Comments: Softcover, 112 pages, 76 black-and-white and 4 color photos, 12, color plates
ISBN: 978-1-4728-2356-4
Price: $23
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
From the publisher: Having learned their trade on the subsonic MiG-17, pilots of the Vietnamese People’s Air Force (VPAF) received their first examples of the legendary MiG-21 supersonic fighter in 1966. Soon thrown into combat over North Vietnam, the guided-missile-equipped MiG-21 proved a deadly opponent for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps crews who were striking at targets deep in North Vietnamese territory.
Although VPAF pilots initially struggled to come to terms with the fighter’s air-search radar and weapons systems, the ceaseless cycle of combat operations quickly honed their skills. Indeed, by the time the last U.S. aircraft (a B-52) was claimed by the VPAF on December 28, 1972, no fewer than 13 pilots had become aces flying the MiG-21.
Fully illustrated with wartime photographs and detailed color art, and including enthralling combat reports, this book examines the many variants of the MiG-21 that fought in the conflict, the schemes they wore, and the pilots that flew them.
FSM says: Firsthand accounts and “insider” photos provide a revealing picture of Vietnam combat from the VPAF side. Eleven color plates show 30 different aircraft in camouflage and bare metal.
