Fly By Knights
Author | : Roger D. Graham |
Publisher | : McFarland |
Total Pages | : 291 |
Release | : 2022-08-15 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781476686806 |
ISBN-13 | : 1476686807 |
Rating | : 4/5 (06 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: By the time of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military had transitioned to jet aircraft. Yet leaders soon learned prop-driven planes could still play a role in counterinsurgency warfare. World War II-era Douglas B-26 light bombers proved effective in close air support and interdiction, beginning with Operation Farm Gate in 1961. Forty B-26s were remanufactured as improved A-26 attack aircraft, which destroyed hundreds of North Vietnamese supply vehicles on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 1966-1969. The personal recollections of 37 pilots, navigators, maintenance and armament personnel, and family members, tell the harrowing story of B-26 and A-26 Air Commando Wing combat operations in Vietnam and Laos.