Vigilante!: 1,200 Hours Flying the Ultimate US Navy Reconnaissance Aircraft

by Robert "Boom" Powell US Navy (Ret.)

Overview

North American's RA-5C Vigilante represents the absolute zenith of Jet Age aerial reconnaissance at Mach 2. The aircraft’s history corresponds to the evolution of the war in Vietnam, where Vigilantes located targets and assessed post-strike damage. The jet’s two crewmen operated highly sophisticated sensors, cameras, infrared mapping, side-looking radar, and electronic countermeasure equipment. Because of their ultra-high-risk missions, Vigilantes suffered the highest loss rate of any US Navy aircraft, and the number of RA-5Cs built was small as was the cadre of dedicated men who flew them. This book explains the aircraft and its development in great detail and gives new insight into the courageous men who flew the Vigilante in combat.

Author Robert "Boom" Powell was a US Navy carrier pilot for 16 of his 20 years in the service. His second combat tour in Vietnam was spent flying the Vigilante, and he incorporates historical fact, detailed new information, and never-before-published photographs to produce the definitive work on this aircraft. Personal sidebar anecdotes are interspersed in the text, adding the vital human element to this compelling story of Naval Aviation at its best.

No book has ever been written about the A3J/RA-5C like this one, telling the story of North American's jet in such vivid detail. Many of the rare, never-before-published photographs were culled from the author’s personal collection, archives of the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida, the Tailhook Association in San Diego, California, and several well-known photo historians. The author also contacted 40 veterans of the RA-5C community to acquire their Vigilante stories, which have also never been told.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580072618
Publisher:	Specialty Press
Publication date:	11/26/2019
Edition description:	9781st ed.
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Having a very extensive background in military aviation, Robert "Boom" Powell has written countless articles for many naval magazines. As an active aviator today, Powell instructs in air combat, flies sailplanes, and also flies vintage warbirds for the Virginia Beach Military Aviation Museum.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Bomb Goes to Sea

Chapter 2: Concept and Construction

Chapter 3: Vigilante at Sea

Chapter 4: “R” Is for Reconnaissance

Chapter 5: Freshman Term

Chapter 6: Hard Times: 1967–1968

Chapter 7: Master’s Degree: 1969–1972

Chapter 8: There Was Still a War On: 1969–1972

Chapter 9: Linebacker and Beyond: 1972–1973

Chapter 10: Seven Years

Epilogue

Selected Biographies

Glossary

End Notes

Index

Editorial Reviews

"... the sidebars and photos really bring the U.S. Navy recon plane to life. I highly recommend Vigilante!"

Aviation History - Peter Mersky

"I absolutely recommend this volume, from both the scale-model and historical perspectives. I will also add that the scope of book, focusing a series of experiential anecdotes, gives a more 'in the plane' sense than many historical aviation books."

IPMS/USA - Rob Benson