Brad Elward – författare

A unique, illustrated history of the US Navy Fighter Weapons School's 50-year history. This book provides a unique, illustrated history of the US Navy Fighter Weapons School’s 50-year history. Currently located at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, TOPGUN was formed in late 1968 at Naval Air Station Miramar, California, to create a graduate-level course in fighter tactics for Navy pilots deploying to Vietnam. Before TOPGUN, Navy F-4 Phantom II fighter crews in Vietnam managed only a 2.5:1 kill ratio versus Soviet-built MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters: after TOPGUN formed, the community tallied a 12.5:1 kill ratio. Since then, TOPGUN has become the standard-bearer of Navy fighter and strike fighter tactics and training and is recognized worldwide as a center of excellence. TOPGUN’s tactics and pilot training are explained, as well as changes and developments throughout the years to the present day.All aircraft flown at TOPGUN since its founding are shown.A-4 SkyhawkT-38A/B TalonF-5E/F Tiger IIF-16N ViperF-14A TomcatF/A-18 HornetF-16A/B FalconF/A-18E/F Super HornetBrad Elward has written on military aviation topics since 1997. He has authored articles on TOPGUN for The Hook and Combat Aircraft magazines and has published 11 aviation books and over 50 aviation articles.

The exclusive and definitive look at the 50-year history of the Navy Fighter Weapons School.The history of air combat has seen one recurring theme—new tactics are learned in battle, forgotten or discarded when battle concludes, and relearned at great cost during the next war. This cycle continued into the 1960s, when America was drawn into the Vietnam War. Despite having a skill and equipment advantage, US Navy aircrews were faring poorly against North Vietnamese fighters. Air combat lessons learned during prior wars, and since forgotten or deemed inapplicable due to advances in technology, were once again relevant. TOPGUN, the Navy's Fighter Weapons School, was established in 1968 to teach Navy aircrews the core air combat tactics, to train others in those tactics, and to ensure that naval aviation "never again" forgot its lessons learned.  TOPGUN: The Legacy provides a unique, detailed, and never-before-told history of the Navy Fighter Weapons School. Author Brad Elward constructed this history through the study of several thousand archival source documents. To go beyond the official history, Elward personally conducted more than 450 interviews with TOPGUN graduates, instructors, and commanding officers. This reprint edition includes text revisions and reinforced binding.

An in-depth look at the first US super carriers – from the design and development of the Forrestal, Kitty Hawk and Enterprise classes, to their operational history during the Cold War and beyond.The Forrestal class (Forrestal, Saratoga, Ranger, and Independence) was the first completed class of US Navy supercarriers, so-named for their 25 percent size increase over the World War II-era carriers such as the Midway class. Design-wise, the Forrestals were a huge improvement over their predecessors, being more stable and comfortable, while maintaining advancements such as the armored flight decks that had been introduced with the Midway.Brad Elward examines the history of this class of carrier and its successors. The Kitty Hawk class was an improvement on the Forrestal-class designs, and four were built in the 1960s – Kitty Hawk, Constellation, America and John F. Kennedy. These were even longer than the Forrestals, and fitted with advanced defensive weapons systems and an improved elevator layout.Featuring special illustrations, this is a history of nine iconic carriers that hold a much-respected place in US naval history.

For every American fighter pilot involved in the Vietnam War, the ultimate goal was to 'kill a MiG'.In eight years of conflict 43 Vietnamese Peoples Air Force aircraft were claimed by US Navy and US Marine Corps Phantom II crews, and one single ace crew produced. Navy Phantom IIs scored the first kills of the Vietnam War, in April 1965, as well as scoring the last in January 1973.Featuring photographs as well as stunning aircraft profiles, this volume charts the successes of the navy fighter crews as they encountered 'MiGs, Missiles and AAA' over the jungles of North Vietnam.

The second of two books on the Navy's Phantom II MiG killers of the Vietnam War, this book covers the numerous actions fought out over North Vietnam during the Linebacker I and II operations of 1972-73.No fewer than 17 MiGs were downed during this period, five of them by the Navy's sole aces of the conflict, Lts Randy Cunningham and Willie Driscoll of VF-96. Drawing on primary sources such as surviving Phantom II aircrew and official navy documentation, the author has assembled the most precise appraisal of fighter operations involving US Navy Phantom II units and those elusive MiGs ever seen in print.