Peter E. Davies

I have yet to read a bad piece of writing by Peter Davies, and this examination of the first of the operational Convair delta-winged combat aircraft is no exception. Because the F-102 was the first, a considerable word count is devoted to what it took to make the then cutting-edge vision of technology into a viable combat aircraft. From there, Davies examines the world-wide deployment of the type, and the surprisingly active use of the machine in Vietnam in the ground attack and pathfinder show more roles. While "Duece" pilots might have longed for aerial combat with the North Vietnamese fighter force, it was probably just as well that the contacts could be counted on one hand; the one serious encounter saw the USAF on the short end of the stick. show less

Peter Davies has yet to write a bad book about Cold War American jet aircraft that I've read and this one is no exception, though having been published in 2014 it is probably beginning to show its age, particularly in regards to the electronic warfare version of this aircraft.

Still, I suspect the coverage of the machine's ill-fated deployment to Vietnam, and Ronald Reagan's war with Libya hold up very well, and are still very useful. In particular, the men who flew and maintained the F-111 show more in its early days are rapidly passing on, so there is value as primary source material. show less

Seeing as the machine in question had no combat history, much of the focus that Davies brings to this booklet are the controversies that afflicted the "Hustler' in service. While there isn't much statistical evidence that the plane was a "widow maker," there is also no denying that it was an expensive machine that gave up a lot of tactical flexibility for its blinding speed. Apart from that, this is another typically good work from the author.

Peter Davies seems like one of the more reliable authors in Osprey's stable, and this booklet is another fine example of his work. While all aspects of machine's service are covered, the guts of this number in the "Combat Aircraft" series is the coverage of electronic warfare during the Vietnam War. Considering the period covered, the numerous color photos are almost more valuable than the color profiles that Osprey is know for.