Customer Reviews

USN F-4 Phantom II vs VPAF MiG-17/19: Vietnam 1965-73 (Duel)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Peter Davies co-authored the two nicely-done USN F-4 MiG killers books for Osprey. In this 2009 Osprey 'Duel' volume, he provides an equally interesting and entertaining examination of the Navy's F-4 and its main North Vietnamese opponent, the MiG-17, and the less successful MiG-19 stablemate.

Using the well-established Duel format, Davies relates the design and development of the combatants, technical specs, aircrew training, an overview of the Vietnam War and combats involving Phantoms, Frescoes and/or Farmers along with stats and analysis. Davies' text is illustrated with various b&w and color photographs of USN/VPAF pilots/aircrews and various F-4, MiG-17 and -19 fighters. Additionally, Jim Laurier supplies some excellent color illustrations showing cockpits, armament loads and three-views while Gareth Hector contributes dynamic cover art and air combat scenes.

When U.S. aircraft started bombing North Vietnam, experts predicted the F-4, the finest interceptor in the world, would clean the Fresco's clock. After all, the MiG-17 was just an upgraded MiG-15 not to mention the fact that most of its pilots were poorly trained and possessed little mechanical ability. As related in USN F-4 PHANTOM II VS VPAF MIG-17/19, Uncle Ho's MiGs proved a much tougher opponent. Davies explains quite succinctly why the F-4 did so poorly from 1965 to 1968 and how the Navy turned around its MiG-killing record in 1972-73.

Air combat fans will want to pick up this latest Duel volume. It lays out the history of Navy/VPAF MiG combats clearly and entertainingly. Recommended.

******
Two corrections and a "For What It's Worth."
*The VF-111 pilot downed on 5 September 1966 was Will Abbott not Keese.
*Ev Southwick and Jim Laing were downed on 24 April 1967 but neither was made POW on THAT date. Southwick was downed a second time, on 14 May, and captured. Laing completed his cruise and returned stateside to help set up Topgun.
*Davies states that the result of the first MiG combat, on 9 April 1965, remains "unclear." I think I made a pretty solid case in my MIG KILLERS OF YANKEE STATION that (1) Murphy/Fegan didn't shoot down any MiG and (2) they, in turn, were downed by an errant USN AAM.

Osprey has a variety of series on warfare and the military. This slim volume focuses on the air battles of the Vietnam War, with emphasis on the conflicts between the US Navy's Phantom fighter and the Vietnamese Soviet made Mig 17s and 19s.

There are a number of features of the book: the design and development of both planes, along with their technical specifications (e.g., the Phantom weighed over 30,000 pounds empty and the Mig 17 about 8,600 pounds; maximum speed of the Phantom was 1428 MPH at 40,000 feet and 655 MPH by the Mig at 38,000 feet).

Then, the strategic situation is described, including the geography of the battles between these fighters. The combatants? There is a brief chapter devoted to key pilots on both sides of the fight--Vietnamese and Americans pilots. On page 74 is a listing of pilots with the most "kills" on both sides. In the end, the Phantoms did well against their more nimble combatants, the the book closes with a discussion as to why this was the case.

If interested in the comparison of these fighters in the Vietnam War in brief, this volume seems to me to be a quick read providing an introduction to that subject.

Ahh...to be a Phantom driver in the US Navy, circa 1965 - 1973...
If you have even the faintest interest in jet fighter combat, you WANT to get this book !
The skies above North Vietnam erupted with high octane action the likes of which have not been seen since!

I was a little disappointed in this book - but maybe that's just me. I would have preferred the History Channel dogfight series on cable.