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Osprey's study of the use of MiG-21 Units in the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Having honed their piloting skills on the subsonic MiG-17 and transonic MiG-19, the Vietnamese Peoples' Air Force (VPAF) received their first examples of the legendary MiG-21 supersonic fighter in 1966. Soon thrown into combat over North Vietnam, the guided-missile equipped MiG-21 proved a deadly opponent for the USAF, Navy and Marine Corps crews striking at targets deep into communist territory. Most of the VPAF's 12+ aces scored their bulk of their kills in the MiG-21, which was then the best fighter produced by Russia's premier fast jet manufacturer, Mikoyan Gurevich. Well over 200 MiG-21s were supplied to the VPAF, and the numerous models and the schemes they wore are chronicled in great detail in this unique volume.
List of contents
CHAPTER ONE
BEYOND MACH 2.0
CHAPTER TWO
VICTORIES AND LOSSES
CHAPTER THREE
THE CLIMAX
CHAPTER FOUR
AIRFIELDS AND MAINTENANCE
APPENDICES-COLOUR PLATES-COMMENTARY-INDEX
About the author
István Toperczer is a flight surgeon with the Hungarian Air Force. In his spare time, he has become one of the few individuals from outside Vietnam to be given open access to the files of the VPAF. He has made numerous visits to Hanoi, and other Vietnamese cities, in the past 25 years, and has interviewed many of the leading MiG-21 pilots from the war years. He has previously written four series volumes on VPAF MiGs for Osprey.Mark Styling is better known to readers of Osprey Publishing's Aircraft of the Aces and Combat Aircraft series as the profile artist for such books as Hellcat Aces of World War 2, Japanese Army Air Force Aces 1937–45 and P–61 Units of World War 2. A full-time commercial artist, Mark works from his home in the East London suburb of Hackney.
Summary
A study of the ultimate Communist fighter of the Vietnam War, the MiG-21, and its use by the VPAF. It features first-hand accounts from the men who flew the MiG-21, along with scale drawings of all major variants.
