Sherman Lead: Flying the F-4D Phantom II in Vietnam: Gaillard R. Peck, Jr: Osprey Publishing

Sherman Lead

Flying the F-4D Phantom II in Vietnam

Sherman Lead

Flying the F-4D Phantom II in Vietnam

Description

Sherman Lead is the gripping story of a year flying the F-4 Phantom in combat during the Vietnam War, told through the eyes of a US Air Force fighter pilot. Operating out of Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand in 1968–69, Gail Peck and his squadronmates were tasked with flying combat missions into North Vietnam and Laos at this time as part of Operations Rolling Thunder and Steel Tiger.

The F-4 was heavily involved in the air-to-ground mission at this time, with targets being well defended by enemy anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. Gail Peck's arrival in-theater coincided with the beginning of electro-optical and laser guided "smart" bomb combat operations. There were periods of fierce combat interspersed with lulls and the fighting was intense and unforgettable to those who participated. Some men lived through it, and others died without a clear understanding of why.

Written by a pilot who flew near-daily combat missions, this engrossing book is the story of one man, his colleagues, and his machine--the mighty F-4 Phantom--at war.

Acknowledgments /Foreword /Introduction /Prologue /1. So how did we get mixed up in Vietnam? /2. Getting into fighters /3. Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand, the 433rd TFS and a Taste of Combat with Electro-Optically Guided Bombs /4. Party Suits and Howdy Hats /5. Dumb Bomb Combat Almost Every Day /6. Snakes and Lizards and Golf /7. Night Combat with Brian McMahan and Norm 'Phenius' Fogg /8. Christmas Day 1968 – a Combat Mission and then Christmas Dinner with the Grays /9. Laser-Guided Bombs /10. A Bad Night – Sherman Lead is Down /11. The Club, R&R and LBFMs /12. Silver Star Mission /13, Plain de Jars and the area known as Barrel Roll /14. Jeb Stewart is Down /15. Paul Bannon and Peter Pike – Down /16. 'Poppa Wolf', Ray Battle, Brings One Home /17. Men on the Moon /18. A Broken Jaw, a Cancelled Assignment and a 'Dear John' Letter /19. Sherman Lead Repatriated – At Last /Postscript /Index

Product details

Published	Mar 05 2019
Format	Hardback
Edition	1st
Extent	304
ISBN	9781472829375
Imprint	Osprey Publishing
Illustrations	32pp plate section in colour and black & white
Dimensions	9 x 6 inches
Series	General Aviation
Short code	GNA
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

Author

Gaillard R. Peck, Jr

Col. (Ret.) Gaillard R. Peck, Jr was a career offi…

Foreword

Lt Gen (Ret.) Walter D. Druen, Jr

Foreword

Gen (Ret.) Richard E. Hawley

“Sherman Lead” will bring home to readers the stark reality of waging an air war against a determined enemy. I highly recommend this book to those interested the tough battle that was fought to stop the infiltration of men and supplies into South Vietnam

Colonel Gary Baber, USAF, Retired
Gail Peck writes as well as he flies and tells it like it was. I flew with Colonel Peck in combat and he is the real deal both in the air and on the page

Ed Cobleigh, Author of 'F-4 Phantom: A Pilot's Story'
If you want a deep dive into what it was like to fly fighters, Sherman Lead gives you a view of the Air War experienced by Satan's Angels pilots and WSOs.

Steve Mosier, F-4 Phantom Pilot
Peck's stories are compelling. Peck's stories are true. And how would I know? I was there.

Mike Davison, F-4 Phantom WSO
[Peck's] deeply personal and starkly honest memoir of his year as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War captures those realities in a series of vignettes. It is the perspective of a gung-ho junior officer staring down death on 163 combat missions, many flown at night.

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