F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21: USAF & VPAF in the Vietnam

Osprey Duel #12

by Peter E. Davies

From difficult weather conditions to unreliable missile armament to unequal rules of engagement, this book tells the story of the challenges faced by the F-4 and MiG-21 pilots. Using first-hand accounts wherever possible the author draws us into the dangerous world experienced by American and North Vietnamese pilots. Influential leaders and tacticians will be profiled to provide a comparative evaluation of their contrasting skills. This book will also reveal the technical specifications of each jet with an analysis of the weaponry, avionics and survival devices of the Phantom and MiG-21. The fighters' strengths and weaknesses will be compared also, including turn radius, performance at altitude, range and structural integrity. This was an intense and deadly duel between vastly different rivals. In the Phantom, a second crewmember and good radar compensated for the difficulty of providing command and control at long distances from the targets. However, the F-4's smoky engines and considerable bulk made it visible at much further distances than the small, clean MiG-21 and Phantoms were often hit by unseen MiG attacks. On the other hand, the F-4s eight-missile armament compared favorably with the two-missile provision of the MiG. Often pilot skill, if not luck, would be the determining factor between the smaller, faster MiG and bigger, better-gunned Phantom. First-person extracts will reflect on the dangers of these aerial duels while graphics based on records of engagement and technical manuals will illustrate the experience of air combat as they struggled to overcome their shortcomings and survive their deadly duels.

Genres: Aviation, Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2008

Reviews

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second Duel booklet with the 'correct' focus, at least in my opinion and thus very interesting read. While the author follows the by now well-established content structure for this series, he puts emphasis on issues that justify 'duel' tag - the actual interaction between two weapon systems and how well they performed vs each other. Not only is the vast majority of space dedicated to this 'comparison and analysis', but the author does it in a rather engaging style. What's more, author's objevtivity is scrupulously maintained and the MiG is given a fair treatment, with some rather sorbering conlusions as a result.

Despite its small size, it's a very valuable, content-rich addition to the library of readers interested in early jet aviation and Vietnam war.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 2008, 'F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21 - USAF & VPAF in the Vietnam War' is number 12 in the popular 'Duel' series of aviation titles from publishers Osprey. Looking at the differing design philosophies in the two combat aircraft types, before getting into the detail of several combats between the two as the MiG-21 supplanted earlier MiG types in VPAF service. This makes fine reading for those interested in the Vietnam air war - an excellent piece of work.

[Eric Mccann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview

These books rarely disappoint. They could go more in depth, but they would have to be much larger.

My biggest complaint deals not with the book itself but with reading it as an ebook. Pictures come out too small, captions get shifted to another page, and maps and the nice cockpit layout diagrams get sliced up into something harder to use. Get the physical copy.

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book comparing and contrasting my two favorite Cold War era jets, whats not to love? Very good art, excellent comparison between the jets, their performance, weapon systems, and tactics.