Author(s): Peter E. Davies; Jim Laurier (Illustrator); Gareth Hector (Illustrator)

History

When the Vietnam War began, the F-8 Crusader was already firmly established as a fighter and reconnaissance aircraft. It entered combat as an escort for Alpha strike packages, braving AAA, SAMs and, from April 3, 1965, Vietnamese MiGs. Although the Crusader was nicknamed the "last of the gunfighters," its pilots employed secondary Sidewinder missiles in all but one of their MiG kills: the F-8's 20mm cannon were unreliable as they often jammed during strenuous maneuvers. Despite this issue, the Crusader still boasted the highest exchange ratio (kills divided by losses) at six-to-one of any US fighter involved in the Vietnam War. In this book, Peter E. Davies examines how Naval Aviators used their F-8s to protect bomber and reconnaissance aircraft against MiGs in the crowded skies over North Vietnam. Tactics and training are evaluated with the help of first-hand accounts, while ribbon diagrams, artwork and carefully selected photographs bring high-speed dogfights to life. Tactical ribbon diagrams, Battlescene artwork, Armament views, Fully illustrated throughout