Iron Hand: Smashing the Enemy's Air Defences [Hardcover]

A. Thornborough (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2002

Learn how military pilots protect themselves against an attack from a surface-to-air missile (SAM). This book describes the evolution of American anti-radar weapons, related jamming tactics and stealth technology as leading-edge countermeasures to the SAM and other sophisticated ground-based anti-aircraft defenses. The focus is on new weapons and tactics as they emerged in combat, beginning with the Vietnam War and later the Persian Gulf and Balkans conflicts. The text combines an analytical overview of the weapons systems mixed with first-hand anecdotal reminiscences from former air and ground crews.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anthony Thornborough spent his childhood at operational and training bases, and later the commercial aircraft world. He is the author of over twenty aviation titles and lives in Bristol. Frank B. Mormillo is an American aviation photographer in California. He previously collaborated with Tony on Wild Weasels. (Osprey, 1992)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Haynes Publishing; First Edition edition (May 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852606053
• ISBN-13: 978-1852606053
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 7.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,873,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent summary of three decades of tactical EW, July 11, 2007

By 

Richard Peterson (San Diego, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Iron Hand: Smashing the Enemy's Air Defences (Hardcover)

This is perhaps the best book I have read on the topic. It starts in 1964 and continues thru Kosovo and beyond. It is very readable, brimming with first hand accounts of action, but is still thorough, with plenty of technical detail for the knowledgable. It was very interesting to learn how the various systems looked and worked in practice. This book highlights Navy and Marine efforts, which too often are ignored in favor of focusing just on the Air Force. I was startled to learn that the Marines in 1964 outstripped both the Navy and Air Force in their emphasis on EW (to compensate for the small size of their air component, perhaps?) and that the Navy used the Shrike ARM in Vienam a year before the Air Force. The Air Force efforts are also described in considerable detail, however, particularly the creation of the Wild Weasels.

It is important to understand the focus of the book. SAC and strategic reconnaissance efforts are ignored and the efforts of jammer aircraft (altho not ignored) get comparatively short shrift. The emphasis is on the planes (and aircrew) who sought out and attacked enemy radars and SAM sites, particularly in Vietnam. If you want a broader picture, I recommend getting The History of Electronic Warfare vol. 3 (the first two volumes cover WW2 to 1964). This book is more readable, however, and gives you more of a feel for what it actually was like, packing its story into a much slimmer volume without sacrificing detail.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brief history of "wild weasels", September 5, 2002

By 

Ong Tso Sheng (Singapore) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Iron Hand: Smashing the Enemy's Air Defences (Hardcover)

A good book that describes in some detail the development of wild weasels, associated gears and tactics. Traces development through veitnam to more current times. Good coverage of topics related to WW history and development and some Airforce / Navy politics. Good for the casual readers with no engineering background to follow and understand. For engineers or researchers this will provide a good general background and introduction into this field.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for an introduction, June 28, 2003

By 

C. Minnick "Life is cartoons and sports. Eve... (Ames, IA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Iron Hand: Smashing the Enemy's Air Defences (Hardcover)

I worked in the field of EW for 9 years, and so I am very biased about this book, but I am also a harsh critic on books about this topic. I found the book to be a great intro to what exactly electronic warfare is and how it is used on the battlefield. Stories abound, terms are explained, and the writing is in a friendly style. I did find it strange that the book is called "Iron Hand", the term the USN uses, and the front cover photo is of USAF F-16CJs. The USAF uses the term "Wild Weasel".