Description
Osprey's study of airmobile tactics used in the Vietnam War (1955-1975).
- With its first major use in battle during the Vietnam War, the helicopter ushered in a radically different way of fighting, despite its proven vulnerability to ground fire. Either delivering troops into hostile territory and removing them after the fighting ended, or armed with guns, grenade launchers, and rockets to provide rapid and wide-ranging air to ground support fire, the helicopter - available for the first time in sufficient numbers and capable of a wide range of missions - played a central role in the war. - From the beginning, with obsolete Korean War helicopters carrying ARVN troops into battle, to Huey gunships evacuating the wounded at la Drang in 1965, and transport helicopters evacuating Americans from Saigon rooftops in 1975; this was the first real helicopter war. By the middle of the war, the helicopter, in particular the Huey model had become as important to the army as the tank, the armored personnel carrier, and the jeep. - Presenting a concise history of the first ever major use of helicopters in battle, Gordon L. Rottman, a former Green Beret in Vietnam, describes in detail the development of the critical airmobile tactics that ultimately changed the way America fights its battles.Author: Gordon L. Rottman
Publisher: Osprey Publishing (UK)
Published: 03/27/2007
Pages: 64
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.47lbs
Size: 9.72h x 7.20w x 0.24d
ISBN13: 9781846031366
ISBN10: 1846031362
BISAC Categories:
- History | Wars & Conflicts | Vietnam War
About the Author
Gordon L. Rottman entered the US Army in 1967, volunteered for Special Forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. He served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969-70 and subsequently in airborne infantry, long-range patrol and intelligence assignments until retiring after 26 years. He was a special operations forces scenario writer at the Joint Readiness Training Center for 12 years and is now a freelance writer, living in Texas. The author lives in Texas, USA.