The Hunter Killers

The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Band of Maverick Aviators Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions of the Vietnam War

De: Dan Hampton

Narrado por: John Pruden

“A GRIPPING CLASSIC. Exhaustively researched, The Hunter Killers puts you directly into a Wild Weasel fighter cockpit during the Vietnam War. Dan Hampton lets you feel it for yourself as no one else could.”--Colonel LEO THORSNESS, Wild Weasel pilot and Medal of Honor recipient

At the height of the Cold War, America's most elite aviators bravely volunteered for a covert program aimed at eliminating an impossible new threat. Half never returned. All became legends. From New York Times bestselling author Dan Hampton comes one of the most extraordinary untold stories of aviation history.

Vietnam, 1965: On July 24 a USAF F-4 Phantom jet was suddenly blown from the sky by a mysterious and lethal weapon—a Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missile (SAM), launched by Russian ""advisors"" to North Vietnam. Three days later, six F-105 Thunderchiefs were brought down trying to avenge the Phantom. More tragic losses followed, establishing the enemy's SAMs as the deadliest anti-aircraft threat in history and dramatically turning the tables of Cold War air superiority in favor of Soviet technology.

Stunned and desperately searching for answers, the Pentagon ordered a top secret program called Wild Weasel I to counter the SAM problem—fast. So it came to be that a small group of maverick fighter pilots and Electronic Warfare Officers volunteered to fly behind enemy lines and into the teeth of the threat. To most it seemed a suicide mission—but they beat the door down to join. Those who survived the 50 percent casualty rate would revolutionize warfare forever.

""You gotta be sh*#@ing me!"" This immortal phrase was uttered by Captain Jack Donovan when the Wild Weasel concept was first explained to him. ""You want me to fly in the back of a little tiny fighter aircraft with a crazy fighter pilot who thinks he's invincible, home in on a SAM site in North Vietnam, and shoot it before it shoots me?""

Based on unprecedented firsthand interviews with Wild Weasel veterans and previously unseen personal papers and declassified documents from both sides of the conflict, as well as Dan Hampton's own experience as a highly decorated F-16 Wild Weasel pilot, The Hunter Killers is a gripping, cockpit-level chronicle of the first-generation Weasels, the remarkable band of aviators who faced head-on the advanced Soviet missile technology that was decimating fellow American pilots over the skies of Vietnam.

excellent

great book. not what I expected, but for the better. I expected a chronological retelling of the evolution of the wild weasels, and while that is included, there's a ton of historical background as well surrounding missiles and the conflict in Vietnam. I learned a lot, was entertained, and have recommended the book to others. viva la france!

Great listen and masterfully read.

I love the narrator, he really sucks you into the action. Great listen and recommend to anyone that enjoys listening to combat missions and war time stories.

Historic and Action Packed

I may be biased as a non- pilot USAF vet? But this was an extremely well written account of the history of the weasels and how politics and the pressure of public opinion doomed the Vietnam conflict from the onset. You can doubt the war or the motives for it. You cannot dispute the honor and professionalism of those who fought it.

great history lesson on Vietnam

it's obviously through the eyes of a fighter pilot but it's a great perspective on the Vietnam war.

misleading title and description

good book, but barely half is actually about the wild weasel mission. the majority is history of Vietnam, and the Vietnam war. although important to the context of the wild weasel mission, it was unexpected. having already read the book "the Vietnam War" most of this book was just a review of the conflict and not what was expected, a history of the wild weasel mission.

if you have limited knowledge of the war and what lead to the conflict, and understand this is what you're purchasing when this book, it would be a great read.

need to change the book title to "history of the Vietnam War, and the wild weasel mission"