F-8 Crusader vs MiG-17: Vietnam 1965-72 (Duel, 61)

This Osprey Duel #61 pits the F-8 Crusader against the MiG-17 in air combat during the early war years of the war in Vietnam. Author Peter Mersky gives us an excellent narrative of the air combat between the Soviet-supplied MiG-17 in the hands of Vietnamese (and North Korean) pilots and US naval aviators flying off carriers in Yankee Station.The author begins, after a brief introduction, with the design and development for each aircraft with the Vought company developing a naval fighter for the US Navy while the MiG bureau develops a successor to their MiG-15 which surprised the Americans in the Korean War. He moves on to the technical specs for each aircraft, including their weapons systems - guns in the MiG and guns-and-missiles in the Crusader.The author digresses for a moment to give a brief explanation of the strategic situation in southeast Asia. He then moves into the combat between men and machines, the Crusader coming off a b it better than the MiG, mainly because of the much better trained Americans. There are a lot of first-person accounts where the pilots (both Vietnamese and American) tell their stories of combat which is something I really like to read in these books. There's nothing like the words of the pilots themselves to bring a duel to life!This is a good book about the "last of the gunfighters" versus an aging, but still effective opponent in the right hands. One of the things the author does not do well is look deeply into the almost total failure of American weapons - especially the "wonderweapons", the guided missiles. The Sparrow radar-guided missiles (not carried by the Crusader) and the Sidewinder (which was carried by the Crusader) had a probability of kill in testing of 90% yet had a probability of kill in actual combat of 9% in the case of the Sparrow. The F-4 Phantom had no gun because the defense department felt the missiles were so good they didn't need them! In this book, you will read again and again of the Sidewinders failing time after time when a pilot is in scoring position against a MiG. Even the F-8's cannon were unreliable! In this age when we are treated to video of the hi-tech weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan, we should take it with a grain of salt.The book is a very good one with period photos and color plates that, quite literally, put you in the pilot's seat. This is certainly a five star book and I recommend it.

Prolific aviation author, Cdr. Peter Mersky USNR (Ret.) provides world-wide aviation enthusiasts with an information-packed, even-handed exposé of two Cold War aviation icons: the US Navy's F8 Crusader and the Vietnam Peoples Air Force's MiG-17. Mersky ably packs into the eighty pages a full-scope treatment of both fighters and pilots. To his credit, he resists pandering to any one group and gives an honest appraisal and readers benefit by gaining a new understanding and respect of the strengths and weaknesses of both adversaries and equipment.The book is loaded with high-quality photos and illustrations accompanied by meaningful captions that make the narrative complete. Particularly valuable are the gun bay and cockpit illustrations by illustrator Jim Laurier, giving us a complete list reference to each gage, switch, lever, and light in both cockpits; even in the eBook version, all are easily viewed. Highly regarded aviation artist, Gareth Hector, provides the dramatic cover and dog-fight artwork. All are superb.For many, the "Combat" chapter---filled with American and Vietnamese pilot-recollections of the aerial duels---is the "icing on the cake" but, for me, the chapters "Statistics and Analysis" and "Aftermath" gave the evidence for the F8's famous representation: "The MiG Master." In tabular format, with supporting commentary and evidence, Mersky lays it all out for us.Naturally, for those of us who flew or maintained the Crusader, during the sixties, this book was highly anticipated. The publisher and author don't disappoint. But, we also gain a respect for the relatively primitive MiG-17 and its poorly trained pilots. As one F8 pilot is quoted after a MiG missile kill, "The poor pilot didn't have a chance." However, the US Navy didn't own the skies over Vietnam and the hard lessons learned during those dark days in our history provided the means to air superiority we now demonstrate in our air wars.This technically superior book will be a joy to aviation enthusiasts but the general reader will find it interesting and worthwhile as well. I highly recommend it.Kenneth V. Jack, co-author Blue Moon over Cuba: Aerial Reconnaissance during the Cuban Missile Crisis (General Aviation)

The F-8 Crusader was the U.S. Navy's top air-to-air fighter in the skies over North Vietnam in the years 1965 to 1972. Although the Crusaders had fewer kills than the more numerous F-4 Phantoms and F-105 Thunderchiefs, their actual kill ratio was quite good, thanks to a highly maneuverable airframe and four onboard 20mm cannon. This is their story..."F-8 Crusader vs MiG-17" is an Osprey Duel Series book, authored by aviation enthusiast Peter Mersky, with illustrations by Peter Laurier. The format covers the design and technical specifications of the two combatant aircraft, along with the respective training of their pilots. The author spends some time detailing the different models of each aircraft. The core of the narrative is of course the head to head combat of the F-8 against the MiG-17 over North Vietnam. As the author notes at some length, there are lingering disputes over the respective kills claimed by each side, but it is pretty clear the Crusader more than held its own, and that some of the duels were quite intense.As with others of the Duel series, there is a lot of technical information that will be of most interest to aviation-minded readers. The author's conversational writing style should help hold the interest of the general reader. The text is nicely supplemented with photographs, illustrations, and diagrams, including of the aircraft themselves. Recommended.

This book fills in some voids in the use of the Crusader and especially the Mig. The combat descriptions were interesting, but I gave it 4 stars because I was looking for more information on the aircraft especially the Crusader. If you are looking for basic info on air to air combat in Viet Nam this is a good place to start.

Very interesting view of two classic aircraft and also interesting about the air war in Vietnam.

I had high expectations for this book. I’m very interested in early swept wing and supersonic jet aircraft and both the MiG-17 and F8U (or F-8) are two successful airplanes developed respectively at the beginning and in the middle of 1950s. Unfortunately my expectations were not fully met. The discussion of the technical backgrounds of the two aircraft is very restricted with the exception of a lengthy discussion of the Boundary Layer Control System for the F-8J (more than two full pages out of total of 80). I was indeed expecting more on the requirements from which the two airplanes emerged and was looking to learn more about their development and introduction into service especially for the MiG17. I found the second part of the book more interesting. In particular I enjoyed the discussion of the different backgrounds from which the Vietnamese and American pilots came from. With more focus on the airplanes it could have been terrific book, as it stands it gets only three stars.

Me ha parecido que hace un uso excesivo de relatos de protagonistas de combates aéreos y, he echado en falta un esfuerzo por presentar una visión de conjunto y un análisis de la estrategia, las tácticas y los resultados de los combates.Por lo demás, las fotos y los dibujos están a la altura acostumbrada en los libros de esta editorial.

Libro non considerabile nuovo,un libro nuovo DEVE essere MINT,pessimo.

Muy buen libro con muchos detalles y comentarios de pilotos , dando una buena idea de la situacion del enfrentamiento entre estos aviones