth", the famous 100th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force. After each of his missions, Lt. Clark recorded a diary describing his combat experience. These diaries are being published for the first time in over 60 years. His unfolding stories provide a realistic and chilling account of aerial combat in the brutal air war over Europe. Several "war stories", all true, provide additional drama and a little humor to this firsthand account of this WWII combat pilot. Witness the remarkable photographs from the authors personal collection that tell and show the story of near misses from flak and the dramatic dropping of 500 pound bombs on German targets during heavy German counter attacks with flak and fighter bombers.
Customer Reviews:
An Eighth Air Force Combat Diary.......2001-11-20
This book is written by a Co-pilot of the 418th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group based at Thorpe Abbotts, England.
It is his diary of 32 combat missions during the European Theatre of Operations September 1944 to March 1945.
I found this excellently detailed as it was written at the time.
It describes his training as a pilot in the US, the Trans-Atlantic flight in a B-17 from Lincoln, Nebraska to Valley, Wales and flying combat missions over Germany.
Each mission description starts with a copy of his briefing notes which detail engine start, taxi and take off times, target name, altitude formation and callsigns for fighter escorts! Also a newspaper clipping from that day the mission was flown.
Copies of John Clark's combat flight log are included towards the end of the book.
This book is full of photographs never before published; taken of the formations of B-17s streching endlessly across the sky with streaming contrails, the flak clouds over the target, on base scenes of nissen huts in the fog, frost on the trees, aircraft sitting on their hardstands in the early morning mist, and photographs of the crews.
When reading this book, you can visualize everything that is happening, emotions are described and felt when and engine is out, when enemy fighters pass through the formation, when flak burst nearby, or finding that there may not be enough fuel to make it home!
After the war in 1962, 1966, and 1987 he returns to the base he once flew from to find it deteriating even more with each visit.
The only remnants in his last visit is the control tower that has now been restored as a museum and a memorial to those who served with the 100th Bomb Group.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in reading personal accounts of World War II.
Book Description
C-47 is an aircraft that remains a popular favourite and an acknowledged classic design, carrying out missions every bit as strategically important and as dramatic for the aircrew as those of the fighters and bombers. The C-47's wartime operations paved the way for post-war military air transport. It also demonstrated how the USAAF was able to invest in and carry out a mission that it had not devoted much time to preparing for in terms of pre-war doctrine (in contrast to strategic bombing). In addition to linking theatres (by flying across 'the Hump'), it showed how vital it was to operations within a theatre like New Guinea. Even if massed airborne invasions were not carried out in the PTO/CBI, all air arms need transports like the C-47.
Customer Reviews:
C-47/R4D Skytrain Units of the Pacific and CBI.......2007-08-29
Very interesting book that gives an overview of the operations of the C47 type in these theaters of the war, one glaring mistake is a cockpit shot that is clearly a four engined aircraft with a different windsheild (I think a B24) Would have been interesting to add some detail of any known Japanese L2D "Tabby" (Japanese DC3) operations in the area at the same time to give an interesting comparison. That said however I would recomend this book to anyone interested in the DC3/C47/R4D in general and their operation in this part of the war in particular.
Greg King
Osprey Treatment of US C-47/R4Ds in WW2 - v.2.......2007-04-06
C-47/R4D Units of the Pacific and China-Burma-India Theatres, Osprey Combat Aircraft volume 66, is a follow-on to my previous Osprey, C-47/R4D Units of the European and Mediterranean Theatres.
The book is in the standard Osprey format: a softcover of 100 or so pages total, including 30 color profiles, color illustrations of unit insignias, and over 100 black and white photographs and maps. It includes scale drawings, a listing (with histories) of all units to use the aircraft in these theatres, a bibliography and an index.
The historical narrative of the use of C-47/R4D series aircraft in these theatre includes a number of contemporaneous accounts, covering a range of experiences, from Guadalcanal, "the Hump", and flying up the Aleutians chain to a C-47 crew's reporting how a P-51 shot them down while on a final approach and that this saved their lives.
The cover illustration is of an incident over north Burma on 10 December, 1943 when Lieutenants Charles Lawton and George Laben of the 2nd Troop Carrier Squadron maneuvered an attacking Japanese `Oscar' fighter into high ground.
This book is available from Amazon.com and Osprey retailers in both the US and UK (and, I presume, elsewhere as well).
Now, to persuade the publishers to let me do a volume on Dakota units and then continue the story of the Gooney Bird in US service, which is still (with turboprop-powered versions) going on today.
Book Description
About the men of Germany's Luftwaffe III./JG 54 and JG 26 as they unite in defense of their homeland, 1944-1945. Late war day-to-day combat stories, this book also features over 250 photos including many new Dora 9 aircraft never before published. Full color profiles by Jerry Crandall and Tom Tullis, updated D-9 and D-13 drawings, loss lists, personell lists and more.
Customer Reviews:
Definitive History of the first Dora-9 Pilots in Action!.......2005-12-16
Wow!! This magnificent book by author Axel Urbanke chronicles the life and times of the Focke Wulf pilots of III/JG 54 and two associated gruppen of JG 26 in the 1944-45 timeframe. III/JG 54 was the first Luftwaffe unit to be supplied with the newly introduced Focke Wulf D-9 model, the long-nosed "Dora." III/JG 54 saw heavy action in the last years of the war, ceaselessly opposing Allied bomber raids. Their story, as such, is representative of all Luftwaffe pilots in the West.
Urbanke's book is military aviation history at its best! A labor of love, the author spent over 10 years researching the subject, tracking down and interviewing surviving Dora-9 pilots or their families, assembling photos, researching archives in Germany and abroad, etc.
The results of Urbanke's dedication is this 350-page gem. Everything about this book bespeaks quality - the in-depth research (interviews with 200+ pilots), hundreds of rare photos with detailed captions, ten gorgeous, fold-out color profiles by Jerry Crandall and Tom Tullis, detailed loss and victory lists - this book has it all.
Quality doesn't come cheap; my copy of the book cost $85.00 but it was money well spent. "Green Hearts" is a limited edition, very high quality book and its cover price reflects that.
If you're a serious Luftwaffe enthusiast, you'll love this book. Highly recommended!
Average customer rating:
- Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat
- This book isn't just for Lieutenants.
- Outstanding Book
- A gripping Vietman narrative
- A very different kind of war story.
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Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat
James R. Mcdonough
Manufacturer: Presidio Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Small Unit Leadership: A Commonsense Approach
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Army Officer's Guide
ASIN: 0891418008
Release Date: 2003-02-04 |
Book Description
A remarkable memoir of small-unit leadership and the coming of age of a young soldier in combat in Vietnam.'
"Using a lean style and a sense of pacing drawn from the tautest of novels, McDonough has produced a gripping account of his first command, a U.S. platoon taking part in the 'strategic hamlet' program. . . . Rather than present a potpourri of combat yarns. . . McDonough has focused a seasoned storyteller’s eye on the details, people, and incidents that best communicate a visceral feel of command under fire. . . . For the author’s honesty and literary craftsmanship,
Platoon Leader seems destined to be read for a long time by second lieutenants trying to prepare for the future, veterans trying to remember the past, and civilians trying to understand what the profession of arms is all about.”–Army Times
Customer Reviews:
Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat .......2007-03-09
Platoon Leader was an excellent read, and one I would recommend for all those enjoy military reading. I would especially suggest it to all junior military leaders. Entertaining and well written, the author discusses at length his role as a leader, and what he views as good and bad leaders. The aspect of the book I enjoyed the most was it allowed the reader to see leadership, on a small-unit level, working in real-world combat conditions. Unlike many books leaders read for professional development, it shows how leadership works when employed and doesn't just philosophize about leadership principles.
This book isn't just for Lieutenants........2007-02-17
As a junior officer I have an entire list of professional reading that I am trudging my way through, but so far McDonough has been by far the most enjoyable and has made the biggest impact on my own leadership style. Both Platoon Leader and Defense of Hill 781 are great books, but Platoon Leader is so far the best military memoir I have read. It has been over a year since I read this book, but the three things that have stuck with me are:
1. Do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason.
2. Death in a combat zone is more about just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sooner or later your luck runs out, but you have the duty to your fellow soldiers to do everything in your power to protect them.
3. The stealing of a bottle of soda from a grandmother leads slowly but inevitable to the rape of her granddaughter. If you let your soldiers steal at all you are setting the stage for what atrocities they will commit later. You must always be vigilant in your discipline.
While I do not have combat experience, I am currently serving in Iraq and know second handedly that these concepts still hold true.
Other than the leadership aspect of the book, Mcdonough is just a great story teller and is able to make the book engaging and addicting.
Outstanding Book .......2006-02-23
James McDonough provides an in-depth look at infantry platoon operations in Vietnam. This is a must read for anyone who intends to pursue a military career. The book is very graphic, but also very succint and to the point. McDonough doesn't waste time with superfluous details, every word is well chosen and critical to the telling of the story. Once you begin reading, you will not want to stop. It is a quick read, and well worth the time it takes.
A gripping Vietman narrative.......2004-11-04
"Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat," by James R. McDonough, chronicles the author's experiences as an officer in the Vietnam War from 1970-71. His platoon is charged with manning an outpost next to the village of Truong Lam.
This is a fascinating, well-written account. McDonough fills his narrative with vivid details that really made his story come alive in my mind. He doesn't flinch at describing the goriest and most horrific images of war. There are also moments of irony and bitter humor. Also noteworthy is the informative material about tactics used in Vietnam. And the author humanizes the story by touching on such "down-and-dirty" issues as the latrine his platoon used.
McDonough's story is populated with a compelling cast of characters. Particularly intriguing is his exploration of relationships among the various groups he encountered in the war zone--U.S. enlisted men, his fellow Army officers, Vietnamese military allies, enemy forces, and the many civilians caught up in the conflict.
While rich in scenes of combat, "Platoon Leader" goes beyond being just an action-packed war yarn. The book explores the ethics and morals of war. McDonough deals directly with the danger a soldier faces in becoming dehumanized by the brutality of war. He vividly portrays the struggle of a leader to remain wise and humane, yet also tough and resolute, under the most trying of circumstances. This book is both a profound meditation on wartime leadership and a powerful work of American literature.
A very different kind of war story........2004-01-16
Lieutenant Colonel James McDonough has written a truly different memoir of his experiences in Vietnam. I believe that this is because McDonough is a different type of leader and individual. His account of his personal experience in Vietnam is not glorified or gory, it is a more emotional recollection of the things that he did, good and bad, while serving as platoon leader in Vietnam. This book is a must for young military officers as well as those considering military service. There is no bravado in this book, because there is nothing fantastic about killing another man, or trying to help civilians who have been needlessly attacked. The book has a very real quality to it, which I found at different times both unsettling and moving. McDonough is not a killer, he is a soldier and an officer. While he may often silently question the purpose of the things he did or was ordered to do in Vietnam, he never hesitated in carrying out his responsibilities as platoon leader. Although he may have been afraid, he was still responsible for 25 other men who were even more afraid than he was. Overall, one of the best memoirs I have ever read.
Book Description
Several books have been written about US naval air patrol operations in World War II, but none do full justice to the role played by patrol squadrons of the US Navy in the longest, most bitterly fought campaign of the war, the Battle of the Atlantic. From the Arctic to the Equator, anti-submarine aircraft of the US Navy patrolled both sides of the stormy Atlantic alongside their Allied counterparts. They escorted merchant convoys through the submarine-infested waters, protecting the crucial lifeline from the United States to Great Britain and the Mediterranean that carried troops and supplies for the ultimate liberation of North Africa and Europe.
The PBY Catalina, in which most of these vital missions were flown, was the most successful flying boat ever designed. Built in greater numbers than any other, it served the maritime air forces of all principle Allied nations, as well as the four branches of the US military. Except for a handful of Martin PBM Mariners, the Catalina was the only long range patrol bomber in the US Navy's inventory when the USA entered World War II. Though considered obsolete in 1939, it served in significant numbers until war's end and for many years after. Its total contribution to victory can only be surmised and the number of ships and lives saved by the PBY's mere presence over convoys will never be known. However, US Navy PBYs sank 19 Axis submarines, all identified by the author from contemporary evidence. Photographs of the Catalina in service in the Atlantic are rare but the author has assembled over 80 through research in official archives and private collections.
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Customer Reviews:
very Informative .......2007-08-03
This is a well written, well documented book regarding the PBY and Navy crews in the Atlantic during WWII. The pictures are black and white and sometimes difficult to see. I am looking forward to the similiar book on the Pacific operations of the PBY.
US Navy PBY Catalina Units of the Atlantic War.......2007-05-27
The book was a boring read about the units that operated the PBY. I was looking for more about the aircraft itself. The book did spend some time describing the "teething" problems of the 1 thru 5A models but not enough on the aircraft and the training necessary for pilots to be certified.
This was a VERY remarkable aircraft for it's time. It flew for hours on two engines and had huge wings that sacrificed speed for lift and endurance.
Very good book!.......2007-05-13
Hi friends:
This book are very good! I recomend!
Best regard,
PBY Combat Action in the Atlantic!.......2006-12-27
When thinking of legendary WWII warbirds, Consolidated's PBY does not automatically spring to mind. Yet the lumbering, big-winged Catalina saw combat from the first day of the war to the last, serving in all theaters. Its record of service in U.S. Navy squadrons in the Atlantic is covered in this Osprey volume, #65 in their 'Combat Aircraft' series.
Arguably the most sucessful patrol bomber ever, the PBY was absolutely crucial to the Allies' victory over German U-boats in the Atlantic. PBY crews flew thousands of hours, boring holes in the skies searching for the tell-tale feather of a periscope or - if the gods were with you - a fully surfaced U-boat.
During the war, USN PBYs sank 19 U-boats, more than half the total claimed by all Allied Catalina units. Given the aircraft's slow speed and inadequate armament - one/two .30 caliber popguns in the bow and single .50 calibers in waist blisters - that record speaks for the courage and skill of Navy Catalina crews.
Author Ragnar Ragnarsson details the kills scored by USN PBYs, other missions less successful and the often horrendous weather conditions that marked all Atlantic PBY operations. Ragnarsson's text is complemented by over 90 black & white photos including rare combat shots and 10 pages of color sideviews by Jim Laurier.
All in all, a nicely done tribute to the brave PBY crewmen who played such a great role in defeating the U-boat threat.
Obsolete When the War Started It Flew All Through It.......2006-12-02
By the time the second world war started the Consoladated PBY was already obsolete. The Navy had already ordered its replacement the Martin PBM which was better in every mesurable way - speed, payload, range, etc. But the venerable PBY was ready, it was in production, and it worked. Over four thousand were produced, vs about 1200 PBMs.
This book gives the history of the design of the PBY, and talks of its use, concentrating on the units that worked in the Atlantic where it did all of the tasks that you expect of a patrol bomber, escourting convoys, light cargo movement including people such as Eisenhower and his staff from England to Gibralter where he commanded the early stages of Torch, the invasion of North Africa.
It was also a PBY, a Catalina of the RAF that first spotted the Bismark (not to say the pacific fleet at Midway, but that was in the Pacific war).
The PBY was probably not the prettiest airplane with it's angular features and it's wing having to have support struts. But it had a workman's appearance when compared with the PBM, king of like the B-17 when compared to the B-24.
This book is well written, profusely illustrated and exhaustively researched.
Product Description
On 31 May 1968, Lt. Kenny Fields catapulted off USS America in his A-7 for his first-ever combat mission. His target was two hundred miles away in Laos. What the planners did not know was that Fields was en route to a massive concentration of AAA gun sites amidst an entire North Vietnamese division.
Fields, call sign Streetcar 304, was the first to roll in, and he destroyed that target with a direct hit. Three AAA guns began to fire, but, following his wingman's run, he rolled in again. This time many more AAA guns opened up and Fields was shot down. Soon, a rescue pilot suffered the same fate.
The Rescue of Streetcar 304 is Fields' exhilarating narrative of the forty hours that followed and what turned out to be one of the largest and most spine-tingling air rescues of the Vietnam War.
Fields mixes humor and drama as he recounts teeth-chattering close encounters with Pathet Lao guerillas, and nearly being killed time and again by friendly bombs. He describes in riveting detail the radio chatter between participants, and the stress effects of coping with fear, sleep deprivation, wild animals, and relentless AAA. By the time it was over, the U.S. Air Force had flown 189 sorties to rescue Fields, and in the process four pilots ejected, seven planes were lost or heavily damaged, and one pilot became a POW for five years.
Customer Reviews:
Great read.......2007-10-08
A great page-turning read that brought back tons of memories ........I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to feel like the've actually experience a combat search and rescue mission. I flew several - Kenny Fields took me back to SEA for a while.
Joe Panza
Colonel, USAF (Ret)
Jolly Green Pilot (HH-53B)
40 ARRS, Udorn RTAFB, Thailand '67-'68
rescue of streetcar 304.......2007-10-04
excelent book. as a crew member of USS AMERICA, on the same cruise as the author, we had no idea what difficulties the pilots had to endure once they left the ship. this is a real eye opener. kenny fields did a great job of not only telling his story, but making the reader feel like you are right there in the cockpit with him. very well done.
One of the Best!.......2007-10-01
This is one of the best books to come out of Vietnam. Streetcar 304 gets you right down in the weeds with him while he does his best to "evade and escape." A serious page turner. Not to be missed. As an Air Force F-4 pilot, I was in on several rescues in the same area, and I can tell you this book is right on!
Yankee Station.......2007-09-27
Mr Fields, Yes, heroism was the main theme that came across in your book...heroism and the will to survive! Streetcar 304 shows the frail human qualities that we possess and the heroic qualities that surface in times of need. I don't know who said it but the difference between a hero and a coward is only a few minutes and that is clearly evident in this book! I hope there are plans to make this book into a movie? I have read many books about Vietnam...Bat 21 (both books) Flying Black phonies, Cheating Death, Going Downtown, Escape from Laos and too many more to list...this book is at the top! Fields' use of call signs rather than names was at first troubling but by the end it proved to be the best way so as not to confuse the reader by all the different participants...he then had a glossary at the end with all the actual names...great method! It was well written and very readable...when at the end of your work day, the only thought on your mind is to go home and pick up this book...you know it is a good one!
[...]........2007-09-13
Before you start reading this book, do the laundry, wash the dishes, buy some t.v. dinners, and dig yourself a hole , because you won't stop reading until the end. It is that exciting, well written, funny, sad, adventurous, clever, scary, told in a great voice, vivid, memorable (you'll find yourself thinking about it for days), magical, spiritual, but most of all you live it as you read it. That's a great book. I met the author at the Oceana Air Show in Virginia. What a guy. Holly
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