Dan Hampton

The Hunter Killers: the Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Band of Maverick Aviators Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions Dan Hampton

Publisher Marketing: A gripping chronicle of the band of maverick fighter pilots who signed on for the suicidally dangerous top-secret Iron Hand program during the Vietnam War which used revolutionary tactics to combat Soviet missile technology from bestselling author Dan HamptonOn 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 US kills using this fearsome new technology. To counter this new weaponry, stunned Pentagon officials created a classified program Iron Hand that offered a small group of maverick pilots a chance to counter this deadly threat. Fifty years later, Dan Hampton provides a cockpit view of this highly classified military program that was a radical departure from practiced tactical jet aviation and carried a fifty-percent casualty rate. Yet despite the odds, a band of courageous, daring, and skilled pilots warriors who took the name Wild Weasels risked their lives to save their Air Force brothers. Using first-hand accounts and declassified documents from both sides of the conflict, "The Hunter Killers "takes readers 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 be a part of history. Hampton brings them into focus, exploring their lives, personalities, and the characteristics a combination of ego, bravery, heroism, and duty that motivated them. He also looks at their legacy, which continues to influence the military today." Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 04/13/2015 (EAN 9780062375131, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2015 (EAN 9780062375131, Hardcover) Library Journal 05/01/2015 pg. 89 (EAN 9780062375131, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Hampton, Dan Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Dan Hampton flew 151 combat missions during his twenty years (1986 2006) in the United States Air Force. For his service in the Iraq War, Kosovo conflict, and first Gulf War, Col. Hampton received four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, a Purple Heart, eight Air Medals with Valor, five Meritorious Service medals, and numerous other citations. He is a graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School, USN Top Gun School (TOGS), and USAF Special Operations School. A frequent guest analyst on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC discussing foreign affairs, military, aviation, and intelligence issues, he has published in Aviation History, the Journal of Electronic Defense, Air Force Magazine, Vietnam magazine, and Airpower magazine, and written several classified tactical works for the USAF Weapons Review. He is the author of the national bestsellers Viper Pilot and Lords of the Sky, as well as a novel, The Mercenary.