Fast MoversThe story of the air war in Vietnam is really story of the "fast movers", men who flew the jet fighters and fought in the MiG and SAM infested skies of North Vietnam. In this book, the author John Sherwood, an official historian with the U.S. Navy, draws on more than 300 revealing interviews with these courageous pilots and crews, offering an in-the-cockpit perspective on the Vietnam experience never before possible. He profiles fourteen aviators, including such MiG killers as Robin Olds, Steve Ritchie, and John "Pirate" Nichols, and captures the heroism and sacrifice of this truly elite group of air warriors. From flying through walls of flak in Operation Rolling Thunder to how it feels to shoot down a MiG to the crushing ordeal of capture and imprisonment in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton," every aspect of air combat in Vietnam comes powerfully to life. Fast Movers celebrates these men and their aircraft, chronicling an aspect of the Vietnam conflict too long overlooked. |
Contents
OLD LIONHEART Robin Olds and the Eighth Tactical Fighter Wing 19661967 | 1 |
100 MISSIONS NORTH Ed Rasimus and the F105 Experience | 43 |
VULTURE FLIGHT The Odyssey of Marine Squadron VMA AW224 | 71 |
BAGGED The POW Experience | 115 |
A TOUCH EVOLUTION John Nichols and the F8 Crusader Experience | 170 |
OYSTER FLIGHT The Air Force Top Guns of 1972 | 212 |
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Common terms and phrases
Air Force's air-to-air aircraft airfield airplane Alpha strike American attack author 26 aviators backseater began Bob Lodge bombs cannon Captain carrier Charlie Carr cockpit Colonel combat commander Coral Sea crew DeBellevue DEBELLEVUE intercom Eighth Wing ejection Estocin fast movers February feet fighter pilot fire flew flight flown flying fuel going guns Haiphong Hanoi Hilton Hoblit interviewed John Nichols kill Kittinger knew landing Laos Lieutenant looked March Marine MiGs miles military missile mission Naval navigator Navy night North Vietnam officer operations plane pulled radar Rasimus rescue Robin Olds Roger Lerseth Roger Locher Roger Sheets Rolling Thunder Schuyler Seventh Air Force ship shot Sidewinder Souder Southeast Asia speed squadron Steve Ritchie strike tactics target Ted Sienicki Thailand tour turned U.S. Air Force Ubon Udorn United USAF Viet Vietnam War Vietnamese Vulture Yankee Station