Chariots of the Damned: Helicopter Special Operations from Vietnam to Kosovo - Hardcover

McKinney, Mike; Ryan, Mike

3.57

23 ratings by Goodreads

9780312291181: Chariots of the Damned: Helicopter Special Operations from Vietnam to Kosovo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312291183 ISBN 13: 9780312291181

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2002

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An instructor pilot who served in the U.S. Air Force's Special Operations Group describes his missions from the early days of helicopter rescue to the hostage rescue attempt in Iran, a career that included experiences in Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Somalia, and the Gulf War. 12,500 first printing.

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From the Publisher:

Co-written by a serving US Special Forces pilot
Chariots of the Damned provides some fascinating insights into previously little-explored helicopter operations, ranging from the end of the Vietnam War to recent rescue operations in Kosovo.

Mike McKinney is one of the first US Special Forces pilots ever to have written such accounts whilst still a serving officer. His firsthand knowledge of operations in the Gulf and the Balkans is clearly evident in this excellent book.

A must for enthusiasts in military and helicopter operations.

From the Back Cover:

When F-16 pilot Scott O'Grady was shot down over Bosnia, a rescue mission was launched immediately. It involved nearly 100 aircraft, but succeeded in plucking him to safety in broad daylight. The pilot of the only F-117 Stealth bomber to have ever been shot down was spirited away with equal success. The USAF's elite special organisations Group is the product of many years of hard experience, but only now is it possible to reveal how many of its most famous missions were conducted.

Mike McKinney and Mike ryan investigate the origins of the Special Operations Group and experience the early rescue missions in Vietnam. The grisly fate awaiting captured American fliers spurred the USAF to develop new weapons and tactics to fight there way through intense enemy anti-aircraft fire. Sometimes the rescue of a single man would escalate into a major military operation. (one was later filmed as BAT-21 starring Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe. ) If the ultimate Vietnam rescue mission, the Sony Tay raid, was a failure, it did demonstrate how far techniques and equipment had evolved.

From disaster at Desert 1 to the Gulf War, Bosnia and the tragedy in Somalia, 'Chariots of the Damned' takes you on an edge of the seat ride into some of the most incredible battles of recent times.

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