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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scooters, Tinks, and Hot Rods, July 27, 2007
This review is from: US Navy and Marine Corps A-4 Skyhawk Units of the Vietnam War 1963-1973 (Combat Aircraft) (Paperback)
The full story of the A-4 Skyhawk remains to be told, partly because "Heinemann's Hotrod" remains flying throughout the world. But for a handy reference of the "Scooter's" primary combat use, this latest entry in Osprey's series will be around for years.
As depressing as Vietnam War history can be, Mersky avoids lapsing into a litany of almost daily losses for little military benefit. While losses were heavy (more A-4s were shot down than any naval type), he places Navy and Marine Corps operations in broader context of the waxing and waning combat operations from 1964-73. He demonstrates where A-4s were successfully employed, including the use of early precision guided weapons such as Walleye.
Tailhook aviators will find many familiar names here, including Everett Alvarez, Jim Stockdale, Wynn Foster, Mike Estocin, TR Schwartz, and others. But the day to day warriors also are acknowledged, such as Cdr. Denis Weichman who logged more than 600 A-4 missions.
As always in Osprey publications, illustrations abound. There are 95 black & white photos plus 13 color in addition to 32 excellent Jim Laurier profiles and Marky Styling's line drawings.
All in all, a fitting tribute to those who manned up and launched in the classic Skyhawk, doing as good a job as possible for a government that was, at best, indifferent to their fate.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Officially endorsed, September 4, 2007
This review is from: US Navy and Marine Corps A-4 Skyhawk Units of the Vietnam War 1963-1973 (Combat Aircraft) (Paperback)
There were high hopes for the latest in the Osprey Combat Aircraft series (#69). High enough that our board of directors allowed the official seal of the Skyhawk Association to be used on the front cover. The hopes were met. Peter Mersky wrote an outstanding book that will be on the must-have list of all A-4 fans. While longish, US Navy and Marine Corps A-4 Units of the Vietnam War, the title accurately describes the contents.
As Mersky says in the introduction, "Although other books on the A-4 have appeared over the years, they usually describe the Skyhawk's overall career. I wanted to focus on the jet's most intense period of action." He succeeded brilliantly. Any veteran of the skies over SE Asia will get the chills reading the descriptions of that air war.
Interviews and reports from many Scooter pilots form the meat of the book. This reader noted twenty-seven men he knew personally. Most members of the Association will be able to do the same. Every A-4 squadron that went to WestPac or in-country is covered. (Find one that's not and YHS will buy the next round.) Mersky has succinct descriptions of the phases the war at appropriate places.
The book is profusely illustrated with black and white photos throughout, a section of color pictures, and Osprey's forte, color profiles. In this case, thirty-two Skyhawks from different squadrons and various years superbly--and accurately--drawn by Jim Laurier. The cover painting by Mark Postlewaithe artfully catches the raw thrill of ground attack. (Note: Amazon.com, still shows a preliminary cover as an example.)
No book is perfect, but all this reviewer can find to complain about (other than the crack about, "...the equally [as the A-1] elderly A-4B.") is the separation of captions from the color section and the profiles. However, that's the way it is in all the Combat Aircraft series and if it keeps the price down...
Writing of MiG encounters, Mersky writes, "'Scooter' pilots were, after all, attack aviators, earth movers, breakers of dykes(sic)." He knows the Skyhawk spirit and it shows.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
US Navy and Marine Corps A4 Skyhawk units of the Vietnam War, November 20, 2007
This review is from: US Navy and Marine Corps A-4 Skyhawk Units of the Vietnam War 1963-1973 (Combat Aircraft) (Paperback)
The A4 was the backbone of the US Navy and Marine Corps' light strike force for much of the first half of the ten-year struggle in south-east Asia. However, the Skyhawk did not receive the press coverage in the latter conflict that the more glamorous F4 did. While Phantom II crews sporadically battled North Vietnamese Migs, A4 pilots hurled themselves daily at heavily defended targets up and down the southeast Asian peninsula, often paying a heavy price in lives and aircraft. Flying into vast thickets os anti-aircraft bursts mixed with huge surface-to-air missiles took great courage and skill, an to do so repeatedly during a carrier's tour of duty on the line bespoke a depth of dedication and character that can only be wondered at. Although other books on the Skyhawk have appeared over the years, they have usually discribed the jet's overall career. This book. however, focuses exclusively on the A4's most intense period of action in Vietnam and Laos.
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