Snake Pilot
Author: Randy R. Zahn
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
Published: 2003
Total Pages: 295
ISBN-13: 1574885650
DOWNLOAD EBOOKFlies the reader into combat with the same elite air cavalry unit portrayed in the film "Apocalypse Now"
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A Cobra Pilot in Vietnam
Author: Ira McComic
Publisher:
Published: 2015-05-09
Total Pages: 298
ISBN-13: 9780988757448
DOWNLOAD EBOOKA Cobra Pilot in Vietnam: True Tales and Otherwise is a collection of narrative episodes from Ira McComic, an Army AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunship pilot and fire team leader who served with the 235th Aerial Weapons Company (the Delta Devils) in Vietnam. These firsthand accounts range from the tragically true to ones that reflect a tradition among those aviators whose philosophy is expressed as "Why bother to tell a story unless you can improve it?" A person who was curious once asked a Cobra pilot what it was like to fly these gunships in Vietnam, and he replied, "I got to fly around, shoot up things, and camp out a lot. What was there not to like?" It was another Cobra pilot who supplied the answer to that question: "All the other stuff." The reality of being a gunship pilot in Vietnam was contrary to a dime-novel notion of a shoot-em-up aerial gunslinger, and if you're curious about what it was like to fly Cobra helicopter gunships in Vietnam, ride along with A Cobra Pilot in Vietnam: True Tales and Otherwise.
Low Level Hell
Author: Hugh L. Mills, Jr.
Publisher: Presidio Press
Published: 2009-01-16
Total Pages: 338
ISBN-13: 0307537927
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe aeroscouts of the 1st Infantry Division had three words emblazoned on their unit patch: Low Level Hell. It was then and continues today as the perfect concise definition of what these intrepid aviators experienced as they ranged the skies of Vietnam from the Cambodian border to the Iron Triangle. The Outcasts, as they were known, flew low and slow, aerial eyes of the division in search of the enemy. Too often for longevity’s sake they found the Viet Cong and the fight was on. These young pilots (19-22 years old) “invented” the book as they went along. Praise for Low Level Hell “An absolutely splendid and engrossing book. The most compelling part is the accounts of his many air-to-ground engagements. There were moments when I literally held my breath.”—Dr. Charles H. Cureton, Chief Historian, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine (TRADOC) Command “Low Level Hell is the best ‘bird’s eye view’ of the helicopter war in Vietnam in print today. No volume better describes the feelings from the cockpit. Mills has captured the realities of a select group of aviators who shot craps with death on every mission.”—R.S. Maxham, Director, U.S. Army Aviation Museum
US Army AH-1 Cobra Units in Vietnam
Author: Jonathan Bernstein
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2012-11-20
Total Pages: 96
ISBN-13: 178200744X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKBell's AH-1 Cobra was the first dedicated helicopter gunship to reach frontline service anywhere in the world. Developed as a private venture by the manufacturer, and based on the mechanics of the ubiquitous UH-1 Huey, the Cobra proved a huge success once introduced into combat with the US Army in 1966. Built as a key weapon in the Advanced Aerial Fire Support System concept of 1965, the AH-1 was one of the few aircraft to reach the combat zone after actual combat experience went into its design. The AH-1 helped reduce the losses being suffered by vulnerable troop transport helicopters by providing effective fire suppression during airmobile operations. This book explores its history, technology and crew.
Rattler One-Seven
Author: Chuck Gross
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
Published: 2006-06-13
Total Pages: 244
ISBN-13: 1574412213
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRattler One-Seven puts you in the helicopter seat, to see the war in Vietnam through the eyes of an inexperienced pilot as he transforms himself into a seasoned combat veteran. At the age of twenty, Chuck Gross spent his 1970-71 tour with the 71st Assault Helicopter Company flying UH-1 Huey helicopters. He inserted special operations teams into Laos and participated in Lam Son 719, a misbegotten attempt to assault and cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, during which his helicopter was shot down and he was stranded in the field.
Palace Cobra
Author: Ed Rasimus
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2007-08-28
Total Pages: 366
ISBN-13: 9780312948764
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPicking up where the acclaimed "When Thunder Rolled" leaves off, the author pens a riveting memoir of his service as an experienced combat pilot in the waning days of the Vietnam War. photos. Martins Press.
Price of Exit
Author: Tom Marshall
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 2011-08-10
Total Pages: 393
ISBN-13: 0307758125
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"The risk of a fatal catastrophe was constant. The NVA was the enemy, but the ultimate opponent was, quite simply, death. . . ." For assault helicopter crews flying in and around the NVA-infested DMZ, the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1970-71 was a desperate time of selfless courage. Now former army warrant officer Tom Marshall of the Phoenix, C Company, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne, captures the deadly mountain terrain, the long hours flown under enormous stress, the grim determination of hardened pilots combat-assaulting through walls of antiaircraft fire, the pickups amid exploding mortar shells and hails of AK fire, the nerve-racking string extractions of SOG teams from North Vietnam. . . . And, through it all, the rising tension as helicopter pilots and crews are lost at an accelerating pace. It is no coincidence that the Phoenix was one of the most highly decorated assault helicopter units in I Corps. For as the American departure accelerated and the enemy added new, more powerful antiaircraft weapons, the helicopter pilots, crew chiefs, and gunners paid the heavy price of withdrawal in blood. For more than 30 Percent of Tom Marshall's 130 helicopter-school classmates, the price of exit was their lives. . . .
Snake Driver!
Author: Bob Rosenburgh
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 1993
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9780804105385
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis is the saga of the Cobra--the attack helicopter--its development and introduction into Vietnam during the summer of '67, and the stories of the men who flew it. For a Cobra pilot--a Snake Driver--every launch meant he was going headlong into combat. As key providers of fire support, Snake Drivers always had missions, and every mission was real war--flying into hot LZs or kill zones that were literally walls of lead and high explosives. These are their tales of bravery and skill in the hellfire that was Vietnam.
USMC/Vietnam Helicopter Association
Author:
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Published: 2001
Total Pages: 20
ISBN-13: 156311190X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThrough the Valley
Author: William Reeder Jr.
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Published: 2016-04-15
Total Pages: 273
ISBN-13: 1682470598
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThrough the Valley is the captivating memoir of the last U.S. Army soldier taken prisoner during the Vietnam War. A narrative of courage, hope, and survival, Through the Valley is more than just a war story. It also portrays the thrill and horror of combat, the fear and anxiety of captivity, and the stories of friendships forged and friends lost. In 1971 William Reeder was a senior captain on his second tour in Vietnam. He had flown armed, fixed-wing OV-1 Mohawks on secret missions deep into enemy territory in Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam on his first tour. He returned as a helicopter pilot eager to experience a whole new perspective as a Cobra gunship pilot. Believing that Nixon’s Vietnamization would soon end the war, Reeder was anxious to see combat action. To him, it appeared that the Americans had prevailed, beaten the Viet Cong, and were passing everything over to the South Vietnamese Army so that Americans could leave. Less than a year later, while providing support to forces at the besieged base of Ben Het, Reeder’s chopper went down in a flaming corkscrew. Though Reeder survived the crash, he was captured after evading the enemy for three days. He was held for weeks in jungle cages before enduring a grueling forced march on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, costing the lives of seven of his group of twenty-seven POWs. Imprisoned in the notorious prisons of Hanoi, Reeder’s tenacity in the face of unimaginable hardship is not only a captivating story, but serves as an inspiration to all. In Through the Valley William Reeder shares the torment and pain of his ordeal, but does so in the light of the hope that he never lost. His memoir reinforces the themes of courage and sacrifice, undying faith, strength of family, love of country, loyalty among comrades, and a realization of how precious is the freedom all too often taken for granted. Sure to resonate with those serving in the armed forces who continue to face the demands of combat, Through the Valley will also appeal especially to readers looking for a powerful, riveting story.
