Strike Eagle: Flying the F-15E in the Gulf War

The Warriors

by William L. Smallwood

Taking readers into the cockpit of the U.S. Air Force's F-15E, the pilot-author of Flying the A-10 in the Gulf War recounts the all-too-human experiences of war in the skies over Baghdad.

Genres: Military Fiction, Aviation, Nonfiction, War

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1994

About the author

An experienced pilot, William L. Smallwood served in the Air Force during the Korean War and is the author of Strike Eagle: Flying the F-15E in the Gulf War and the highly acclaimed Warthog: Flying the A-10 in the Gulf War.

Reviews

[Vojtech]

I am not a huge fan of this book. It gets very technical in places (understandably) to the point that it becomes difficult to a non-aviator to actually have some idea what was going on. One thing I took home is that there was a lot of AAA, but that was kind of to be expected ;-). I got annoyed by how the pilots often said how they wanted to bomb the hell out of the Iraqis, because they took them away from their wives and kids. I wanted to say that it was really their decision to join the military and the desire to fly fighters that took them there. Certainly I learned some interesting things about F-15s, but I couldn't escape the fact that the more I read, the less I liked the whole war machine including the people flying those planes. They just got seemingly too comfortable with the killing and way too self-righteous for my taste. As if the vast reserves of oil in the region played no role in this whole decision to go in.

[Michael Flanagan]

A good solid read on the air war during the first gulf war seen through the eyes of F-15 E. While this book was a very entertaining read and gave me a whole new perspective on what the pilots endured the book did not slam me back into my chair with full afterburners on. It is a good book and well worth reading and I would recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in this genre of book.

[Kevin Cullen]

Have the hardcover version of this. Read it cover to cover. Makes a good companion to "Warthog: Flying the A-10 in the Gulf War" also by William L. Smallwood. Both are great books with first hand accounts from pilots who flew the aircraft. Both are mostly based in the first Gulf War and as such are a little dated.
Worthy addition to any aviation fans bookshelf!

[Sharon]

Gave me a greater appreciation and understanding of what Robert does. I felt much better after texting with him and he told me how many combat and training hours he has and that nobody is shooting at him

[Geffrey]

4.5 stars. Great stories and wonderful outline of the war and what happened. Only -0.5 star is due to the author frequently using the outline: “this pilot said:” “this WSO said:”. Not the best template. But all in all a must read.

[Wojtek]

Excellent Strike Eagle crews recollections from 1st Gulf Air War. The reader can literally feel dense triple-A on pitch black night sky, while they ingressed the target area.

[Ronald]

Wish for more detail like the tornado book but interesting enough to keep me reading. Noted the contrast with airport runway suppression missions flown by the RAF

[Ponder Stine]

Great stories from the war. Lots of jargon but very detailed

[Jeff Teller]

GREAT book. Provides incredible perspective & insight - from F15-E pilots - of what it's like to fly wartime missions. Well done!

[Terrence Spurlin]

Good book on fighter jets and what they experienced in the Gulf War.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov]

If you are a jet jockey or a Gulf War buff, you would likely give this more stars. It is best at providing:
1. An understanding of what it takes to fly this sophisticated weapony
2. How the military really functions
3. What went on behind the newspaper accounts of the War beginning in 1990

It is somewhat jargon oriented (though most is defined in a handy glossary) and its retelling of the details is not a riveting tale.

All in all a real addition to the war library

[Karsten]

A good account of some of the main air-conflict events of the first gulf war through the eyes of a F-15E Pilot.
Its fairly light on procedure and technical information regarding the aircraft (you do not need to possess an engineering degree to appreciate this book, nor be versed in military jargon).
Alongside "Vipers in the Storm", this one is another great read for Aircraft enthusiasts and virtual stick-jokeys alike!

[richard m.]

Great insights into the air campaign of the Gulf War, in particular the difficulties of deploying a new technology almost immediately into a combat zone.

[Troy]

A real good book it made you feel like you where right in the plane with them.And it exsplanes how the military realy works.

[Patrick]

Awesome book, a little convoluted at times, but still a cool first person account

[Andrey]

Nice book, but I liked "Warthog" of the same author better. Something about more lively style, or I may just like A-10 better.