One Day in a Long War: May 10, 1972 Air War, North Vietnam [Hardcover]

Jeffrey Ethell (Author), Alfred Price (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Based on cockpit recordings and interviews, this is a minute-by-minute narrative of the opening day of Operation Linebacker, a Navy/Air Force aerial onslaught against targets in North Vietnam. Participants (and some eyewitnesses on the ground) describe the attacks on bridges and stockpiles, while the leading edge of the attack--reconnaissance aircraft, flak-suppressing missions, search and rescue, airborne command and control--is also recounted. Since many of the operation's Navy pilots were graduates of the newly established "Top Gun" course at Miramar Naval Air Station in California, their performance on 10 May '72 confirmed the cost-effectiveness of this training beyond doubt. On the other hand, that day also saw the greatest loss of U.S. aircraft of any 24-hour period in the Vietnam War. Stories of the pilots who were shot down, either by MiG fighters or by surface-to-air missiles, include that of Air Force Captain Robert Locher, who survived 23 days on the ground before being rescued in a risky helicopter operation. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Aviation writers Ethell and Price examine the most active single day of air combat over North Vietnam: May 10, 1972, when 338 missions were flown by U.S. aircraft over the North. Sixteen planes on both sides were shot down; U.S. forces lost only four. The buildup to this surge of hostilities is examined, the training of the forces analyzed, the attackers' various tactics against ground and air defence described in detail. While it is the authors' intent to reach even a non-aviation audience with this compact and well-written history, some background in the air combat environment won't hurt. Eyewitness testimony and dialogue from recorded in-air conversations help bring a personal element to the awesome expenditure of military might. One of the best on the period and its arms, well organized and intense.
- Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 217 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (August 19, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394576225
• ISBN-13: 978-0394576220
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #687,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the sky over North Vietnam: A 360-degree account of one day's air battles, June 23, 2008

By 

Donald M. Bishop (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Day in a Long War: May 10, 1972, Air War, North Vietnam (Hardcover)

In this highly readable book, Jeffrey Ethell and Alfred Price told the story of the air war over North Vietnam from a fresh and comprehensive perspective.

The air war can be looked at through different lenses. One focus is aircraft (Phantom II, say, or Thud, Corsair, Crusader, or Vigilante). There are the lenses of leadership (Momyer, Black Man and Robin, Manor, Vogt, and Brougham are examples) and heroism (Ritchie, Stockdale, Day, McCain). A third approach is via units (Wolf Pack, Triple Nickel, Misty, Jolly Greens). Tactics is yet one more lens to look at the war (bombing, air-to-air combat, defense suppression, SAM evasion, air control, reconaissance, rescue). There are many books, articles, and web pages that well describe these "parts" of the air war.

What makes "One Day in a Long War" a much different and much better book is that Ethell and Price looked at the air operations over Vietnam on one day -- May 10, 1972 -- and portrayed the "the whole" fast-moving picture.

The main action was the first Operation Linebacker, attacks by the Air Force on targets in the Hanoi area, the Paul Doumer Bridge and the Yen Vien Rail Yard. Navy and Marine aircraft from carriers in the South China Sea attacked Haiphong.

There were dozens of aircraft (Air Force F-4s, Navy and Marine F-4s, A-6s, and A-7s) that penetrated the defenses and delivered bombs to the targets. They were, however, outnumbered by aircraft that cleared their way.

Signals information on the enemy was provided by an RC-135. A U-2 relayed data. An EC-121D "Super Connie" from the College Eye Task Force controlled airspace and directed air intercepts. Preceding the bombers to the target were F-4s that created a corridor of chaff to confuse the North Vietnamese radars. EB-66's blasted the ether with electronic countermeasures. Air Force RF-4s and Navy RF-5s and RF-8s flew reconaissance missions before and after the attacks.

The bombers flying to the target were refueled by KC-135s. Other F-4s flew "MIG Cap" missions, tangling with North Vietnamese fighters in air-to-air combat. "Wild Weasel" F-105Gs from Thailand battled the North Vietnamese antiaircraft guns and surface-to-air missiles with their own radar-homing missiles. Finally, Air Force HH-53D and Navy HH-3A helicopters rescued downed American airmen.

The authors interviewed American aircrew from all the services, some North Vietnamese participants, British diplomats who were serving in North Vietnam, journalists, and American POWs who were listening to the attacks in their cells. They placed Operation Linebacker in the context of the Vietnam war's history and diplomacy. All in all, they told the "whole story" well, making his book a "must read" in the history of air warfare.

-30-

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed account of the busiest single day in the air war, November 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: One Day in a Long War: May 10, 1972 Air War, North Vietnam (Hardcover)

This book gives you a very detailed account of May 10, 1972 when the U.S. cranked up the air war machine to send Hanoi a message, that should have been sent many years before. The start of Linebacker I. You will realize the enormous difficulty in mounting raid of this size and the people involved. But there werre no shortages of pilots willing to fly to Hanoi and do what they had wanted to do for years. Gripping detail and human drama.