F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21: USAF & VPAF in the Vietnam War (Duel) [Paperback]

Peter Davies (Author), Jim Laurier (Illustrator), Gareth Hector (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Duel | Publication Date: September 23, 2008

From difficult weather conditions to unreliable missile armament to unequal rules of engagement, this book tells the story of the challenges faced by the F-4 and MiG-21 pilots. Using first-hand accounts wherever possible the author draws us into the dangerous world experienced by American and North Vietnamese pilots. Influential leaders and tacticians will be profiled to provide a comparative evaluation of their contrasting skills. This book will also reveal the technical specifications of each jet with an analysis of the weaponry, avionics and survival devices of the Phantom and MiG-21. The fighters' strengths and weaknesses will be compared also, including turn radius, performance at altitude, range and structural integrity. This was an intense and deadly duel between vastly different rivals. In the Phantom, a second crewmember and good radar compensated for the difficulty of providing command and control at long distances from the targets. However, the F-4's smoky engines and considerable bulk made it visible at much further distances than the small, clean MiG-21 and Phantoms were often hit by unseen MiG attacks. On the other hand, the F-4s eight-missile armament compared favorably with the two-missile provision of the MiG. Often pilot skill, if not luck, would be the determining factor between the smaller, faster MiG and bigger, better-gunned Phantom. First-person extracts will reflect on the dangers of these aerial duels while graphics based on records of engagement and technical manuals will illustrate the experience of air combat as they struggled to overcome their shortcomings and survive their deadly duels.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Davies writes in a very clear, straightforward style that makes certain complex technical info- about radar and electronic warfare- very easy to follow. The most important aspect of the book is the large amount of data about the VPAF, which is missing from the vast majority of works out there. He goes into detail about capabilities of the MiG-21’s radar and weapon systems (again almost always missing) and the effectiveness of Vietnamese Ground Intercept Radar, which is often misunderstood and biased by cold war propaganda... This is by far one of the best books on the subject and is more than worth the $17.95 list price. Also included are brief yet thorough biographies on two famous pilots from each side for your comparison... If you want to learn how a small third world air force could hold its own against the most advanced aerial armada in the world, this is the book for you." -Brett Allen, Review Fix - reviewfix.com (July 2009)


"The format of this 'Duel' series differs somewhat from the familiar Osprey presentation. There are the expected photos and knowledgable text, but there is a very limited number of profiles. Instead, artwork includes several illustrations showing various engagements, as well as cockpit layouts and armament packages. All are highly interesting and enhance the well-versed reader's understanding, while educating the neophyte." -Naval Aviation News (June 2009)

About the Author

Co-author of the two Combat Aircraft titles on the US Navy MiG killers and the author of the USAF F-4 MiG Killers books in the same series, Peter Davies is a recognized authority on the F-4 and the Vietnam War. This will be his fifth book for Osprey. The author lives in Bristol, UK.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (September 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846033160
• ISBN-13: 978-1846033162
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #398,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best descriptions of F4 vs. MiG 21, September 25, 2008

By 

moviemusicbuff (Walnut, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21: USAF & VPAF in the Vietnam War (Duel) (Paperback)

This is an excellent treatment of the combat history and performance of the F4 Phantom vs. MiG 21 during the Vietnam War. Peter Davies packs in a lot of info in 77 pages of text, and the colored illustrations / battle scene illustrations by Jim Laurier, Tom Tullis, & Gareth Hector are excellent.

The book is very simple to follow and well-organized:

I. Introduction
II. Chronology (of the Vietnam air war)
III. Design & Development (of both the F4 and the MiG 21)
IV. Technical Specifications (the different variants of the F4 & MiG 21,
the armament, and performance of both aircraft)
V. The Strategic Situation (brief history of Operation Rolling Thunder & Linebacker)

VI. The Combatants (the aces on both sides, along with how they were trained; brief profiles of NVAF ace Nguyen Van Coc and USAF Robin Olds)

VII. Combat (Brief overview of the aerial engagements in the Air War)

VIII. Statistics and Analysis (how many aircraft shot down by both sides, along with leading "ace" pilots)

IX. Aftermath (Brief summary of the lessons learned from the Air War)

X. Further Reading
XII. Index

Peter Davies concludes that a well-coordinated command and control operations were vital to the effectiveness of the combat performance for both sides (along with the training & experience of the combat pilots).

Although brief, this book offered one of the best comprehensive overviews of the combat engagements of the F4 and MiG 21. Highly recommended!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great background, weak conclusion, December 26, 2010

By 

cpt matt (tanktown, DE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21: USAF & VPAF in the Vietnam War (Duel) (Paperback)

F-4 Phantom II - big, powerful - built for the US Navy for Combat Air Patrol, able to haul tons of munitions and missiles - so good that the US Air Force made them their primary fighter vs. the MiG-21 - small, fast, elusive. So, which is better? That's what the Dual Series tries to answer for you by giving you a short history of each plane, its capabilities and missions flown. Author Peter Davies provides a lot of background of each plane, fighter development of the US and USSR. Davies shows the ebb and flow of which plane was better rested on the tactics, training and the pilots flying them at a particular time.

I liked this book because there were a lot of pilots' stories from both sides. Davies gives great credit to the North Vietnamese pilots and ground controllers. I thought the information, technical aspects of each plane was clearly demonstrated, fair, balanced. I rated this book only three stars because I thought that the summary was weak. The author veered off with stories beyond the scope of the book and never really tied it all up. The pieces are there for the reader to see, but I would expect that someone like Davies who has written so much before would draw new or fresh insight into these twp planes. For example, if you've seen the History Channel's Dogfight series, you'll know that F-4 pilots learned to fight in the vertical plane and not try to outmaneuver the smaller MiG's. Sounds simple, but if you've never seen that show or read other material on each plane, you might not know that. And that is the purpose of the Dual series - to help the reader understand the strengths and weakness of each plane. A very good read for beginners, a solid book overall, but misses the mark of a must have.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars F-4 Phantom II vs MIG-21, August 28, 2011

By 

Dragonfly - See all my reviews

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This review is from: F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21: USAF & VPAF in the Vietnam War (Duel) (Paperback)

This book does not read as smooth as a "story" but it has a lot of vital historical data and information that any Viet Nam aviation historian should have on his bookshelf. I will reference it often.