United States Air Force In Southeast Asia : Aces and Aerial Victories

by U.S. Air Force

During the war in Southeast Asia, U.S. Air Force
fighter pilots and crewmen were repeatedly challenged
by enemy MIG’s in the skies over North
Vietnam. The air battles which ensued were unique
in American history because U.S. fighter and small
forces operated under stringent rules of engagement.
With periodic exceptions, for example, MIG bases
could not be struck. The rules generally forbade
bombing or strafing of military and industrial targets
in and around the enemy’s heartland, encompassing
the capital of Hanoi and the port city of Haiphong.
These restrictions gave the North Vietnamese substantial
military advantage. Free from American attack
and helped by its Soviet and Chinese allies, the
enemy was able to construct one of the most formidable
antiaircraft defenses the world has even seen. It
included MIG forces, surface-to-air missile (SAM)
batteries, heavy concentrations of antiaircraft radar
systems. These elements sought to interdict
and defeat the U.S. bombing campaign against
North Vietnam’s lines of communication and its
military and industrial base. The primary mission of
U.S. fighter pilots was to prevent the North Vietnamese
MIG’s from interfering with U.S. strike
operations. This book tells how American
airmen-assisted by an armada of other USAF aircraft
whose crews refueled their planes, warned of
approaching enemy MIG’s and SAM’S, and flew
rescue missions when they were shot down and managed
to emerge from their aerial battles with
both victories and honor.

Kindle Edition

Published December 6, 2015