The Hunter Killers

"The Hunter Killers" by Dan Hampton is a gripping chronicle of the band of maverick aviators who signed on for the suicidal, dangerous top-secret "Wild Weasel" missions during the Vietnam War. These missions used controversial and revolutionary tactics to combat Soviet missile technology. On July 24, 1965, Soviet advisors to North Vietnam launched an SA-2 surface-to-air missile (SAM), blowing an American F-4 Phantom out of the sky - the first of several kills using this menacing system. Stunned Pentagon officials created a classified program - "Wild Weasel I" - to counter this new weaponry, pairing experimental equipment with a highly select group of electronic warfare officers and fighter pilots to combat this deadly threat. These men became the "Hunter Killers" and it is time to know their names. Fifty years later, Dan Hampton provides a cockpit view of this highly classified military program that was a radical departure from conventional fighter jet tactics. These courageous, daring, and skilled warriors risked their lives to fight the SAMs and save their brother aviators. Using firsthand accounts and declassified documents from both sides of the conflict, The Hunter Killers takes readers into the skies and up close to the bloody duels that left half the Weasels dead or captured. At its center are the men who risked everything to fight the most dangerous antiaircraft weapons the world had seen. "Texas Rising" by acclaimed Texas historian Stephen L. Moore brings to life the violent Texas frontier and the Rangers' heroic deeds during the Texas Revolution. This official companion to the epic History series of the same name is an unforgettable history of this iconic band of fighters.

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