Jack Broughton's F-105 Thunderchief Missions Over Vietnam: Stories from Thud Ridge

Client d'Amazon: Cet écrit du Colonel Broughton dans la langue originale ( anglais us ) a été réédité dans une présentation de qualité et permet de constater combien, avant comme maintenant, les décideurs (politiques) trop loin du terrain, impliquaient inconsidérément les exécutants.
Un récit biographique courageux et percutant.
A recommander.

France on Jan 15, 2020

Juan: You fligth over Vietnam in a F 105 in late sixties. Fantastic story about leadership and commitment

Spain on Jan 02, 2019

Andy Stuart: Jack ~Broughton served as a Colonel on the staff of one of the two wings operating the F-105 from Thailand over North Vietnam in the late 1960s. The book contains a detailed description of F-105 operations, with the author's often critical comments on the way the USAF set about implementing the Johnson administration's micro-management of the war in Vietnam. There are many descriptions of individual operations, full of the exhilaration and terror experienced by a truly professional fighter pilot. This book is far more than the vtypical pilot's memoirs and well worth reading.

United Kingdom on Jun 12, 2016

Luigi Zabarini: Ho acquistato questo libro perchè l'autore da una visione di prima mano della vita di un pilota da caccia statunitense durante la guerra del Vietnam. pur sapendomi destreggiare con l'inglese però ho trovato un po' difficile seguire il pensiero dell'autore perchè alcune espressioni non mi sono facili da tradurre. L'argomento trattato è interessante, ma necessiterebbe una traduzione in italiano.

Italy on Apr 18, 2015

Norm: One of the best military books around about being a combat pilot for the USAF in the Vietnam. This book and the author's righting style will make you feel like you are right there and have u sitting on the edge of your seat at times. Also it will be one of those books your will want to re-read again every once in a while.

Canada on Aug 11, 2014

Ventura D: I found this book while trying to understand why the F-105 loss rate during the Vietnam War was so high (of 833 F-105's built, 385 were lost--51 due to operational accidents and the rest to enemy action).

"Thud Ridge" describes bombing missions over North Vietnam as told by a decorated F-105 pilot, Colonel Broughton. He and others in his wing sometimes took tape recorders along, so he is able to report verbatim on the radio transmissions during some of the missions. This gives a heightened sense of what it was like to actually be there in the cockpit. Broughton describes so much of the operations involved in launching a raid and returning from it that the reader almost feels like he is flying the mission himself.

The book has 12 chapters, two appendices, and an index. There are approximately 70 B&W photos of maps, operations, or aircraft. Some of these appear to be snapshots, and others appear to be images from the gun cameras. A typical chapter begins with the start of the mission, follows with a description of one or more of the pilots or facets of the operations, and ends with the bombing run and its aftermath. Sometimes the "aftermath" is watching a burning...

United States on Dec 10, 2012

Robert I. Hedges: "Thud Ridge" is still the best book on the air war in Vietnam after almost 40 years. First published in 1969 while the war was still going on, this book addresses both the bravery of the F-105 pilots specifically, and the cowardice of the political and military leadership that sacrificed American lives pointlessly. A true patriot, Colonel Broughton explains the challenges of flying "downtown" to the most heavily part of North Vietnam in terms of both his duty as a professional military officer and as a savvy flying leader. He was a demanding boss, but clearly supported his subordinates to the hilt: as a former US Air Force pilot myself, what I can say assuredly is that the military needs more men like Colonel Broughton.

The book is fast paced and grimly descriptive. The accounts of specific missions are both frightening and informative, but none can rival chapter nine, "The Longest Mission," a disaster that cost the Air Force Medal of Honor Winner Leo Thorsness, Harry Johnson, Bob Abbott, and Joe Abbott. Most infuriatingly, some of these men could have been rescued if not for the incompetence of the controlling agencies and the outdated rescue resources available. The...

United States on Aug 07, 2008