Ironclaw: A Navy Carrier Pilot's Gulf War Experience

by Sherman Baldwin

Just ten days out of land-based training and on the eve of the Persian Gulf War, Lieutenant Junior Grade Sherman Baldwin was assigned to Air Wing Five's EA-6B Prowler squadron - call sign Ironclaw - aboard the U.S.S. Midway. Flying the Prowler attack aircraft, Baldwin, his crew of three flight officers, and the rest of their squadron were responsible for identifying, jamming, and destroying enemy radar.
Ironclaw is one of the most compelling accounts yet of life on a carrier at war. For the readers of Flight of the Intruder and Yeager, Baldwin brilliantly captures the excitement and risk faced by naval aviators. He takes the reader from belowdecks in the mission-planning room, where the day's combat assignment is handed out, to the deck of the Midway, where jets are catapulted over the Persian Gulf, and into the cockpit - offering an unprecedented look at what it feels like to control one of the world's most sophisticated - and powerful - military machines.

Genres: Military History, History, Military Fiction, Aviation

265 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

Reviews

[Curtis Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bring back a few memories..... The was a good look at the war from the Prowler's point of view. For a Midway Sailor I highly recommend its reading. The Midway Magic will always continue.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a first person account of a navy pilot who participated in the first Gulf war on his first tour of duty. He was on the USS Midway on its last tour. A great book that includes a lot of detail about technical issues involved with launching planes from an aircraft carrier and recapturing as well as the challenges of flying missions as a 'nugget' (newbie), in the dark, without a lot of sleep, through bad weather and the smoke from the oil well fires.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is a niche read. It's especially useful for those wanting specific, personal, up-close insight to this military moment in our history, to life as a carrier-based aviator, to some of the nuance of electronic warfare, and to flying in the now mostly-antiquated Prowler. As for me, with a loved one immediately and urgently engaged in this endeavor, I found this accurate and truthful, coinciding with what I might have known prior to getting into the book, a consuming and satisfying read.