Author Description

A comparative evaluation of the tactics and technology involved in the battles between the USAF's Republic F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bombers and their VPAF MiG-17 opponents during the Vietnam War. Fully illustrated with stunning artwork, this book shows how the F-105 and the MiG-17, totally different in design and purpose, fought in a series of duels that cost both sides dearly. The F-105D Thunderchief was originally designed as a low-altitude nuclear strike aircraft, but the outbreak of the Vietnam War led to it being used instead as the USAF's primary conventional striker against the exceptionally well-defended targets in North Vietnam and Laos. F-105 crews conducted long-distance missions from bases in Thailand, refueling in flight several times and carrying heavy external bombloads. The MiG-17 was the lightweight, highly maneuverable defending fighter it encountered most often in 1965–68 during Operation Rolling Thunder. A development of the MiG-15, which shocked UN forces during the Korean War, its emphasis was on simplicity and ease of maintenance in potentially primitive conditions.