Vietnam Aviation

Revised and updated version! STEPHEN COONTS, NY Times best-selling author of Flight of the Intruder -- “D. D. Smith's personal memoir of his years in naval aviation is more than a ‘I was there’ tale. He captures the myriad of challenges that was Naval Aviation before the Vietnam War. When I arrived in the fleet, D. D. Smith and his compadres were the squadron execs or COs who led us nuggets into the inferno of Vietnam… A huge tip of the hat to D.D. Smith. This book will appeal to every naval aviator or NFO of whatever era. Highly recommended.” But the book is much more. It is a ...

Catkiller 3-2 provides unique insights into the role of the tactical air controller, airborne (TACA) in I Corps as seen through the eyes of one of the pilots who flew low-flying, unarmed, single-engine aircraft in support of marine ground units during the Vietnam War. When Gen. William Westmoreland changed the marines' role in I Corps into a combat one, the Marines found themselves in need of more fixed wing aircraft to handle the TACA missions.

The author was drawn into the United States Army through ROTC, and he went through training to fly helicopters in combat over Vietnam. His experiences are notable because he flew both Huey “Slicks” and Huey “Gunships”: the former on defense as he flew troops into battle, and the latter on offense as he took the battle to the enemy. Through this book, the author relives his experiences flying and fighting, with special attention given to his and other pilots’ day-to-day lives.

The author, a retired Navy Commander, presents a unique view of the Vietnam War while providing an understanding of the horror, brutality, chaos, and insanity of war. His interviews with 61 members of the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1965 who served during the war in Vietnam include candid, first-hand accounts of American action on the ground, in the air, on the rivers, and offshore. Their stories involve Marines fighting bloody battles for hills soon abandoned after being captured; Naval aviators watching their wingman being shot down on missions targeting meaningless targets while Hanoi ...

…Ben Het has tanks in the wire! “Hawk Claw is engaging,” the pilot reports firing the first TOW missile ever from a helicopter in combat. Fire Base Delta had already been over run and Fire Base Charlie was fighting for its life. How much would fall before the North Vietnamese army was knocking on the doors of the key city of Kontum? This was the third phase of the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive Campaign of 1972. Standing across the country between them and the fall of Saigon was a poorly led South Vietnamese Army, brave South Vietnamese soldiers, and US Advisors. How much ground ...

Have you ever wanted to pull up the curtain and look at what the US Army was really like during the Vietnam War? From enlistment through Basic, Officer, and Flight training, veteran pilot Richard Guay will take you on a journey many have never witnessed… Sit with Richard in the cockpit of the venerable UH-1 Huey helicopter as he maneuvers the sky to accomplish missions, protect his troops, and put to the test his years of training to stop the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia. Through a journey from steamy jungles to war-torn skies over battlefields, Richard’s raw and informative ...

How far will an American sniper go to save the lives of his fellow soldiers? Is there a line he will not cross? CIA officer Rene Granier heads up a covert team of specialists out to hunt down and annihilate the very heart of the Viet Cong. Will their merciless tactics shorten the war? Will it be worth the price? In 1966, the Vietnam War rages with no end in sight. The Americans try everything in their power to stop the flow of arms to the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces in the south, but nothing works. The generals at the Pentagon underestimated their enemy and the army of dedicated ...

In 1967, something has changed, and not in a good way. For the first time, the communists are holding territory that they have captured near the borders of Laos and North Vietnam. It could be that the leaders in Hanoi want to secure supply and reinforcement routes into South Vietnam… or it could be something far more nefarious. The communists’ new strategy is an opportunity for the U.S. military and its allies to finally engage their enemy in a large-scale, set-piece battle that would allow American airpower and artillery to destroy a massive enemy force. It’s tempting bait. Such a ...

Second Edition of ACEThis latest edition is truly a game-changer. Chapter 28, "The Battle of Phu My," is packed with new material discovered during the exhaustive research for Ace Cozzalio’s Medal of Honor submission. But that's not all - the entire book has been enhanced to create a more captivating and compelling reading experience. With an extra thirty-six pages and ten new images, this improved version is an absolute must-read! ACE is the gripping tale of Ace Cozzalio, a bold and courageous U.S. Army helicopter pilot who flew with Lighthorse Air Cavalry during the Vietnam War. The ...

This is part two of a series of true stories about a young helicopter pilot's tour of duty in Vietnam.

This is the first in a series of true stories about a young helicopter pilot’s tour of duty in Vietnam.

This is episode seven in a series of true stories about a young helicopter pilot's tour of duty in Vietnam.

Fast planes. Big money. No rules. Before the era of drones and digital warfare, there were men who flew straight into the heart of darkness with nothing but their instincts and a battered aircraft. This isn’t fiction dressed up to sound real—it’s the adrenaline-laced, firsthand account of a mercenary pilot flying for the CIA in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Step into the cockpit of a short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft screaming over the jungle canopy, loaded with weapons, rice, or refugees—depending on the day. These ex-military pilots were recruited by shady ...

From March 1965-December 1972 the United States carried out the longest sustained naval aerial bombardment campaign in the history of modern warfare. By the time the conflict formally ended in January 1973 nearly 600 Navy aviators had lost their lives in Southeast Asia. Many of those men remain missing, with their ultimate fates unlikely to ever be known. Every cat shot, every mission, and every recovery aboard the carrier was a roll of the dice on whether they would live, die, or be taken prisoner and brutally tortured or murdered. Even as losses mounted and public support for the conflict...

As the American military continues its withdrawal from Vietnam, the CIA steps up its covert operations and training of Cambodian troops. New weapons are developed to stop the communists. With its powerful cannons, the Spectre gunship proves to be a deadly force capable of destroying any weapon or vehicle the communists can field and ensures that reinforced bunkers are no longer a safe haven. Realizing the survival of their country will soon be in their hands, ARVN troops attack the NVA and Viet Cong all over South Vietnam with surprisingly good results. It seems there is hope. When ...

The 'Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club' was the tongue-in-cheek nickname of the US Seventh Fleet that was stationed off the coast of Vietnam and this book tells the full story of the US Naval air campaign in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1975.

A gripping chronicle of the band of maverick aviators who signed on for the suicidal, dangerous top-secret "Wild Weasel" missions during the Vietnam War - which used controversial and revolutionary tactics to combat Soviet missile technology - from New York Times best-selling author Dan Hampton.

July, 1993: Pete Yates is in his early 50s, a career airline pilot who went on strike when a rapacious Wall St. financier raided his airline years before. Now he's out of work and out of money, trying to figure out how to make a living, when he encounters his old U.S. Navy wingman, who now owns a huge vintage warbirds air-show and aircraft trading company. Offered a job as a pilot, Yates swallows his pride and takes the job--and his life takes off in a direction he could never have imagined in his wildest dreams (and as a former Naval Aviation attack pilot with two tours in Vietnam, he has ...

Undaunted Valor is the firsthand account of helicopter pilot, Colonel Dan Cory as he flies combat missions in the jungles of Vietnam. From dodging enemy ground fire and RPGs, to constant mortar and rocket attacks on his base, Colonel Cory stared down the enemy to bring his fellow soldiers’ home.

The remaining US aviation forces, along with the US Air Force and US Navy and Marine aviation assets, would not be easily removed from the battle. For the US forces still in-country, this is an untold story of heroism, dedication, and refusal to yield the battlefield despite being largely considered by US political leaders as "expendable."