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Adak: The Rescue of Alfa Foxtrot 586 Hardcover – May 31, 2003

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 181 ratings

Drawing on interviews with survivors, searchers, radio communication logs, and other sources, this fascinating tale of real-life disaster and survival describes the 1978 accident involving a P-3 Orion, which went down in the Arctic waters off the Kamchatka Peninsula during a sensitive mission, detailing the crew's struggle for survival and their rescue by a Soviet fishing trawler.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an engaging and readable book." -- Alaska History, Spring/Fall 2003

"Andrew Jampoler... has spun a memorable tale... overall'Adak' is an adventure story to rival the best you've ever read." --
Daniel Ford, The Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2003

About the Author

Andrew C. A. Jampoler is a retired naval aviator and former commanding officer of Patrol Squadron 19 and of Naval Air Station Moffett Field. Since retirement he has worked for the aerospace industry. His articles and essays have appeared in Proceedings magazine and elsewhere. He lives in Leesburg, Virginia.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Naval Inst Pr (May 31, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1591144124
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1591144120
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.08 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 181 ratings

About the author

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Andrew C. A. Jampoler
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Andrew Jampoler lives in the Lost Corner of Loudoun County, Virginia, with his wife, Suzy, a professional geographer, and a guide dog puppy they're raising for the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind. They have married children in Pennsylvania and Iowa. He is an alumnus of Columbia College and the School of International and Public Affairs, both of Columbia University, in New York City, and of the U.S. State Department Foreign Service Institute's School of Language Study. During more than twenty years on active duty with the U.S. Navy Jampoler commanded a land-based maritime patrol aircraft squadron and a naval air station. Later he was a senior sales and marketing executive in the international aerospace industry.

Jampoler has been writing non-fiction full time for some fifteen years. Most recently, the Naval Institute Press published his "Embassy to the Eastern Courts," the true and fascinating story of America's secret first pivot toward Asia during the Jackson administration. It's Jampoler's seventh book from NIP

His first book, "Adak: The Rescue of Alfa Foxtrot 586," is the true story of a navy patrol aircraft ditching in the North Pacific Ocean in October 1978. A review in May 2003 in the Wall Street Journal described the book as "an adventure story to rival the best you've ever read." "Adak" later won Jampoler recognition as the Press's "author of the year." The crew's story based on this book has been the subject of television specials in Russia and Japan.

His next book, "Sailors in the Holy Land: the 1848 American Expedition to the Dead Sea and the Search for Sodom and Gomorrah," is the story of the U.S. Navy's small boat expedition down the River Jordan and across the Dead Sea in mid-19th century. Nathaniel Philbrick, author of the award-winning "Sea of Glory," described the book in 2005 as telling "the fascinating story of one of the most improbable operations ever mounted by the U.S. Navy... a meticulously researched account."

"The Last Lincoln Conspirator: John Surratt's Flight from the Gallows," his third book, tells the remarkable story of John Harrison Surratt. Finally captured in Egypt eighteen months after his mother's execution on the same charge, Surratt was last person to go on trial for his role in John Wilkes Booth's plot to assassinate President Lincoln, and the only one to escape conviction.

Two books came out in 2013. "Congo," the true and tragic story of the United States and the Congo in the late 19th century, as seen through the life of Lieutenant Emory Taunt, US Navy, was published in June. Taunt was the first resident American diplomat in Equatorial West Africa. He died on the river in disgrace in 1891. Jampoler's research for this book took him 1,400 miles down the Congo River, from Kisangani to Banana Point, in a small boat in 2011. "Black Rock and Blue Water," the story of the wreck of Royal Mail Ship Rhone in the Caribbean in 1867, came out as an e-book later that year.

Jampoler also writes for periodicals. An article of his in "Naval History" magazine was recognized by the publisher as its best piece of writing during 2006. Andy has given illustrated presentations about the subjects of his books and articles to audiences at the Library of Congress, the National Archives, at the Smithsonian and at museums and in embassies. He's lectured also aboard cruise ships at sea around the world.

He's now working on a book about the wreck in 1916 off Santo Domingo of the armored cruiser USS Memphis.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
181 global ratings
Good read on survival and duty.
5 Stars
Good read on survival and duty.
This book should be required reading for all Naval Aircrews on how to survive a ditching and the importance of knowing your ditching stations and your duties. I flew the North Atlantic out of Brunswick Maine and Keflavik Iceland during this time. Both of my squadrons were mentioned in the previous crashes. This was all to real to me. Some strange dreams the last couple of night while I was reading this book.
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2024
The author did his research and presented the chronology of the flight, with the experience that only a squadron commander could. Very informative, captured the actions preceeding the ditching, and those of the crew post rescue. Solid read.
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2023
I used to fly this airplane in the US Navy and I know personally, two of the crewmembers on this particular plane in this book. If you want to know what the life of a P-3 Orion aircrewman was like during the Cold War, this book will take you there.
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2018
As a former Navy pilot having served a six months deployment in Ada k with VP9 and leaving active duty in 1969, I found this book eerily fascinating. Dena vu! I had been there, done all so well described by Andrew Jampoler. The early wakeups, the rotten weather, the being away from family for months, the lengthy flights, the ASW challenge, yes, it all came back vividly in this book. All except a ditching. Somehow I fortunately missed that experience. As I read, I kept personally relating to Plane Commander Grigsby, commiseratring with him and asking myself how I would have handled this dire emergency. I definitely felt there throughout this well researched book. However at times I did feel there was too much detail tending to impede the flow of the story. Many thanks for bringing my Navy years back to me! But at the same time, even though I didn't know those squadron mates who came a decade after my departure, I felt their suffering and loss of crewmates keenly, having the mournful sense I had lost brothers I actually knew. R.F. Merrill, CDR-USNR-R
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Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2024
I was in a patrol squadron attached to NAS Jax. During a safety standdown, we watched the flight crew interviews. As an "AW", SS1 how heavy the life rafts are and how difficult it must have been to deploy them under the extreme circumstances. The book provides much more detail, which is important as flight crew. Anything that helps crewman survive with any emergency is important. I would recommend for all flight crew in any branch to read this knowing that all branches of the military take SAR (search and rescue) missions their highest priority.
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2013
In 1972-73 I lived on Adak with my husband and two children.It was quite an adventure. Not much seems to have changed.The the high winds whipping up white-outs.I remember the school bus picking up the children at the door so the wind did not wisk them away and holding hands when leaving the bus. The ever changing weather,"Sunshine Holidays" when the sun was out for a full day.De-icing the planes then standing by for a weather break for take off and landings.The Adak Forest which was brave enough to grow to the height of a small child or a woman. Walking the beach digging clams ,the fishing boats with the fresh King crab.Exploring the coves,witnessing the rugged beauty,watching the Bald Eagles. The BB Huts of WW11 were still used.Our food and supplies came by ship every other week. I was drawn to this book because of my personal experience there and found myself with a greater understand of what these men endured each time they went out.I could visulize the surroundings,the fridgid wates'rough and pounding waves.Knowing that three minutes is indeed all it takes to freeze the human body.I recommend this well documented book for those who have an interest in the history of Naval Aviation/ Coast Guard and the appreciation of what it takes to live, navigate and fly under such conditions.I would also like t mention that Adak is apart of a chain of islands 1000 miles in the Baring Sea.We often experienced earth quakes,but due to the spongy tundra it was a breeze.At the time I was there the Air Force operated communication facility there.The tundra could disappear from under your feet dropping into underground waters.So you never went out alone.Yet the windswept island and rough seas were home to those of us that were there.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2015
This is the story of VP-9 crew 6 who ditched their P3 in the frigid waters of the Bering Sea west of the Aleutian Islands. The book is extremely well written and very detailed. Based upon my memories as an aircrew man in VP2 and VP 46, the discussion of life in a Patrol Squadron, the P3 itself, and missions are all accurate. The book even discusses the infamous Survival Escape Resistance and Evasion (SERE) training in Warner Springs that all crew members went through. The one thing in the book that really struck me was the overall failure of the survival gear suffered by the crew. Things like leaky poopy suits that were hand-me-downs from the Air Force, which had tears in the suit and zippers that did not work, leaky life rafts that were missing components and survival packages. Other issues were the survival equipment that was lashed to the sides of the cabin that could not be un-lashed, and the failure of the survival lights in the cabin that forced the crew to exit the flooding aircraft in total darkness. The reader is left to guess why the small flash lights on the Mae Wests did not work. This made me think back to my days in VP2 and VP46. I cannot remember the survival equipment we carried aboard our aircraft, ever being periodically inspected, tested and repaired. This makes me glad we never had to use the parachutes. Anyways this is a well written book that sure brought back some memories.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2022
Although the title says “rescue” the author keeps the story line tense holding your attention to the end. Technically thorough. My personal experiences having lived on Adak, made the descriptions of weather on the Bering Sea and the Aleutians come back to life. Only four stars because it is a tough read if you are looking for a novel or an episode of “Air Disasters.” Reads more like an “after action” report. Well done.

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
jj_506
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book if your genre
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2022
I really enjoyed this.
Part docu-book part formal reporting.
It sets these scene well, describes events and draws on official reports. No speculation and where necessary draws on informed experience. Can get a bit 'technical' but not overly and does not detract from the flow or enjoyment.
A very interesting read of a little known cold war location and how small seemingly insignificant details become the difference between life and death.
Well worth a read.
Erich Rieder
5.0 out of 5 stars Faszinierend!
Reviewed in Germany on July 28, 2014
Das Negative Torque System an den Propellerturbinen eines Seefernaufklärers vom Typ P-3 Orion ist eine Vorrichtung, die den Ausfall eines Triebwerks am wegfallenden Drehmoment der antreibenden Turbine erkennt. Die Blätter des Propellers werden dann automatisch in die Segelstellung - also parallel zur Anströmrichtung - gedreht. Um den Luftwiderstand des Propellers zu verkleinern, andernfalls wirkt er wie eine Luftbremse.
Dieses System ist bei der Papa Delta 2 - das Flugzeug um das es hier geht - ausgefallen. Das System tat also nicht das was es tun sollte. Die Propeller fuhren nicht in Segelstellung, sondern wurden antriebslos vom Fahrtwind in Drehung versetzt. Und zwar so schnell, dass das ungeschmierte Propellergetriebe überhitzte und einen fatalen Triebwerksbrand verursachte, der nicht mehr gelöscht werden konnte.
Notwasserung im eiskalten und sturmgepeitschten Wasser der Arktis. Diese Ereignisse und wie die Crew versuchte zu überleben, der Wettlauf der Rettungskräfte mit der Zeit - davon erzählt dieses Buch. Und zwar so spannend, dass man es nicht mehr aus der Hand geben möchte, wenn man mit dem Lesen begonnen hat. Der Autor schafft es, persönliches Erleben der Crewmitglieder, technische Details des Flugzeugs und Politik - das Flugzeug war auf geheimer Signal-Aufklärungsmission (SIGINT) vor der Küste der UdSSR - in idealer Weise zu verknüpfen. Spannend von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite.
Ich kann das Buch nur empfehlen!
F Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars Sobering stuff
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2017
Sobering account of a P3C maritime patrol aircraft operations in the Bering Sea, and the struggle for survival for the crew of one aircraft after they had to ditch. I was stunned by the poor quality of the survival gear provided in the USN, particularly the fact that their 7-man liferaft did not have a canopy. One of the lessons from WW2 was that the carley rafts used by the Royal Navy kept people afloat, but did not protect them from wind & weather. As a result post war inflatable liferafts in the RN incorporated a canopy, and in the fleet air arm great attention was paid to servicing of all safety equipment, and in regular training for aircrew. This is a very well written account by a retired naval aviator.
EX RN
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on August 8, 2015
Good read. I had never heard of this dramatic rescue. Very detailed.