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Vigilante!: 1,200 Hours Flying the Ultimate US Navy Reconnaissance Aircraft
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About Vigilante!: 1,200 Hours Flying The Ultimate US Navy
Product Description North American's RA-5C Vigilante represents the absolute zenith of Jet Age aerial reconnaissance at Mach 2. The aircraft’s history corresponds to the evolution of the war in Vietnam, where Vigilantes located targets and assessed post-strike damage. The jet’s two crewmen operated highly sophisticated sensors, cameras, infrared mapping, side-looking radar, and electronic countermeasure equipment. Because of their ultra-high-risk missions, Vigilantes suffered the highest loss rate of any US Navy aircraft, and the number of RA-5Cs built was small as was the cadre of dedicated men who flew them. This book explains the aircraft and its development in great detail and gives new insight into the courageous men who flew the Vigilante in combat. Author Robert "Boom" Powell was a US Navy carrier pilot for 16 of his 20 years in the service. His second combat tour in Vietnam was spent flying the Vigilante, and he incorporates historical fact, detailed new information, and never-before-published photographs to produce the definitive work on this aircraft. Personal sidebar anecdotes are interspersed in the text, adding the vital human element to this compelling story of Naval Aviation at its best. No book has ever been written about the A3J/RA-5C like this one, telling the story of North American's jet in such vivid detail. Many of the rare, never-before-published photographs were culled from the author’s personal collection, archives of the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida, the Tailhook Association in San Diego, California, and several well-known photo historians. The author also contacted 40 veterans of the RA-5C community to acquire their Vigilante stories, which have also never been told. Review "... the sidebars and photos really bring the U.S. Navy recon plane to life. I highly recommend Vigilante!" (Peter Mersky Aviation History 2020-07-13)"I absolutely recommend this volume, from both the scale-model and historical perspectives. I will also add that the scope of book, focusing a series of experiential anecdotes, gives a more 'in the plane' sense than many historical aviation books." (Rob Benson IPMS/USA 2020-08-11) From the Back Cover A Vigilante pilot tells the story of the RA-5C’s development coupled with vivid tales of flying harrowing combat missions over North Vietnam.No book has ever been written about North American's Mach-2 A3J/RA-5C like this one. Author Robert “Boom” Powell was a US Navy carrier pilot who flew Vigilantes during his second combat tour in Vietnam, and he skillfully weaves together historical facts and detailed information with never-before-published photographs to produce the definitive work on this historic aircraft. Personal anecdotes from the men who were there add the vital human element to this compelling story of naval aviation at its best. About the Author Having a very extensive background in military aviation, Robert "Boom" Powell has written countless articles for many naval magazines. As an active aviator today, Powell instructs in air combat, flies sailplanes, and also flies vintage warbirds for the Virginia Beach Military Aviation Museum.
