Vietnam Air Losses: United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973

Air & Space Power Journal, Fall, 2003 by Ron Fuller

by Chris Hobson. Midland Publishing, available from Specialty Press (http://www.specialtypress.com), 39966 Grand Avenue, North Branch, Minnesota 55056, 2001, 192 pages, $29.95 (softcover).

The headline of a front-page story in the New York Times on 21 March 1961 read, "U.S. Ready to Face All Risks to Bar Red Rule of Laos/Decision Made as Kennedy Meets with Top Military Advisors/ Growing Crisis Seen." Two days later, Pathet Lao ground fire downed a C-47B out of Vientiane, thus marking the loss of the first US fixed-wing aircraft operating in the fledgling conflict in Southeast Asia. Seven crew members died. Maj Lawrence Robert Bailey, "who always wore a parachute when he flew," survived to spend nearly 17 months as a prisoner of war (p. 5).

In Vietnam Air Losses, Chris Hobson offers a running calendar that chronicles the air war and provides capsule accounts of aircraft lost and the fate of their crews, addressing the when, where, how, and why of these incidents. The book's stories of aviators connected by a common thread describe accounts of bravery, misfortune, and occasional misadventure. On another level, they provide a clinical record, both historical and statistical, of air warfare in Southeast Asia.

The author, a British librarian with over 20 years' service with the Ministry of Defence, ties together 3,322 aircraft losses with insightful background information about participating units, aircraft types, and the operational history of the war. Such continuity makes his work much more than a mere directory or listing of random events.

In addition to a judicious use of photographs with captions on aircraft types, the book contains a bibliography and glossary of operation and project code names. Appendices and indexes include Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps orders of battle (wings, groups, and other units, including squadron makeup; and--where applicable--activation, inactivation, redesignation, reassignment, and deployment dates), as well as a statistical summary of air losses by service, year, and aircraft type, with separate listings by date for losses to surface-to-air missiles and MiGs. Finally, a 10-page index of 4,400 personnel provides a reference point for each incident that mentions an aviator's or crew member's name. Mr. Hobson has dedicated his book to these people and has told their story well. For researchers looking for a description or confirmation of details about aircraft losses, Vietnam Air Losses is a practical place to start.

Ron Fuller

Maxwell AFB, Alabama