On Yankee Station: The Naval Air War over Vietnam Review

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(More customer reviews)This book on the naval air war over Vietnam should be required reading not only for all military pilots, but for every military and civilian official who is involved in planning strategy, tactics, or military weapon procurement.
But don't get the idea it's a boring book; besides giving the reader a clear view of what happened in the air over Vietnam, the author makes his points in a very readable fashion, not by preaching but by simply pointing out what we did, and why we could have done so much better -- in the conduct of the war, in providing better (often SIMPLER) equipment, and in better training.
It's definitely worth obtaining from an out-of-print dealer or from your library. Even if you have no connection with the military, this will expand your understanding of that period in US history.

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Foreword by Stephen Coonts. Combining vivid personal narrative with historical and operational analyses, this book takes a candid look at U.S. naval airpower in the Vietnam War. Coauthors John Nichols, a fighter pilot in the war, and Barrett Tillman, an award-winning aviation historian, make full use of their extensive knowledge of the subject to detail the ways in which airpower was employed in the years prior to the fall of Saigon. Confronting the conventional belief that airpower failed in Vietnam, they show that when applied correctly, airpower was effective, but because it was often misunderstood and misapplied, the end results were catastrophic. Their book offers a compelling view of what it was like to fly from Yankee Station between 1964 and 1973 and important lessons for future conflicts. At the same time, it adds important facts to the permanent war record.Following an analysis of the state of carrier aviation in 1964 and a definition of the rules of engagement, it describes the tactics used in strike warfare, the airborne and surface threats, electronic countermeasures, and search and rescue. It also examines the influence of political decisions on the conduct of the war and the changing nature of the Communist opposition. Appendixes provide useful statistical data on carrier deployments, combat sorties, and aircraft losses. This paperback edition of a book first published in 1987 includes a new foreword by Stephen Coonts.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Sky Ships: A History of the Airship in the United States Navy Review

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(More customer reviews)William Althoff, has written a comprehensive history of US Navy airships from the first blimp, DN-1, to the termination of all airship activities in 1962. When writing this history, the author had access to numerous sources including letters, interviews and tape-recorded information from former airship officers. For example, Appendix D is a copy of the Confidential 1959 letter from Captain Marion H. Eppes (former Commander of Fleet Airship Wing One) to the Chief of Naval Operations giving his recommendations for airships in the Navy.The result is a well documented, well written account of a weapons system that due to politics and budget considerations never realized its true potential.
Chapter 1 describes the establishment of Lakehurst Air Station with emphasis on the design and construction of Hangar 1. Lakehurst was designed for the construction and operation of rigid airships with one airship ZR-1 (USS Shenandoah) to be built at Lakehurst and a second rigid airship, ZR-2 to be purchase from Britain. ZR-2 crashed in Britain without being delivered.
The chapter on the Shenandoah foretells future problems for navy rigid airships stating ".... hostage to the airship's own propaganda and obsessed with public acceptance ....the navy `brass' continued to expect too much from their large airships, and far too soon." The Shenandoah's short life ended with its 1925 destruction in storm over Ohio. While the Shenandoah did little to develop the rigid airship as a weapon system, the author notes that "....the program had taken its first, faltering steps, Personnel had been trained, valuable experience accumulated ...."
The navy received ZR-3 (USS Los Angeles) from Germany in 1924 as war reparations. It was treaty limited to civilian usage and couldn't be used with the fleet to develop an airship scouting doctrine. Chapter 3 gives an excellent account of this airship's career in experimentation and training. It was instrumental in developing the low mooring mast, and in developing a system for recovering and launching airplanes from an airship. Budget problems resulted in the Los Angeles being deactivated in 1932.
Althoff's has written a succinct review of the navy's program to develop a fleet-type rigid airship. The navy contracted with Goodyear Zeppelin Corp. for two high-performance, fleet-type rigid airships ZR-4 (USS Akron) and ZR-5 (USS Macon). ZR-4 was christened in August 1931. The Akron's 1932 performances with the fleet were at best a qualified success and a doctrine for its effective use wasn't developed. Much time was devoted to public demands to see the Akron. Upon encountering a severe storm at sea in April 1933, the Akron was lost. The Macon, christened in March 1933, became proficient in launching and recovering her five scouting airplanes. The Macon developed the concept of the airship as an aircraft carrier and by mid 1934 became highly effective using her aircraft for long range, wide area scouting. Unfortunately, failure to complete repair of a damage fin resulted in the Macon's loss in February 1935 thereby ending the navy's rigid airship program.
The text notes that the navy responsibilities included supporting civilian rigid airship development in the United States. The navy supported domestic rigid airship programs by making the Lakehurst facilities available to Germany's commercial rigid airships as German and the United States companies were to jointly develop a commercial transatlantic airship service. Few people realize that the Hindenburg in 1936 provided scheduled nonstop air travel to Europe twenty years before the DC-7 began nonstop flights to London. With the Hindenburg crash in May 1937, rigid airship activity ceased at Lakehurst and the deactivated Los Angeles was dismantled in 1939.
The book's narration of the navy's W.W.II blimp program is excellent. The text notes that navy blimp activities prior to W.W.II were at best marginal. However, with the delivery of blimp K-2 in 1938, the navy had a long-range patrol and convoy escort which became the prototype for the successful W.W.II K-type blimp. When the Japanese struck at Pearl Harbor, the navy had but ten blimps of all types to patrol the entire East Coast and only one air station --Lakehurst. By March 1944 the navy had 119 blimps with air stations on the West Coast and with East Coast air stations extending to Recifi, Brazil. The installation of airborne radar and the Magnetic Airborne Detector (MAD) increased the escort effectiveness of blimps. Airship development continued with the delivery in 1944 of the new M-type blimps having a useful load of 11,900 pounds and a still air range of 2100 nautical miles. During W.W.II, blimps safely escorted 50,000 ships in areas of known enemy submarine activity. Thirty-eight airships were lost and seventy-seven personnel killed. Enemy action accounted for one fatality with personnel error responsible for most losses.
This book provides an excellent narration of the navy's postwar airship programs. Following severe downsizing after W.W.II, the airship program added advanced blimp types ZS2G, ZPG-2 and ZPG-3 plus further modernization's of the K-type. A basic Airborne Early Warning (AEW) blimp emerged in the 1950s from a modification of the ZPG-2 and ZPG-3 types. This is a fascinating period in navy airship history which is well told by this book. In March 1957 a ZPG-2 set an unrefueled endurance record of 264:20 hours--11 full days aloft. In July 1958 another ZPG-2 reached the air force's ice station T-3, less than 800 miles from the North pole covering 6200 miles with two refueling.
However, as the book notes "From the earliest years, the navy had failed to recognize the airship as a special type....requiring attention by officers qualified in and familiar with it and its peculiar problems." Faced with budget limitations and having little political or naval brass support, on 24 September 1962 deflation of the last operational navy airship began and the navy's airship program ended after 57 years.
Though published over ten years ago this book is still well worth reading by both the serious aviation historian and the aviation buff.

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The Reluctant Raiders: The Story of United States Navy Bombing Squadron VB/VPB-109 in World War II (Schiffer Military History) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book provides excellent reporting on the missions and personnel for the squadron I flew with during World War II. Much of the information contained in this book was reported in my squadron book, "A Pictorial Record -Patrol Bombing Squadron One Hundred Nine" by Lt.T.M.Steele, but Steele's document is out of print and probably only available from '109 crewmen, like myself. Unlike the Steele publication, Alan Carey's book has much of this information summarized and tabulated and, if you are looking for something or some crewman,it's easy to find. I like that. I suppose this is one of the contributions of the book.
The pictures are good and generally clear. The publisher did a good job on that because I suspect many of the pictures were copied from dark or yellowed photos offered by crewmen which would be more than 50 years old.
The book should be of most interest to the living crewmen of VB-109 and VPB-109. But probably moreso to their children and the grandchildren of the crewmen. I know that to be my case; my grandchildren seem most interested in my role during WW II and this book tells most of the story at least for the combat end of it. So, my wife and I purchased one book for each of our childen with the intent that they pass the book on to our grandchildren. Then, when their grand father is gone, they will have the story. In the meantime, they may no doubt have questions which might "open grandpa up" to reveal more of his experiences that have not or may never be published.
Good history books on our VB-109 and VPB-109 squadrons are out of print or very hard to find. Here is an opportunity to get essentially the same information by way of Alan C. Carey's book, "THE RELUCTANT RAIDERS".

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The Reluctant Raiders is perhaps the most documented and researched book on a United States Navy land-based squadron flying the PB4Y-1 Liberator and PB4Y-2 Privateer. The final result of five years of research, the book traces the squadron's history from its commissioning in August 1943, to the final days of World War II, including: never before published combat and nose art photography; the squadron's tactical organization; a chronology of each combat aircrew's mission record; personnel killed in action; and an appendix containing Japanese shipping and aircraft destroyed or damaged by the squadron

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