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World Hotels - Clashes: Air Combat over North Vietnam, 1965-1972
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List Price: $19.95
Our Price: $13.57
Your Save: $ 6.38 ( 32% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: US Naval Institute Press
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 959
EAN: 9781591145196
ISBN: 1591145198
Label: US Naval Institute Press
Manufacturer: US Naval Institute Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: 2007-03-23
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
Release Date: 2007-03-23
Studio: US Naval Institute Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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This classic work, part of the Marine Corps reading list, makes full use of declassified U.S. documents to offer the first comprehensive study of fighter combat over North Vietnam. Marshall Michel s balanced, exhaustive coverage describes and analyzes both Air Force and Navy engagements with North Vietnamese MiGs but also includes discussions of the SAM threat and U.S. countermeasures, laser-guided bombs, and U.S. attempts to counter the MiG threat with a variety of technological equipment. Accessible yet professional, the book is filled with valuable lessons learned that are as valid today as they were in the 1960s and 1970s. Some 15 photos and 45 drawings and maps, including diagrams of both American and North Vietnamese formations and tactics, are included.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great History of Air to Air Combat over North Vietnam
Comment: Clashes by Marshall Michel is a very well done piece of history about a relatively specific but important slice of combat history. Although there is sufficient examination of the air to ground srtikes against the north during the Vietnam war this book is not about the overall use of airpower in Vietnam but focuses on the air to air engagements between USAF F-4's / F-105's and USN F-4's / F-8's versus North Vietnamese Mig-21's, -19's and -17's during operations Rolling Thunder and Linebacker. The author provides greatly appreciated context of what was happening in the larger war as he chronologically progresses through the air battles, and he also connects the day to day design of the bombing campaigns to the overall strategy being pursued by the White House and Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The author clearly has done a large amount of research into the subject matter and he successfully draws a large number of pertinent conclusions from it. What emerges is a pretty illuminating and frankly fascinating comparison of Air Force, Navy and North Vietnamese technology and tactics, and how they all evolved and interacted throughout the long war in response to the enemy and in response to fluid domestic political and strategic influences.
Many striking facts are highlighted and explained in this book. The extremely poor performance of US air to air missiles, stark differences in USAF and USN tactics and training (and institutional flexibility), the effects of fighter design on engagements, and the particularly large impact of IFF, effective radio communications, and coordination in winning those engagements. The book ends with a quick survey of how the lessons of the Vietnam air war impacted the design and employment of the F-14, F-15 and E-3 aircraft.
Great book for anyone who wants to understand the nature, details, and consequences of the air to air war over North Vietnam. Highly recommended to military aircrews and officers, as well as aircraft and weapons systems designers and engineers.
As a last note this is another satisfying read from the Naval Institute Press, which really does seem to consistently publish very high quality, timely books.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Troubling History of Ineffective Weapons
Comment: Most histories of aerial warfare seem to focus only on the historical and personal context of the people involved. Here we are presented with a very interesting , though also at times, very troubling, narrative of the most significant air to air battles over North Vietnam which exposes very serious problems with the hardware our pilots were forced to deal with in an already very dangerous environment. It would seem that, at the very least, some American aerospace companies were providing such unreliable equipment that they were guilty of criminal negligence. An excellent and very complete history.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great breakdown of the aerial war over North Vietnam
Comment: Clashes deals with the air war over North Vietnam, something I've had a fascination with for some time. Why, because I wanted to understand why servicemen were put into a dangerous position and what did really happen. To help answer this, Col. Michel takes on the entire air war over North Vietnam (Rolling Thunder, Linebacker I, and Linebacker II). Rather than looking at it from the cockpit view (ala Thud Ridge: F-105 Thunderchief missions over Vietnam or When Thunder Rolled), Col. Michel takes us up to the operations level and provides a good high level breakdown of many of the raids and the engagements between fighters and the North Vietnamese air defenses. The book is divided into two parts (Rolling Thunder and Linebacker) with subsections focusing on different components (both parts use equipment used, early engagements, later engagements, and summary). In each of subsection, Col. Michel does a very good job describing what is occurring and what the Americans and North Vietnamese are doing. In addition to describing engagements, Col. Michel does a great job describing the involvement of EC-121's (College Eye/Disco) and Red Crown (a naval ship controlling the fighters) and their impact on the fight. Unlike other history's, Clashes does not name the pilots involved, rather their radio call signs are used.
Parts I Loved:
Clashes gives us much information about the aircraft involved, the abilities of the men flying them (their training and tactics), and the environment they're fighting in. I loved the drawings, they do an excellent job showing the differences between a fluid four and a loose deuce. I also loved Col. Michel including the technical aspects; performance test of captured MiG's, the Command and Control aspect (often overlooked), and the power and effect of jamming.
Parts I Wish Were a Little Stronger:
Iron Hand missions were a little on the weak side. I have a love and fondness for Wild Weasels and wish that more had been brought out about their support of the missions and how they operated (I'm sorry, this was weak in comparison to the attention paid to Chaff bombers). I also wish more had been brought out about rescue missions and the work they did there.
Bottom Line
Rating wise, this is a very solid 4.5 star book. I am giving it the node to 5 for Amazon purposes, but for my personal rating I can't rate it up there with Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific by Eric Bergerud (I'm sorry, Fire in the Sky is my personal favorite or telling the story of an air war. Clashes though is right behind it!). I understand why Col. Michel focused heavily on the air-to-air engagements and for the insight he provides there this a solid 5 star book. No matter, if you want to know about the Vietnam Air War (mainly in Pack's 5 and 6), then this is the book for you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The best book on the vietnam air war
Comment: This is simply the best book on the air war over thenorth. Here you found both technichal datas, doctrinal debate and combat history. Michel style is dry, he ocnentrates on fact rayther than personal memoir or oral history, but reading this book you will have the best picture of the actal missions over the North Vietnam. Tha autohrs follow the history of the air war both from US and DRV perspective comparing airacraft, weapons and doctrines. The book is full of detial form the advantages and disavanteges of the various aricrafts to the dreaded flight four USAF formation. He actually dispel some myths (especially adressoing the real effectiveness of the SAM defense). If you are interested in air war this book is a must.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Comment: "Clashes:Air Combat over North Vietnam 1965-1972" is the best book I have ever read on aerial combat over North Vietnam and one of the best books I have read on aerial combat in general. It provides an excellent analysis of what went right and what went wrong in the skies over North Vietnam. I was truly amazed to read how often the air to air missiles, especialliy the AIM-7 Sparrow, malfunctioned. For anyone interested in aerial combat, this excellent book is a must!
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