There are times when one gets in a number of books and seeing one, immediately starts reading it. So it is with this particular book on A-4 units in Vietnam. Starting with the A-4C the Skyhawk saw action from day one until the end of the war in 1975 when the A-4F 'Super Fox' was the aircraft of choice. Though replaced on most carriers by the A-7 Corsair II by that time, those few remaining 27 Charlie carriers were operating the Skyhawk.

As you might imagine in a book of this type, there is a brief on each US carrier deployment to the war zone and the units that flew from that particular ship. It includes the usual '..there I was..' stories that make books like this so fascinating to read. The exploits of these men are really quite inspiring and many of the earliest POWs of the war were Skyhawk pilots who were unfortunate enough to be knocked down by the intense North Vietnamese anti-aircraft defenses.

Along with the Navy, the US Marines were also operating out of bases in South Vietnam, and while not as consistently flying, the missions they flew were no less fraught with danger or excitement. They also racked up an impressive total of combat sorties as they were able to sometimes do several missions a day from bases at Chu Lai or DaNang.

All of this is superbly illustrated with commentary regarding the fate of each Skyhawk shown, something that I found pretty fascinating. This includes the knowledge that at least one ex-A-4C that saw combat is still active with the Singapore AF, though it will soon be history as the Singapore unit will be disbanded later this year. In addition to all the great photos there are 32 very well done color profiles and five pages of color photos of these aircraft.

The book has been done in cooperation with the A-4 Skyhawk Association who helped to flesh things out by providing some more specific information on the aircraft and operations. It brought back a few memories for this reviewer and makes for a 'must have' read; one that I know you will find as engrossing as did I.

April 2007

For more on the complete line of Osprey books, visit www.ospreypublishing.com. In the US, it is Osprey Direct at 44-02 23rd St, Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101., where you can get a catalogue of available books.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that has over 350,000 visitors a month, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.