USAF F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers 1972-73 (Combat Aircraft)

By Peter E. Davies

Book Overview

The fierce aerial battles that became synonymous with the 1972-73 Linebacker offensive over North Vietnam saw the USAF's F-4 Phantom II crews claim 48 MiG-19s and MiG-21s destroyed. Although the USAF had introduced few initiatives to update the Phantom II's missiles and improve tactics since Rolling Thunder had come to an end four years earlier, it did deploy the gun-armed F-4E, and its 20mm cannon scored seven kills. Other electronic modifications - notably the APX-80 Combat Tree IFF interrogator - allowed more effective use of the AIM-7 Sparrow missile. Nevertheless, poor missile reliability and inflexible tactics caused a low score of MiGs when air combat over North Vietnam resumed in early 1972. Where major batches of MiG kills were claimed (principally by the 432nd TRW, which downed 33 of the 48 MiGs destroyed), they were often the result of salvos of missiles fired at a single MiG, reducing the number of 'multiple MiG-killer' aircrews. This book describes the MiG kills, using first-hand accounts, against this background of shifting technical and tactical fortunes. Book jacket.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1841766577
• ISBN13: 9781841766577
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (UK)
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 7.3" x 9.8"