Lords of the Sky: Fighter Pilots and Air Combat, From the Red Baron to the F-16 (82 page)

See Keegan’s
The Second World War,
pp. 425–33, for the European situation in 1944.

The ball bearing story is told best in Charles Higham’s
Trading with the Enemy
(Barnes & Noble, 1983), pp. 118–22. It was a truly shameful commentary on war and business, and I was happy to have an opportunity to reveal it again.

Bill Yenne’s informative
The American Aircraft Factory in WWII
(Zenith Press, 2006) is a good source for those curious about the support and manufacturing side of combat aircraft. Chapter 2, “Backing into World War II,” pp. 28–47, was particularly interesting.

Keegan’s
The Second World War
was used extensively for D-Day, pp. 369–95, and for the end of the war in the Pacific, pp. 561–95.

Statistics were primarily derived from
Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths in World War II—Final Report
(Department of the Army, 1951) and the US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery’s
History of the Medical Department of the United States Navy in World War II: The Statistics of Diseases and Injuries,
vol. 3 (Government Printing Office, 1950).

CHAPTER TWELVE

Air Wars and Aircraft: A Detailed Record of Air Combat, 1945 to the Present
(Facts on File, 1990) by Victor Flintham is a superb compilation of facts, figures, units, and photographs. The Korean War section is on pp. 219–44.

Major George Davis’s dogfight ws derived from several sources, among them
The Inner Seven
(Turner Publishing, 1999) by William E. Oliver and Dwight L. Lorenz, pp. 25–35, and Paul Corrigan’s
Last of the Aerial Gunfighters
(First Books, 2003). I had the flying scenes reviewed by several ex-Sabre pilots, including Colonel Ed Rock, USAF (ret).

Max Hastings’s
The Korean War
(Simon & Schuster, 1987) is a splendid reference, specifically the “Origins of a Tragedy,” pp. 23–45.

See
The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War
(Hyperion, 2007) by David Halberstam, pp. 293–319 and 599–617, for a fascinating portrait of Douglas MacArthur.

General William W. Momyer’s
Air Power in Three Wars
(Department of the Air Force, 1978) is quoted throughout the next three chapters. As he was intimately involved in each conflict, it’s a very detailed, though somewhat dry, reference.

For further technical data on the combatants see D. C. Dildy and W. E. Thompson’s
F-86 Sabre vs MiG-15
(Osprey Publishing, 2013) and L. Krylov and Y. Tepsurkaev’s
Soviet MiG-15 Aces of the Korean War
(Osprey Publishing, 2008).

Kenneth Werrell’s
Sabres over MiG Alley
(Naval Institute Press, 2005), pp. 3–44, is a wonderful source for development, maintenance issues, and armament. Also see his “Air War Overview,” pp. 75–93.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

As a former Wild Weasel, I’m fortunately well aware of how surface-to-air missiles operate. I’d also researched the Leopard Two shootdown for a previous book,
Viper Pilot
(HarperCollins, 2012).

Pulitzer Prize winner Stanley Karnow’s
Vietnam: A History
(Penguin Group, 1983) is referenced throughout the description of this complex and emotional struggle. I found “The War with the French,” pp. 139–75, extremely interesting in shedding light on a few of the roots of this conflict.

John Prados’s
Vietnam
(University Press of Kansas, 2009) was often referenced, not only because of its style, but also as it covered the conflict from its origins in 1945 through the American withdrawal.

Rolling Thunder in a Gentle Land: The Vietnam War Revisited
(Osprey Publishing, 2006) by Andrew Wiest, specifically chapter 11, “Swatting Flies with a Sledgehammer,” pp. 191–206, describes some of the air war.

Personal interviews with men who fought the MiGs and SAMs are irreplaceable; among them were Steven Coonts, USN (September 6, 2013), Major William Good, USMC (August 25, 2013), Buddy Sims (September 9, 2013), Colonel Ed Rock, USAF, August 8th 2013, Colonel Jack Broughton, USAF (July 2013), and Major General Don Shepperd, USAF (August 6, 2013).

See Flintham’s
Air Wars and Aircraft
section on Indo-China and the French involvement, pp. 253–65; pp. 265–310 supplied units, deployment dates, losses, and general information.

General William W. Momyer’s
Air Power in Three Wars
was referenced for interdiction missions
,
pp. 163–242, and for details concerning the ground war, pp. 247–87. See also
Bury Us Upside Down
(Random House, 2007) by Don Shepperd and Rick Newman for a detailed and truthful look at the FAC/Misty mission.

Books written by several other true lords of the sky were well-referenced:
Fighter Pilot,
as previously mentioned, specifically pp. 247–70 for the F-4 Phantom and pp. 271–312 for Operations Bolo and Rolling Thunder;
Passing of the Night: My Seven Years as a Prisoner of the North Vietnamese
(Konecky & Konecky, 1973) by General Robby Risner—an American hero. See also Jack Broughton’s
Going Downtown
(Pocket, 1990) and
Thud Ridge
(Crecy, 2006). Colonel Ed Rock’s
First In, Last Out: Stories by the Wild Weasels
(AuthorHouse, 2005) is a wonderful anthology of personal accounts.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

See Thomas Withington’s
Wild Weasel Fighter Attack
(Pen & Sword, 2008), pp. 1–65.

Karnow’s
Vietnam: A History,
pp. 582–628, and Wiest’s
Rolling Thunder in a Gentle Land,
pp. 59–274, take a look at the conclusion of the Vietnam War.

Technical data was largely taken from personal interviews and also from Peter Davies,
F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21
(Osprey Publishing, 2008), pp. 53–64, and
Republic F-105 Thunderchief
(Osprey Publishing, 2012), pp. 5–31.

See Shlomo Aloni’s
Israeli A-4 Skyhawk Units in Combat
(Osprey Publishing, 2009), pp. 6–62, for an in-depth look at the Israeli Air Force. See also
Israeli Mirage and Nesher Aces
(Osprey Publishing, 2004), pp. 62–79.

A-4 cockpit switches and flying scene particulars were derived from
Flight Manual: A-4 Skyhawk,
Bureau of Naval Operations Handbook, and from interviews with Skyhawk pilot and Marine aviator Colonel Dan Hampton, USMC (ret).

Prado’s
Vietnam
contains very readable conclusions about the war, pp. 488–550. Especially poignant is the commentary on how misunderstood Americans were by the South Vietnamese.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Yossef Bodansky’s
The Secret History of the Iraq War
(HarperCollins, 2004) is a very good place to start for basic background and politics leading up to the second Gulf War. I recommend chapter 2, “The Gathering Storm,” pp. 34–50.

Having fought in both Gulf Wars, I was again fortunate enough to have much firsthand knowledge, at least from an operational point of view, of these conflicts. My personal logbooks, diaries, and combat mission materials were used to reconstruct the flying scenes. I was aided by an interview with Dave “Mooman” Moody, Brig. Gen., USAF (ret).

Also utilized was the F-16CJ-1CL-1 checklist, Operation Iraqi Freedom Intelligence MisReps (Mission Reports), the 77th Fighter Squadron Air Tasking Orders covering March 22–April 13, 2003, and the USCENTAF “Operation Iraqi Freedom—By the Numbers” report, generated by the Assessment and Analysis Division, April 30, 2003.

See also Stephen Budiansky’s
Air Power
(Penguin, 2004), pp. 406–41, and Marin Van Creveld’s
The Age of Airpower
(PublicAffairs, 2011), pp. 438–31.

INDEX

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A

A-4N Skyhawk, Israel, 474–478, 483–484

A-6 Intruder, jet-engine aircraft, 439

Abbas Ibn Firnas, 9

Abeele Aerodrome, 42

Aces Falling
(Hart), 123–124

aerial combat tactics

air-to-ground sorties, 414–415

airplane formations, 163–164, 170, 193, 258, 272

Boelcke’s principles of, 36

British tactical measures during the Great War, 85, 88, 94

Dissimilar Air Combat Training, 154

Gorilla strike package maneuver, 514, 518–519

kill ratios, 412–413, 414

maneuvers, 99–100, 120, 258, 267, 273, 300–301

Mannock’s principles of, 79–81

value of aerial reconnaissance, 9

See also
electronic combat

aerial gunnery, 59–60

Aldis sights, 62, 136

ammunition, 229

firing range, 228–229

frame/gate sight, 61

GM-2 gunsight, 197

gun cameras, 413–414

gunsights, 60–61, 62, 136, 197, 407

gyroscopic gunsights, 407

incendiary ammunition, 229

marksmanship, 81

ring sight, 61

tracer shells, 60, 229

wing-mounted guns, 228

aerial photography, 68, 76–77, 114, 127, 285

Aerial Transit Company, 10

aerodromes, 42, 50, 51–54, 79, 135, 290

aerodynamics, early principles of, 12–13, 56–57

Afrikakorps (German Africa Corps), 254, 262, 269–270, 271, 274, 353

90th Light Afrika Division, 265, 270

Aichi D3 dive bombers, 311

Aiken, William Maxwell “Max,” Lord Beaverbrook, 223–225, 227, 236

aileron system

development of, 11–12, 71

on SE-5, 83

on Sopwith Pup, 70

AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile, 463–464

Air America, 435

Air Force Academy, U.S., 499

Air Force, U.S.

Seventh Air Force, 466–467, 470, 472

8th Tactical Fighter Wing, 459

9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 453

12th Tactical Fighter Wing, 440

23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 489

26th Bombardment Squadron, 338

39th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 415

45th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 423–424, 425, 440

52nd Tactical Fighter Wing, 489, 505

67th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 393, 395

68th Fighter Squadron, 388

334th Fighter Squadron “Fighting Eagles,” 374

613th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 438

615th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 435

air-to-ground sorties, 415

aircraft kill ratios, 414

aircraft radar warning systems, 453–454

creation of, 376

electronic warfare officer (EWO), 442, 445–449, 507

F-4 Phantom, 423–424, 462–468

F-16 Viper, 487–495, 505–508, 520–531

F-100F Super Sabre, 454–457

F-105 aircraft, 419, 441–449, 457–459

flight training, 408–410, 501–505

in Korean War, 388, 393–396, 416–417

Medal of Honor recipient, 395

Operation Farm Gate, 433

Operation Linebacker, 473

Operation Niagara, 470

Operation Rolling Thunder, 437–439

Pacific Air Force, 437, 439, 468

pilots, 423–425, 441–449

vs. sea-based airpower, 389

USAAF into, 408

in Vietnam War, 423–424, 425, 433, 435–436, 437, 440, 459–474

Wild Weasel aircraft, 443–445, 450, 454–459, 505

Air Ministry, British, 216, 223, 224, 226

air-to-air fire control radars, 516

air-to-air missiles (AAM), 417, 463–464

aircraft

British aircraft designs/production, 181, 182, 223–229, 234, 236–237, 242, 252, 356–360

forward air control, 457

German aircraft designs/production, 177–178, 222, 224–225

Korean War, 373–384

refueling, 441–442

Soviet designs/production, 282, 283

technological advances since Vietnam War, 518

U.S.-designed, 186, 356–360

aircraft carriers, Japanese

air groups on, 319–320

in Battle of Midway, 338–345

carrier classifications, 319

Carrier Strike Task Force, 319

Doolittle raid on, 332

Fifth Fleet, 337, 338

Mobile Force 1, 339, 342

Mobile Force 2, 338

at Wake Island, 328–329

aircraft carriers, U.S.

in Battle of Midway, 338–345

Enterprise,
324, 326, 327–328, 331, 338–339, 341, 342, 343

Essex
-class carriers, 345, 388

first, 315

Hornet,
265, 331–332, 338–339, 341–342