Customer Reviews

US Navy and Marine Corps A-4 Skyhawk Units of the Vietnam War 1963-1973 (Combat Aircraft)

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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.

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.

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.

U.S. NAVY AND MARINE CORPS A-4 SKYHAWK UNITS OF THE VIETNAM WAR, 1963-1973
PETER MERSKY
OSPREY PUBLISHING, 2007
QUALITY SOFTCOVER, $21.95, 112 PAGES, ILLUSTRATIONS, APPENDICES, PHOTOGRAPHS


The Skyhawk was the U.S. Navy's primary light bomber over North Vietnam during the early years of the Vietnam War while the U.S. Air Force was flying the supersonic F-105 Thunderchief. Both aircraft would be supplemented by the Corsair II in the U.S. Navy light bomber role. A-4 Skyhawks carried out some of the first air strikes of the conflict and a U.S. Marine Skyhawk is believed to have dropped the last U.S. bombs on the country. LT.(JG) Everett Alvarez, CDR. Hugh Magee, John McCain, and Vice Admiral James Stockdale were some of the notable U.S. naval aviators who flew A-4s. In 1967, an A-4C Skyhawk, piloted by LCDR Theodore R. Schwartz from VA-76, shot down a Soviet-built MiG-17 with unguided Zuni rockets in the Skyhawks only air-to-air victory of the Vietnam War. In May, 1970, an Israeli A-4 piloted by Colonel Ezra Dotan also shot down a MiG-17 with unguided rockets, over southern Lebanon. The first loss of an A-4 occurred on 5 August 1964, when LT. (JG) Alvarez, of VA-144, flying from the USS Constellation was shot down while attacking enemy torpedo boats in North Vietnam. Alvarez safely ejected after being shot down and became the first U.S. Navy POW of the war; he was released on 12 February 1973. The last A-4 to be shot down in the Vietnam War occurred on 26 September 1972, when U.S. Marine Corps naval aviator CAPT. James P. Walsh, of VMA-211, flying from his base at Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, was hit by ground fire near An Loc. An Loc was one of the few remaining hotly contested areas during this time period, and CAPT. Walsh was providing close air support (CAS) for ground troops in contact (land battle/firefight) when his A-4 was hit, catching fire, forcing him to eject. Rescue units were sent but the SAR helicopter was damaged by enemy ground fire and forced to withdraw. CAPT. Walsh, after safely ejecting, had landed within North Vietnamese Army positions and became a POW as soon as his feet had touched the ground. He was the last U.S. Marine to be taken POW during the Vietnam War and was released on 12 February 1973. During the Vietnam War, 362 A-4/AT-4F Skyhawks were lost to all causes. The U.S. Navy lost 271 A-4s while the Marine Corps lost 81 A-4s and 10 TA-4Fs (used in the TAC(A) role). A total of 32 A-4s were lost to surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and one A-4 was lost in aerial combat to a MiG-17 on April 25, 1967. Fifty years after the aircraft's first flight, some of the nearly 3,000 Skyhawks produced reman in service with many air forces around the world. U.S. NAVY AND MARINE CORPS A-4 SKYHAWK UNITS OF THE VIETNAM WAR, 1963-1973 includes many first-hand accounts from the pilots who flew one of the greatest attack aircraft ever. This excellant book provides an insightful account of some of the most thrilling aerial combat that took place during the Vietnam War. Author Peter Mersky has written an outstanding tribute to not only the men who flew this aircraft but to the aircraft that came to be called Heinemann's Hot Rod, Scooter, and Tinker Toy-the A-4 Skyhawk. A-4s FOREVER!


Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
Orlando, Florida

As one who enjoyed Marine CAS in Vietnam, I found the book very informative. I was mainly interested in what Marine Corps A-4 units were there doing the conflict as I am in the process of collecting diecast models of Marine fixed wing aircraft of the Vietnam era. I highly recommend this book.

Crusader scribe Peter Mersky turns his talents to the F-8's Vietnam War stablemate, the A-4 Skyhawk, in this Osprey 'Combat Aircraft' volume, #69 in the series. For much of the war the 'Scooter' was THE light attack platform, 42 USN and USMC operating various A-4 models. The A-4 community compiled a combat record second to none but at a cost: over 170 pilots were killed in action or became POWs. This inspiring story is well told in this 2007 Osprey volume.

Mersky's book reads like a who's who of the light attack community circa 1964-72: warriors like Bryan Compton, Wynn Foster, Marv Quaid, TR, Mike Estocin, Denny Weichman, Ned Carroll and hard-charging squadrons like the Spirits of VA-76, the Warhorses of VA-55, VA-212 Rampant Raiders, VA-94 Mighty Shrikes, VA-163 Saints, etc. Little space is devoted to the different 'Scooter' models flown; Mersky's book being devoted to exciting missions flown by skilled professionals.

There's an old saying in military aviation: 'Fighter Pilots Make Movies, Attack Pilots Make History.' Peter Mersky's book is an excellent, well-illustrated tribute to the many history-making pilots who flew Navy and Marine Corps A-4s in the Vietnam War.

****
*For an wonderfully-written, first-hand account of flying combat with VA-212, check out Stephen Gray's excellent RAMPANT RAIDER book.
*For full details of all A-4 Vietnam War MiG engagements, see my MIG KILLERS OF YANKEE STATION book.

What a chronology of action featuring America's premier workhorse attack aircraft! Every page is full of aviation and combat drama. An A4 pilot in Vietnam experienced some of the most intense air to ground combat known. This book documents the daring and dangerous exploits of these men, many of whom didn't return to tell their stories. Fortunately, though, Peter Mersky does tell their stories, recording forever the details of some of the gutsiest flying you'll ever read about.