Chopper: A History of America Military Helicopter Operators from WWII to the War on Terro

by Robert F. Dorr

An oral history of American military helicopter operations presents a collection of true-life chronicles that range from the first use of a helicopter in a 1944 rescue mission behind enemy lines to the role of the aircraft during the modern-day war on terror, accompanied by photographs, detailed specifications, and analysis of weapons capabilities for each helicopter model.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published July 5, 2005

About the author

Author of "HITLER'S TIME MACHINE."

Author (1955- ); Air Force veteran (1957-60); retired Foreign Service officer (1964-89).

Author of about 75 books on the Air Force and on military history and operations.

Author of the weekly "Back Talk" column in Air Force Times newspaper, the monthly "Washington Watch" column in Aerospace America magazine; the monthly "Front Line" column in Combat Aircraft magazine; the monthly "Washington News" column in Air International magazine; the "The Way It Was" photo feature in Warbirds magazine; the "History Mystery" feature in Air Power History magazine, and other stuff.

I live in Virginia with spouse and Labrador retriever, have grown sons, new iMac. "HITLER'S TIME MACHINE" was published in December 2014

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, it took me awhile to read this one because of working 12 hour shifts for about 5 months straight. It's difficult for me to do much reading of history and other fact-based material when I'm always mentally tired. But this was a fascinating book. I love any kind of flying machine and I recommend this book to other like-minded people especially those who have a fondness for rotor winged aircraft. The book begins in the early days of helicopter warfare during World War II. Only a few of the 20 chapters are devoted to pre- and post-Vietnam use of the helicopter in war time while, understandably, the majority of the book covers the use of helicopters in Vietnam since that is when and where the helicopter, in military service, came into its own. I gave the book 4 stars because I thought it should have had more photos especially some in color. Also while the front of the book shows a photo of the Apache, arguably the best attack helicopter in the world today, no mention of it can be found in the book. This was disappointing to me but, nevertheless, it was still a good book.

[Matthew Eargle · Rating 2 out of 5]

What started as a promising exploration of helicopter operations through US military history quickly devolved into a monotonous collection of personal histories by the men who flew them. As a fellow helo pilot, I certainly respect the men and their stories, but I felt that they were not done enough justice with a simple transcription. Dorr makes no effort to inject any wordsmithing and instead only serves to define the alphabet soup of military aviation acronyms and casually introduce each recollection. On its own, each of the stories is fascinating and insightful, but as the only source in a historical exploration, there is a lot to be desired!

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting only because I have had some military flying experience albeit non-combat. Some gutsy stories about flying in combat. I listened to it. I also checked out the book so I could see the pictures.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

War is hell. After reading this intense history, I have even more respect for the role of the helicopter in war and rescue situations. It also intensified my admiration for the pilots who fly them.