US Navy F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers (1) 1965-1970 (Osprey Combat Aircraft 26) [Paperback]

Brad Elward (Author), Peter Davies (Author)

Book Description

Series: Combat Aircraft | Publication Date: November 25, 2001

For every American fighter pilot involved in the Vietnam War (1955-1975), the ultimate goal was to 'kill a MiG'. In eight years of conflict 43 Vietnamese Peoples Air Force aircraft were claimed by US Navy and US Marine Corps Phantom II crews, and one single ace crew produced. Navy Phantom IIs scored the first kills of the Vietnam War, in April 1965, as well as scoring the last in January 1973. This volume charts the successes of the navy fighter crews as they encountered 'MiGs, Missiles and AAA' over the jungles of North Vietnam.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Osprey's Combat series combines the best archival photography available with specially commissioned artworks and first hand accounts, making these books favourites amongst historians, modellers and aviation enthusiasts everywhere.

About the Author

Brad Edward has broken into aviation journalism in the past two years, having had work published in such periodicals as ‘World Air Power Journal’. This is his first book for Osprey. Peter Davies has written or co-written nine books on modern American combat aircraft, including the standard reference work on US Navy and Marine Corps Phantom II operations, ‘Gray Ghosts’. Based in Bristol, Peter is also presently working with Brad Elward on the follow-on volume on Navy F-4 MiG Killers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing Ltd. (November 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184176163X
• ISBN-13: 978-1841761633
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #943,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Missile age meets reality, July 2, 2007

By 

N. Trachta (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: US Navy F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers (1) 1965-1970 (Osprey Combat Aircraft 26) (Paperback)

This Osprey book deals with the exploits of Navy F-4 drivers in the early portion of the Vietnam War and how they performed against the North Vietnamese Air Force and more importantly how they compared to the Navy F-8 Crusader pilots. The chapters follow the Vietnam War from its introduction thru the lull point of 1970. This break point selected due to the Navy changing tactics and the overall change in the air war. Within each of the chapters is a good breakdown of events during the given year. Attention is paid to the the individual encounters and if a shoot down occurred. A somewhat depressing piece was the number of aviators who would achieve their first kill and then get shot down, usually by air defense forces. Something that was a little hard to follow at times was which squadron was from which aircraft carrier, however Osprey does have a section in the Appendices that helps with that. Speaking of the Appendices, there's a great table in there comparing F-4 kills/losses to F-8 kills/losses. Seeing this table, one has to wonder why the Navy either didn't hold on to the F-8 longer than they did or didn't equip their F-4's with cannons earlier than they did.

The bottom line is this is a solid 4 star book! The graphics are good, the pictures meaningful, and the color plates are very nice.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Account on U.S Navy Phantom Operations 1965-1970, October 21, 2005

By 

Fung W. Wai King "charlielaw" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: US Navy F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers (1) 1965-1970 (Osprey Combat Aircraft 26) (Paperback)

This is an excellent account of the difficulty faced by U.S Navy Phantom crews during Rolling Thunder in vietnam. A combination of overtly restrictive rules of engagement,lack of ACM training and malfunctioning missiles all contributed to a low kill ratio by Phantom crews. This book discusses these issues through first person account and rare photos of the naval aviators and their planes. It shows that despite all the disadvantages, the Phantom crews still managed a superior 2-1 kill ratio in their favour.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phabulous Phantom Book part deux!, April 22, 2010

By 

Mishka "VVS Fan" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: US Navy F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers (1) 1965-1970 (Osprey Combat Aircraft 26) (Paperback)

Like I said in the USAF F-4 review, you gotta love this bird. While the illustrations don't have the appeal of later F-4 paint schemes, they are presented quite well and in great variety. Standard white grey color schemes save the back cover camo scheme. Lots of nice color maps detailing op zones and areas make this quite readable, thanks for that. Nice color photo selection. Can't miss with this one. Love the Mig camo picture shown on page 21. I remember watching these F-4s land and take off while stationed on the Midway. Recommended for all Phans of the Phantom!