The Hunter Killers - Dan Hampton

Written by Dan Hampton
Read by John Pruden
Format: MP3
Unabridged

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

A gripping chronicle of the band of maverick aviators who signed on for the suicidal, dangerous top-secret “Wild Weasel” missions during the Vietnam War - which used controversial and revolutionary tactics to combat Soviet missile technology - from New York Times best-selling author Dan Hampton.

On July 24, 1965, Soviet advisors to North Vietnam launched an SA-2 surface-to-air missile (SAM), blowing an American F-4 Phantom out of the sky - the first of several kills using this menacing system. To counter this new weaponry, stunned Pentagon officials created a classified program - “Wild Weasel I” - pairing experimental equipment with a highly select group of electronic warfare officers and fighter pilots to combat this deadly threat. The men who did this became the “Hunter Killers” - and it is time to know their names.

Fifty years later Dan Hampton provides a cockpit view of this highly classified military program that was a radical departure from conventional fighter jet tactics. These courageous, daring, and skilled warriors risked their lives to fight the SAMs and save their brother aviators.

Using firsthand accounts and declassified documents from both sides of the conflict, The Hunter Killers takes listeners into the skies and up close to the bloody duels that left half the Weasels dead or captured. At its center are the men who risked everything to fight the most dangerous antiaircraft weapons the world had seen.

Acclaimed Texas historian Stephen L. Moore’s Texas Rising, the official companion to the epic History series of the same name, brings to life the violent Texas frontier and the Rangers’ heroic deeds during the Texas Revolution. Texas Rising is an unforgettable history of this iconic band of fighters.