F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21: USAF & VPAF in the Vietnam War (Duel, 12)

This is an excellent treatment of the combat history and performance of the F4 Phantom vs. MiG 21 during the Vietnam War. Peter Davies packs in a lot of info in 77 pages of text, and the colored illustrations / battle scene illustrations by Jim Laurier, Tom Tullis, & Gareth Hector are excellent.The book is very simple to follow and well-organized:I. IntroductionII. Chronology (of the Vietnam air war)III. Design & Development (of both the F4 and the MiG 21)IV. Technical Specifications (the different variants of the F4 & MiG 21, the armament, and performance of both aircraft)V. The Strategic Situation (brief history of Operation Rolling Thunder & Linebacker)VI. The Combatants (the aces on both sides, along with how they were trained; brief profiles of NVAF ace Nguyen Van Coc and USAF Robin Olds)VII. Combat (Brief overview of the aerial engagements in the Air War)VIII. Statistics and Analysis (how many aircraft shot down by both sides, along with leading "ace" pilots)IX. Aftermath (Brief summary of the lessons learned from the Air War)X. Further ReadingXII. IndexPeter Davies concludes that a well-coordinated command and control operations were vital to the effectiveness of the combat performance for both sides (along with the training & experience of the combat pilots).Although brief, this book offered one of the best comprehensive overviews of the combat engagements of the F4 and MiG 21. Highly recommended!!

F-4 Phantom II - big, powerful - built for the US Navy for Combat Air Patrol, able to haul tons of munitions and missiles - so good that the US Air Force made them their primary fighter vs. the MiG-21 - small, fast, elusive. So, which is better? That's what the Dual Series tries to answer for you by giving you a short history of each plane, its capabilities and missions flown. Author Peter Davies provides a lot of background of each plane, fighter development of the US and USSR. Davies shows the ebb and flow of which plane was better rested on the tactics, training and the pilots flying them at a particular time.I liked this book because there were a lot of pilots' stories from both sides. Davies gives great credit to the North Vietnamese pilots and ground controllers. I thought the information, technical aspects of each plane was clearly demonstrated, fair, balanced. I rated this book only three stars because I thought that the summary was weak. The author veered off with stories beyond the scope of the book and never really tied it all up. The pieces are there for the reader to see, but I would expect that someone like Davies who has written so much before would draw new or fresh insight into these twp planes. For example, if you've seen the History Channel's Dogfight series, you'll know that F-4 pilots learned to fight in the vertical plane and not try to outmaneuver the smaller MiG's. Sounds simple, but if you've never seen that show or read other material on each plane, you might not know that. And that is the purpose of the Dual series - to help the reader understand the strengths and weakness of each plane. A very good read for beginners, a solid book overall, but misses the mark of a must have.

This book does not read as smooth as a "story" but it has a lot of vital historical data and information that any Viet Nam aviation historian should have on his bookshelf. I will reference it often.

The f4 and the mig 21 were adversaries that used different philosophies to achieve the same results. This book not only covers the aircraft but the challenges pilots on both sides faced. Leaving aside some minor typographical errors, this is a well researched, and laid out book

Lots of info on both planes, pilots, etc. Once I picked it up and started reading, I didn't put it down until I finished it. Easy reading. Lots of pictures. Highly recommended.

VERY informative!

This book should be called "USAF F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21". There is virtually no mention of US Navy F-4 Phantoms, no photos, no stats. We were there, I promise. But not in this book.

excellent sales

Even though the types focused on here were by far from the only ones serving the respective air forces during the war in Vietnam, they did form a sizeable component of them and were in some ways the most advanced air assets at disposal. As such the volume is an interesting addition to the series, and nicely complements the related books covering other types in use in Vietnam, such as  F104 Starfighter Units in Combat (Combat Aircraft)  or  F-105 Thunderchief MiG Killers of the Vietnam War (Combat Aircraft) .The book is typical for the Duel format in that it gives brief development history of the two antagonist weapon systems - the McD F-4 Phantom II and the MiG-21 in the two case - followed by the engagements over the period (as usual with a slight slant to one side when it comes to relaying the first hand combat experience (easier to get from US than Vietnamese sources)), a couple of ace profiles, and a verdict and statistics section comparing the effectiveness of both types, the doctrines in use and further evolution of the types' use in later periods.The book is richly illustrated with both period and current pictures (unlike the Phantom, the MiG-21 is still in use in the VPAF), including mostly ground shots but also some aerial ones, as well as the customary colour plates and additional artwork.In addition to getting a good basic grasp of the strengths and weaknesses of the two types and the air forces operating them, you also understand the fundamentally different approaches used by the antagonists, partially dictated by their broader political and economic situation on the one hand and military needs on the other.The USAF also learned many lessons from the conflict and truly developed as a result - it never again fought an opponent as successful at frustrating its aims and so deadly in air defence (admittedly the fighter force being the smaller but by no means insignificant contributor in the Vietnamese case). In addition to the challenges and advantages of operating the respective types, I also find the commentary on the ground controlled intercept solutions quite interesting. Equally so was the section covering the revised training regimens of the USAF post Vietnam, with significantly more focus on dissimilar air combat training, air combat manoeuvring, etc.All in all a very well balanced book given the somewhat restrictive page count of the format and a good additional puzzle piece to one's understanding of the air war over Vietnam. F104 Starfighter Units in Combat (Combat Aircraft)F-105 Thunderchief MiG Killers of the Vietnam War (Combat Aircraft)

The Osprey Duel series provide an insightful view not only on the relative merits of the equipment but also on the amplitude, training and operational doctrine used when these machines are pitched against one another. Excellent read.

Does what it says - summarises that conflict between the two types in Vietnam

Belle présentation et bonne qualité d'imprimerie, mais pour un connaisseur le livre n'apporte absolument rien de nouveau

テキストは英語表記ですが、日本人にも雰囲気は伝わってくる書籍だと思いました。ミグ21PFMのイラストが、大変魅力的です。胴体下面にGP9ガンポッドを装着しているPFM型の明細塗装は、とても模型では再現出来ないと思いますが、参考にはなります。