Customer Reviews

Vietnam Air Losses: USAF, Navy, and Marine Corps Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in SE Asia 1961-1973

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Someone ought to stick 5 gold stars on the author's forehead!!

Chris Hobson has managed to compile a great amount of very valuable information into a well laid out and easily accessed format. With this book in hand the reader will be able to play "Historical Trivial Pursuit" with style. Examples?

How many F-104s were lost in SEA? On what day did the USAF lose
THREE F-104s? Or - How many KB-50s did the USAF lose in Vietnam?

Although the book appears to be a mass of gray type with a sparse
selection of B&W pictures, there is enough information here to give a dedicated aerophile hours & hours of interesting reading.

Besides the date and type of aircraft lost, most entries also include the airframe serial number, names of the pilot and/or crewmembers, and salient notes of interest such as what nose art was worn by the aircraft. The author uses an abbreviated but
entertaining writing style to describe how the loss occurred, Search and Rescue efforts, and in some cases the subsequent careers of select individuals. Those cases where remains were recovered at a later date are also recorded.

The personnel index provided is exemplary. Using it, I finally
found out how and where a pilot I had known had perished. Other
entries brought back old memories from my time spent in SEA.

If you are a minor air historian or a modeler, GET THIS BOOK!~
I guarantee that it will become one of your most valuable assets when researching the Vietnam Air War.

Vietnam Air Losses: United States Air Force Navy And Marine Corps Fixed-wing Aircraft Losses In Southeast Asia 1961-1973 by professional military librarian and historian Chris Hobson is a comprehensive reference filled with day-by-day listings of specific incidents that caused the loss of an aircraft in the Vietnam War. Each incident is listed with a paragraph or two of information about personnel, location, and cause of the loss. Compiled from the raw data of multiple sources and illustrated with black-and-white photographs, and enhanced with a list of abbreviations, glossary of code names, and a bibliography, Vietnam Air Losses is an invaluable contribution to the growing library of Vietnam War historical studies materials and references.

Book is a must have for any aircrew member who flew in S.E.A. Lists losses by dates and aircrew names. Not a dry treatise but with enough of a story for even the non-flyer who is interested in aviation history. Introduced to the book by a gentleman who has visted Vietnam looking for the remains of a lost F-111 crew member.

I had ordered this book prior to publishing figuring it's about the only book I'd heard of, short of Govt listings, that compiled the information stated in the title. I was right. This is an exhaustive research/work masterpiece that will be invaluable in any military or aviation history buffs library. Losses are listed in chronological order with a where,who,why heading and description of action and outcome. The appendixes alone give an enlightening (and stunning) amount of information and cross reference of aircraft losses by type and weapon that downed it. Good job Mr. Hobson, this is a fine book!

Wow, let me say that again, wow! The original data has been kicking around for years (I have seen it myself), but it was unwieldy and hard to find for most. My hat is off to the author and publisher for taking on this project and going beyond the mere typesetting the listing of aircraft losses during the Vietnam conflict. The addition of well researched photographs and well written captions is a definite bonus. The author obviously did his homework and produced a true classic reference for any student of the Vietnamese conflict. Well done!

This book is quite useful for anyone researching the air war over Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The only shortcomings of note are the absence of data on US Army fixed-wing (Bird Dogs, Mohawks, Caribous, etc.) losses, Air America and other "civilian" losses, and aircraft lost after 1973, like the tragic loss of a C-5A carrying 250 Vietnamese orphans on 4 April 1975. Some of the data is incomplete (i.e. names and aircraft numbers missing here and there - nothing major), but most of the blanks can be filled in by tracking down the right sources. It's better that Hobson released the book with these minor omissions rather than delaying publication until he had all the information on every single loss, which would most likely mean the book would never be published.

Though the individual loss reports are the heart and soul of this book, Hobson has supplied a few indecies that break down such things as the air order of battle for each service, losses by type, and losses to missles. These are helpful as well, and quite interesting.

This book is also a good resource to have if you read a lot of air combat memoirs from the Vietnam era. Pretty much any fixed-wing loss you read about in books can be found in this one, allowing you to cross-reference data and catch a glimpse of "the bigger picture."

Now, if someone would publish a similar book detailing American helicopter losses in Southeast Asia. I'm sure that would be twice the size though.

This book is worth every cent.

Covers ALL fixed wing losses of the Navy, Air Force, & Marines for the years specified, whether due to enemy action or accidents. The author has obviously done his research and the result is highly readable. His summaries lack the dryness found in government reports, and the photos complement the subject matter. Great news for us serial number fanatics.

The definitive work on this subject! Not only does it list my two "contributions", but also those of every one of my buddies from my six years, four months in the prisons of N. Vietnam. It is a great reference piece with which to prop up the fading memories of old warriors!
CDR Al Carpenter, USN (Ret), P.O.W. 11/01/66 - 03/04/73

I am pleased with the book and the information it provided me, since I did take a active part flying three different types of gunships in SEA beginning in 1968 thru 1973. I did not find in my copy of VIETNAM Air Loses, probably the most infamous "shootdown" of all of the AC-47s, that being AC-47 Tail Number 770 in which Sgt John L. Levitow was awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor. This aircraft was Spooky 71 which was out of Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon on the night of 24 Feb 1969. Can you tell me why the omission? I would also ask for your permission to extract certain information from the book for a project I am doing in regards to AC-47 and AC-130 air losses. Publishing credits will be given. Thank you, CMSGT Bruce H. Maine, USAF (Ret)

The book arrived in good external shape and with a timely delivery.
Its previous owner had highlighted certain entries and I wish I'd known that before purchasing.

But this is a unique catalogue of air losses during Vietnam and is indispensable to anyone studying (or trying to recall) these events.
Full credit to Hobson.