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The Hunter Killers

The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Band of Maverick Aviators Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions of the Vietnam War

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About this listen

“A GRIPPING CLASSIC. Exhaustively researched, The Hunter Killers puts you directly into a Wild Weasel fighter cockpit during the Vietnam War. Dan Hampton lets you feel it for yourself as no one else could.”--Colonel LEO THORSNESS, Wild Weasel pilot and Medal of Honor recipient

At the height of the Cold War, America's most elite aviators bravely volunteered for a covert program aimed at eliminating an impossible new threat. Half never returned. All became legends. From New York Times bestselling author Dan Hampton comes one of the most extraordinary untold stories of aviation history.

Vietnam, 1965: On July 24 a USAF F-4 Phantom jet was suddenly blown from the sky by a mysterious and lethal weapon—a Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missile (SAM), launched by Russian ""advisors"" to North Vietnam. Three days later, six F-105 Thunderchiefs were brought down trying to avenge the Phantom. More tragic losses followed, establishing the enemy's SAMs as the deadliest anti-aircraft threat in history and dramatically turning the tables of Cold War air superiority in favor of Soviet technology.

Stunned and desperately searching for answers, the Pentagon ordered a top secret program called Wild Weasel I to counter the SAM problem—fast. So it came to be that a small group of maverick fighter pilots and Electronic Warfare Officers volunteered to fly behind enemy lines and into the teeth of the threat. To most it seemed a suicide mission—but they beat the door down to join. Those who survived the 50 percent casualty rate would revolutionize warfare forever.

""You gotta be sh*#@ing me!"" This immortal phrase was uttered by Captain Jack Donovan when the Wild Weasel concept was first explained to him. ""You want me to fly in the back of a little tiny fighter aircraft with a crazy fighter pilot who thinks he's invincible, home in on a SAM site in North Vietnam, and shoot it before it shoots me?""

Based on unprecedented firsthand interviews with Wild Weasel veterans and previously unseen personal papers and declassified documents from both sides of the conflict, as well as Dan Hampton's own experience as a highly decorated F-16 Wild Weasel pilot, The Hunter Killers is a gripping, cockpit-level chronicle of the first-generation Weasels, the remarkable band of aviators who faced head-on the advanced Soviet missile technology that was decimating fellow American pilots over the skies of Vietnam.

 Air Forces Americas Armed Forces Military Russia United States Warrior US Air Force Vietnam War Imperial Japan China Soviet Union Warfare Aviation History
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This isn't just a history of the Wild Weasels, but includes wider explanation of the overall conflict and aspects of the air campaign. I had expected it to cover pretty much the Wild Weasel project only so while the information added context and the changes to the political environment in the US, it felt like the extra is there to pad out the Wild Weasel history.

Most of the information is useful (especially about the air war) and it doesn't shy from criticising poor political and military decision making in the US. And it will help remind even those with a broader understanding of what was occurring when. However some of it is patchy, can lack specific sources and makes sweeping statements about complex issues; describing the motivations of Churchill during WW2 as only focused on preserving the British empire or using the term 'rabble' to describe the Black Panthers are gross over simplifications and really jar compared to the thoroughness elsewhere.

Where it sticks to its subject it's a compassionate examination of the very brave and driven aviators who flew these missions. It doesn't present much from a Vietnamese perspective and there are very few Vietnamese sources, which is where the book could have done more.
It also includes a useful appendix which gives a concise history of the French and US involvement, as well as the Chinese and Russian influences between the end of the Second World War and the US escalation in Indochina.

The narrator misses some pronunciations, but otherwise does a creditable job with the text. Overall it's an interesting book, but not quite what it looks like from the blurb.

Wild Weasel history padded with air war history

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A good book detailing the sheer guts and determination required to develop and fly this type of mission.
American accent of reader a bit heavy going at times

True Hero's

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Name of the book was little misleading. This book is so much more, about technical, personal and military history. It told the story of pilots, history of air power vs. anti aircraft and also quite deeply explains what is was about in Vietnam war. Narrator was very good.

This book is for people who are interested about personal war stories of pilots, people who love tehcnical details and also everyone interested about Vietnam war and polititics behind it.

Excellent in many ways

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A fantastic book with plenty of detail to draw you into the story. I didn't have much knowledge of Vietnam but this book draws you into the story.

Excellent book

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I purchased this book to understand more about what it was like to be an American "Wild Weasel" pilot during the Vietnam war. I got that but what I also got was Dan Hampton's history of the Vietnam war which broke up the pace of the book with long descriptive chapters on the background to American involvement. Fine, yes, but I didn't buy the book for this. When Hampton keeps to the stories of the pilots and their combat with the SAM missile systems the pace is fast and exciting with great narration but when he breaks from that and starts another oh-so-long history lesson my mind began to wonder and I felt the urge to fast forward.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

When the story stays with the pilot's and the EWO's the story is fast paced and frenetic.

Which character – as performed by John Pruden – was your favourite?

John Pruden's pilot conversations were very well drawn out. He has a great voice and one can imagine the American pilots talking to each other but what stood out and was really exciting was his depiction of the warning siren that sounds in a pilot's cockpit when an unfortunate fellow pilot has had to eject "BEER!BEER!BEER!"

Was The Hunter Killers worth the listening time?

Yes. Just fast forward the VERY long chapters on the history of the war.

Slightly frustrating

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