HISTORY:
** The conflict in Vietnam was often dubbed “the helicopter war” as it was the first time helicopters had taken a dominant role in modern conflict. In all, nearly 12,000 were deployed, and in excess of 5,000 were lost in action, together with 2,165 pilots. Gunship conversions were introduced in 1962 to provide close-support armament to cover troop insertions and protect troop-carrying helicopters. The latter had proven vital in taking the fight to an often elusive enemy who had long experience of jungle operations, camouflage, and evasion. Generally avoiding set-piece pitched battles, the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong relied on rapid, frequent strikes, and withdrew using routes that were generally inaccessible to US vehicles. In such an environment, the Huey gunship quickly became among the most common, hardest-worked, and most effective of the 24 helicopter types in-theater.
Drawing in first-hand accounts, this fascinating volume examines the innovations in tactics and combat introduced by gunship helicopters in a variety of operations during the Vietnam War **
** Quoted from the back cover of the book.
THE BOOK:
Osprey Publications has released UH-1 Huey Gunship vs NVA VC Forces - Vietnam 1962–75 as Number 112 in the Duel series. It is a soft cover book with 80 pages. Included with the text are black and white and color photographs, color illustrations, cutaway artwork, maps, detailed captions and more. It has a 2021 copyright, a publication date of August 19, 2021 and the ISBN is 978-1-4728-4515-3
THE CONTENTS:
- Introduction
- Chronology
- Design and Development
- Technical Specifications
- The Strategic Situation
- The Combatants
- Combat
- Statistics and Analysis
- Aftermath
- Further reading
- Index
THE TEXT:
Author Peter E. Davies provides a well written and informative text detailing the United States helicopter combat program in Vietnam from the years of 1962 through 1975. As the titles states the main emphasis is on the American made Bell UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" helicopter and its various weapons configurations when they were used as gunships. And as the title states Peter E. Davies discusses and details the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Viet Cong (VC) and their countermeasures and weapons used against the American helicopter borne forces and what was effective and why. Peter E. Davies discusses helicopter airborne operations and NVA/VC countermeasures in an overall discussion and not specific events actions and results. The author discusses how helicopter warfare was in its infancy at the start of America’s involvement in Vietnam and how tactics and uses of the helicopters were developed as the conflict progressed and how that affected training back in the United States. The author thoroughly covers the various weapons systems and their designations that were developed and experimented with during the conflict and the advantages, disadvantages, successes and failures of the systems and how they effected the fuel consumption the helicopters as well as the amount of ammunition, rockets, personnel, etc., that could be carried. Along with his own words Peter E. Davies has also included personal quotes from various individuals. The text in the book is nicely written and well detailed. As I read through the text, I didn’t notice any spelling errors but I did find a couple of grammatical errors such as on page 18 where it reads “three missiles each side on special launchers”, where it should read “three missiles on each side on special launchers” and on page 73 where it reads “Ten year later” where it should read “Ten years later”. The errors are present however they are minor and take nothing away from the book. Grammar and spelling might not be an important factor to everyone however it is something that I take notice of and pass on my findings. I feel that if the text is well written then it shows that the author has taken the time to be professional with their writing. Anyone wanting to add an excellent reference and history book on American helicopter use, modifications and tactics and the communist forces reactions to them during the Vietnam Conflict to their personal library will be pleased with this informative book.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
A total of 27 black and white photographs and 22 color photographs are included in this volume. The photographs range from wide angle photographs to close-up detailed photographs. I would say that the photographs that were chosen for this book were for the most part lesser-known photographs as opposed to photographs that are featured in many other titles that deal with the same subject matter. The settings range from photographs staged for the photographer to action scenes. The majority of the photographs are clear and easily viewable; however, a few have an out of focus look to them and some appear to be too dark, and others appear too light. This is typical for the discussed period of history and consideration needs to be given to that and the quality of the photographs is of no fault of the author and do not take anything away from the book. Author Peter E. Davies stuck to the title of the book and chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject of the book. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be a wealth of information to anyone interested in US helicopters in Vietnam as well as the uniforms, firearms and warfare of the period discussed due to the details they contain.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS:
There are 13 color illustrations included in the volume by illustrators Jim Laurier and Gareth Hector. The illustrations are very well done, nicely detailed and are of:
Front Cover - two illustrations
Plate A
UH-1C Huey
Plate B
UH-1C cutaway view
Plate C
DShKM 1938/46 “DUSHKA” Heavy Machine Gun
Plate D
ZU-23-2 AA cannon
Plate E
AK-47 Assault Rifle
Plate F
UH-1C Huey Cockpit
Plate G
Early Airborne Assault Formation eample
Plate H
“Daisy Chain” Pattern operation example
Plate I
Landing Zone operations example
Plate J
XM60 and XM6 sighting systems in use
Plate K
NUH-1B helicopter firing a XM26 wire guided missile in use
Note: The illustrations on page 20 and page 42 have some reference numbers in them, that are referenced in the provided key, that can be hard to see.
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs and illustrations in great detail eliminating any doubt as to what is shown. The captions go into very specific detail as to the specific type of helicopter and weapon system shown, the military unit the helicopter was attached to, crew members names, dates, locations and other such pertinent information. As I read through the captions, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. I was impressed by Peter E. Davies’ captions as they are very helpful to the reader due to their detailed content as opposed to other captions that I have seen that are very brief and lacking in detail.
MAPS:
There are 2 maps included in this volume:
- Major US operations 1965-67:
- Effective range of enemy anti-aircraft artillery in Laos in 1971
Osprey Publishing also offers UH-1 Huey Gunship vs NVA VC Forces - Vietnam 1962–75 as:
eBook (ePub) ISBN: 978-1-4728-4513-9
and
eBook (PDF) ISBN: 978-1-4728-4514-6
Osprey Publishing’s, UH-1 Huey Gunship vs NVA VC Forces - Vietnam 1962–75, is also available as a Kindle version through Amazon.com
PRICE:
UK £13.99 / US $22.00 / CAN $30.00
This book was provided to me by Osprey Publishing. Please be sure to mention that you saw the book reviewed here on the KitMaker Network when you make your purchase. Thank you.
