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This landmark contribution describes in detail the development and training of Navy night fighters after World War II, their deployment to Korea, and their nightly encounters with MiGs and monsoon weather. Of particular interest are O'Rourke's rousing descriptions of his own encounters with enemy MiGs where it becomes clear that in his desperate fight for survival, he learned to use the night as his ally.
For readers of American Sniper, the stirring account of a life of service by the “father of the US Navy SEALs” One month after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, when President John F. Kennedy pressed Congress about America’s “urgent national needs,” he named expanding US special operations forces along with putting a man on the moon. Captain William Hamilton was the officer tasked with creating the finest unconventional warriors ever seen. Merging his own experience commanding Navy Underwater Demolition Teams with expertise from Army Special Forces and the CIA, and working with his subordinate, Roy Boehm, he cast the mold for sea-, air-, and land-dispatched night fighters capable of successfully completing any mission anywhere in the world. Initially, they were used as a counter to the potential devastation of nuclear war, and later for counterterrorism and hostage rescue. His vision led to the formation of the celebrated SEAL Team 6. In this stirring, action-filled book, Hamilton tells his story for the first time. Night Fighter is a trove of true adventure from the history of the late twentieth century, which Hamilton lived, from fighter pilot in the Korean War to operative for the CIA in Vietnam, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, from the Pentagon to Foggy Bottom, and from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Reagan White House’s Star Wars. Like American Sniper, here is the record of a life devoted to patriotic service. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Despite American success in preventing the conquest of South Korea by communist North Korea, the Korean War of 1950-1953 did not satisfy Americans who expected the kind of total victory they had experienced in WW II. In Korea, the U.S. limited itself to conventional weapons. Even after communist China entered the war, Americans put China off-limits to conventional bombing as well as nuclear bombing. Operating within these limits, the U.S. Air Force helped to repel 2 invasions of South Korea while securing control of the skies so decisively that other U.N. forces could fight without fear of air attack.
Following the end of the Korean War, the prevailing myth in the West was that of the absolute supremacy of US Air Force pilots and aircraft over their Soviet-supplied opponents. The claims of the 10:1 victory-loss ratio achieved by the US Air Force fighter pilots flying the North American F-86 Sabre against their communist adversaries, among other such fabrications, went unchallenged until the end of the Cold War, when Soviet records of the conflict were finally opened. Packed with first-hand accounts and covering the full range of US Air Force activities over Korea, MiG Alley brings the war vividly to life and the record is finally set straight on a number of popular fabrications. Thomas McKelvey Cleaver expertly threads together US and Russian sources to reveal the complete story of this bitter struggle in the Eastern skies.
On a sunny summer day in June 1950, America was jolted with the news of the North Korean invasion of South Korea. There was a group of men this news was to influence greatly. Within 16 days we were back on active duty, training to take our place in the Korean War. Not only were we training in an airplane most of us had hardly gotten used to. To compound that we found we were to be the first Light-Night Attack squadron in Air Force history. In addition to being in the first Reserve Wing to ever be recalled intact, this dubious distinction only added to our apprehension. From the moment of recall on August 10th, 1950 to the end of July, 1951, this group of Reservists was to write a thrilling saga of what can be accomplished by men who have the innate sense of patriotism to get the job done. Flying alone at night, at minimum altitudes over enemy territory is not conducive to longevity, but this group of air crewmen accomplished much more than could be expected in the light of circumstances. Sit back, fasten your seat belt and live the saga of the 731st Bomb Squadron, L-NA (Light-Night Attack).
The Douglas F3D Skyknight was an early but effective attempt at combining new technologies together in a lethal package capable of shipboard operation. Whereas most fighters relied on speed and maneuverability, the portly, straight-winged F3D relied on three radars, four 20mm cannon, and – most importantly – darkness. Having first flown in March 1948, the Skyknight's first taste of war came in September 1952, when Marine Night Fighter Squadron 513 [VMF(N)-513] deployed to Korea. The most important job assigned to VMF(N)-513 was the escorting of USAF B-29 bombers over northern Korea. Whereas Chinese and North Korean MiG-15s relied on ground-controlled intercept radar for steering guidance into firing positions, the F3D, with its own onboard radars, was autonomously lethal – it could detect, track and target MiGs all on its own. Skyknight crews ended the Korean War with six nocturnal kills in exchange for one combat loss. After the war, 35 Skyknights were converted into electronic warfare (EW) aircraft. As US air operations over North Vietnam intensified in early 1965, the need for a tactical EW jet to provide electronic countermeasures (ECM) protection to accompany strike packages north became apparent. For all of its early effectiveness over North Vietnam, the proliferation of radar-guided guns and missiles began to erode the advantage created by EF-10 escort support, which flew its last combat mission in October 1969. This highly illustrated volume explores the F3D Skynights and their deployment during the Korean and Vietnam wars, using first-hand accounts from aircrew, original photographs and 30 profile artworks to explore their key roles as an escort aircraft and electronic warfare aircraft.
“Without question, the decisive force in the Korean War was airpower. Through its unrelenting efforts in those dark days of the summer of 1950, U.S. and other U.N. ground forces were able to retain a foothold on the peninsula. During the three years of fighting that followed, defeat or victory often depended upon the successful accomplishment by the United States Far East Air Forces of the tasks laid upon them. “As yet completely unresolved are the roles land and sea forces must play and their relationship to airpower in the full exploitation of its destructive potential; but an understanding of those factors is vital to a proper assessment of the role of air forces in the Korean War. “Korea was a limited war in every sense of the word. There were economic restraints against the expenditures of precious resources which might weaken the U.S. worldwide stand against Communist aggression. There were political restraints against the use of certain weapons and forces. Fighting was limited to the confines of North Korea which precluded attacks upon the sources of enemy war-making materiels. Within North Korea itself: there were psychological restraints imposed upon the weapons used; moral restraints prohibited attacks for several years against lucrative target systems. In analyzing any aspect of Korea, it is important to remember that airpower was never charged with winning the war—nor were the ground forces after truce talks began. “This book is not intended as a comprehensive analysis of each facet of the air war. Neither is it an inclusive chronology of events. Its purpose certainly is not to question U.S. policy or to detract from the stature of any service which fought so valiantly in Korea. Rather, it examines certain individual facets of the air war to further a better understanding of airpower. It constitutes professional reading for military people and interesting reading for the layman.” (Col. James T. Stewart)
This exceptional USMC history provides unique information about U.S. Marine aviation in the Korean War, with information about the Vought F4U Corsair, Grumman F7F Tigercat, Douglas F30 Skynight, Marine night-fighter squadrons, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing Leaders, Marine Observation Squadron, Bell and Sikorsky helicopters, major-league baseball player reservists including Ted Williams, and night MIG killers, the flying nightmares.The first major surprise of the post-World War II years came into play when in late June 1950, the United States found itself responding in crisis fashion to the North Korean invasion of the new republic of South Korea, just four years and nine months after VJ-Day. The nation became involved in Korea as a result of the Cairo and Yalta conferences in which the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to the concept of a free and independent post-war Korea. Included in the agreement was a joint occupation of the country by the two powers, with the Soviets north of the 38th Parallel and the United States south. The concept of the occupation had a general objective of settling down Korea for a period so that it could learn to govern itself as a nation after many decades of Japanese rule. As the United States was painfully learning, however, it soon became apparent that what the Soviets said was one thing and what they intended was quite another with respect to a free, independent, and democratic Korea. When in 1948, they refused to participate in elections, supervised by the United Nations to form the first National Assembly, the hopes for a united Korea died. The Soviets formed a separate Communist state in their sector, the People's Democratic Republic of Korea. With the elections completed for the National Assembly in the south, the Republic of Korea (ROK) was established and the United States trusteeship in the country came to an end.On 25 June 1950, the North Koreans attacked with nine well-equipped infantry divisions, spearheaded by one armored division equipped with Soviet-built T-34 tanks. The Republic of Korea's army had been in existence for just about a year and could only oppose the invasion with four lightly equipped divisions and one additional regiment. Needless to say, although there were some spirited but isolated small unit defensive actions, the Republic's forces were no match for the invaders. The North Koreans reached out with rapidly advancing armored columns, moving almost at will during the first four days. Seoul fell on 28 June, and at that time, the ROK army had 34,000 troops missing, although many of them later returned to their units. With the capture of Seoul, the invaders halted to regroup and those ROK forces, which were still intact, fell back through Suwon to set up some form of new defensive positions. The South Korean government had displaced to Taejon well to the south when the fall of Seoul became imminent. This state of near collapse was the basic situation faced by the United States and the United Nations in the opening week of the war. It was the first time that a Soviet-supported state was permitted to go as far as open warfare in their post-World War II depredations, and it constituted a definite showdown between the Communist and non-Communist worlds.The United States responded to the invasion of South Korea both independently, and through strong support and leadership in a United Nations resolution condemning the breaking of world peace by the North Koreans. President Harry S. Truman gave General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief, Far East, the go-ahead to send Army units into Korea from Japan and to take other actions in support of the shocked and shattered ROK forces. It is important to note that...
Air Group 83 boarded the Aircraft Carrier The Essex on March 11, 1945. They stayed till the war ended. Lt.(jg) Edward Pappert writes about life aboard the carrier. He takes you with him on strikes against the Japanese homeland. He tells about his wingman, Lt.(jg) Vern Coumbe's being shot down, spending the night on Japanese soil and his subsequent rescue. Other true tales include: a division of Marine Pilots that can't find their way back to the carrier, the sinking of the Japanese battle ship The Yamato, the invasion of Okinawa, and others.