Customer Reviews

F-8 Crusader Units of the Vietnam War (Osprey Combat Aircraft 7)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

The F-8 Crusader will go down in aviation history as a classic warplane, captured on TV and in print media as the chief aerial protagonist in a number of conflicts in the '60s. From the Cuban crisis, to the Vietnam war, the F-8 was the Navy's last single seat fighter - the 'Gunfighter' - until the F-18 appeared some twenty years later. Mersky is a veteran Crusader fanatic, with other like titles to his credit, and he continues to delve into the details of F-8s, and F-8 service. What makes this book a standout is the focus on the F-8 drivers, as well as the aircraft and units. For anybody who is interested in a unique period of US Naval aviation, this is a must! This book looks good, has great historical anecdotes and good illustrations. In Australia, it is a very expensive paperback, but still - no pay(n), no gain!

Another good book in the Osprey series. Lots of good photos and color photos and color plates. There is also an actual B&W photo of an F-8 pilot ejecting (punchin' out) in flight at altitude. Luckily he was also recovered. Book talks about this "last of the gunfighters" and the F-8 did have gun only victories but the book does state that the majority of the F-8 victories were via sidewinders. But at least the F-8 did have guns....sorry U.S. Navy Phantom. Book covers the F-8 roles as MigCap and escort, and provides info on F-8 in the air to ground role which I was previously unaware of. Photos of F-8 with Zunis on their sidewinder rails and iron bombs under wings took me by surprise as I have usually seens photos of the Crusader outfitted for it's air to air role. (I've always wondered why other USN or other navy aircraft didnt also incorporate the variable incidence wing on the F-8 - variable geometry wing seems so much more complicated and expensive). Book also discusses how the F-8 was deployed on the "smaller" carriers with the Phantoms on the large carriers. Book has lots of good in-person pilot recollections of F-8 missions. Good book.....and...Fly Navy !!

Book is well written with great photo's and illstrations. Facts are excellent. If you like the Crusader. This is a must!

The last of the gunfighters!

Osprey does it again. These Vietnam era books are as good as the VVS books I have reviewed. Love the illustrations and pilot uniform paintings. Also includes color photo section and 3 view drawings. Very well done, humorous pictures at times. Seems to capture a lot in such a short book. Highly recommend this even at full price...a rarity from me!

Oh yeah! Now THIS is the aircraft you wanted to fly if you were a US naval aviator in the 60s. Whether it's high speed photo runs over Cuban missile sites, blasting North Vietnamese AAA guns with Zuni rockets, or engaging in gut-wrenching dogfights with MiGs and knocking'em down with 'winders OR your quad 20mm cannons...well, you get the picture. This book details the men, the machines and the action, as 'the last of the gunfighters' took it to the skies over North Vietnam, resulting in a 6-1 kill/loss ratio...sierra hotel boys!

This is a terrific book that covers a magnificent aircraft that seems to get no love in Hollywood. If you're even a remote fan of naval aviation than you should add this book to your collection because it will give you a great understanding of the best fighter of Vietnam.

There are A LOT of photos in this book which really help tell the story along with the written text. These rare Vietnam photos of the Crusader are worth the price of the book alone, but in addition to these photos you get Osprey's specially commissioned profile illustrations of some of the most famous F-8's which are fantastic.

In the text, just about every well known F-8 pilot from this era gets mentioned, including the MiG Killers and others like James Stockdale and Joe Satrapa. The Appendixes in the back of the book include a glossary, line drawings, a table of all the MiG Killers and all the F-8 Squadron Deployments in Vietnam which is done in more detail than I've seen in any other book about the F-8.

If I were to find fault with anything, it would be the fact that some of the photos tend to be on the dark side and could stand to be a little brighter. Especially the squadron photos where you can hardly see the faces of the pilots. According to the copyright page, this book was first published in 1998 and was then transferred to digital print on demand in 2010. This digitization may have degraded the photo quality and could be the cause of the extra darkness in some of these photos.

Hopefully a new edition or printing will be made where they correct this minor problem. Even with some dark photos, there are many that aren't, and the color illustrations are great. I highly recommend this, it is well worth the money and it is an invaluable reference book.

The F-8 Crusader was a very agile jet in many ways. It was one of only a few USA jet aircraft able to meet and exceed then-current Soviet-origin jet aircraft in mobility, including sharp turns and rolls. Its supposed replacement, the F-4 Phantom -- altho fast, sturdy and multi-role -- was far less agile than the Crusader in sharp turns and rolls. The Crusader, therefore, had a better one-to-one encounter ratio versus the MiG 17, 19 and 21. Also, altho the Crusader was mainly created as a air-superiority jet for Naval Aviation -- it was developed into other roles, such as ground-support [and even further for that role as its offspring Corsair jet] -- and as a fine air-recon jet. In that last role, the Crusader may have helped save the world from WW III via accurate critical intell concerning Soviet forces in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis -- helping President Kennedy to make well-informed decisions. The book under review mostly covers the other roles -- especially air-superiority during the Vietnam War. The same series of books does have one on the later Crusader roles -- in particular the air-recon Crusaders. Also the same series has excellent books on the MiG 17/19 and MiG 21 units of the Vietnam War. I have seen all of these [including one on the Corsair] and they are equally good -- with accurate info and relatively unbiased accounts. "F-8 Crusader Units of the Vietnam War" is an excellent example of this quality series. Main aspects are all covered well -- with detail sufficient to understand the need for and creation of the Crusader, it's testing, development and deployment -- and most interesting, experiences of the units and pilots flying them. I like the easy-to-read yet technically accurate text and especially the many good pictures and photos. These Osprey books provide an interesting look into an interesting historical time via some major jets, units and pilots that deployed then-and-there +++