The Hunter Killers Lib/E: The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Band of Maverick Aviators Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions of the Vietnam War

A gripping chronicle of the band of maverick fighter pilots who signed on for the suicidally dangerous top-secret Iron Hand program during the Vietnam War which used revolutionary tactics to combat Soviet missile technology from bestselling author Dan Hampton

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 US kills using this fearsome new technology. To counter this new weaponry, stunned Pentagon officials created a classified program Iron Hand that offered a small group of maverick pilots a chance to counter this deadly threat.

Fifty years later, Dan Hampton provides a cockpit view of this highly classified military program that was a radical departure from practiced tactical jet aviation and carried a fifty-percent casualty rate. Yet despite the odds, a band of courageous, daring, and skilled pilots warriors who took the name Wild Weasels risked their lives to save their Air Force brothers.

Using first-hand 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 be a part of history. Hampton brings them into focus, exploring their lives, personalities, and the characteristics a combination of ego, bravery, heroism, and duty that motivated them. He also looks at their legacy, which continues to influence the military today."