Darrel D Whitcomb (52 results)

Condition: good. Gently used with minimal wear on the corners and cover. A few pages may contain light highlighting or writing, but the text remains fully legible. Dust jacket may be missing, and supplemental materials like CDs or codes may not be included. May be ex-library with library markings. Ships promptly. …

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.

Condition: very_good. Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include "From the library of" labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys, dvds, etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.

Hardcover. Condition: Good.

Paperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Cover has edge wear, minor creases, minor scratches, small bent/rubbed cover/page corners, rubbed spine. No writing. Book.

Condition: Good. Largeprint. Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.…

hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Hardcover and dust jacket. Good binding and cover.

Condition: New.

Condition: New. Brand New! Not Overstocks or Low Quality Book Club Editions! Direct From the Publisher! We're not a giant, faceless warehouse organization! We're a small town bookstore that loves books and loves it's customers! Buy from Lakeside Books.

Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. The Rescue of Bat 21. Book.

Hardback. Condition: Good.

Condition: New.

Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

Paperback. Condition: New. When his electronic warfare plane--call sign Bat 21--was shot down on 2 April 1972, fifty-three-year-old Air Force navigator Iceal "Gene" Hambleton parachuted into the middle of a North Vietnamese invasion force and set off the biggest and most controversial air rescue effort of the Vietnam War. Now, after twenty-five years of official secrecy, the story of that dangerous and costly rescue is revealed for the first time by a decorated Air Force pilot and Vietnam veteran. Involving personnel from all services, including the Coast Guard, the unorthodox rescue operation claimed the lives of eleven soldiers and airmen, destroyed or damaged several aircraft, and put hundreds of airmen, a secret commando unit, and a South Vietnamese infantry division at risk. The book also examines the thorny debates arising from an operation that balanced one man's life against mounting U.S. and South Vietnamese casualties and material losses, the operation's impact on one of the most critical battles of the war, and the role played by search and rescue as America disengaged from that war.…

hardcover. Condition: Good. Satisfaction 100% guaranteed.

Paperback. Condition: New. When his electronic warfare plane--call sign Bat 21--was shot down on 2 April 1972, fifty-three-year-old Air Force navigator Iceal "Gene" Hambleton parachuted into the middle of a North Vietnamese invasion force and set off the biggest and most controversial air rescue effort of the Vietnam War. Now, after twenty-five years of official secrecy, the story of that dangerous and costly rescue is revealed for the first time by a decorated Air Force pilot and Vietnam veteran. Involving personnel from all services, including the Coast Guard, the unorthodox rescue operation claimed the lives of eleven soldiers and airmen, destroyed or damaged several aircraft, and put hundreds of airmen, a secret commando unit, and a South Vietnamese infantry division at risk. The book also examines the thorny debates arising from an operation that balanced one man's life against mounting U.S. and South Vietnamese casualties and material losses, the operation's impact on one of the most critical battles of the war, and the role played by search and rescue as America disengaged from that war.…

Soft cover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First edition, first printing Softbound. Fine. A tight, clean copy, which appears unread. Shipped in well padded box.

Hardback. Condition: Good.

Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

Condition: New.

PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. When his electronic warfare plane--call sign Bat 21--was shot down on 2 April 1972, fifty-three-year-old Air Force navigator Iceal Gene Hambleton parachuted into the middle of a North Vietnamese invasion force and set off the biggest and most controversial air rescue effort of the Vietnam War. Now, after twenty-five years of official secrecy, the story of that dangerous and costly rescue is revealed for the first time by a decorated Air Force pilot and Vietnam veteran. Involving personnel from all services, including the Coast Guard, the unorthodox rescue operation claimed the lives of eleven soldiers and airmen, destroyed or damaged several aircraft, and put hundreds of airmen, a secret commando unit, and a South Vietnamese infantry division at risk. The book also examines the thorny debates arising from an operation that balanced one man's life against mounting U.S. and South Vietnamese casualties and material losses, the operation's impact on one of the most critical battles of the war, and the role played by search and rescue as America disengaged from that war. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…

Paperback. Condition: Fine. Modern combat aircraft are designed to fly fast, strike accurately and survive sophisticated enemy defences. Occasionally, despite the engineering, training and very expensive electronics, one ends up scattered across hostile territory with its pilot standing beside a parachute and wondering whether anybody knows precisely where he is. Combat Search and Rescue in Desert Storm examines what happened next during the 1991 Gulf War. Darrel D. Whitcomb traces the effort to locate and recover coalition aircrew shot down over Iraq and Kuwait. Combat search and rescue?CSAR to an institution naturally unable to rescue anybody until it has produced an abbreviation?is among the most dangerous and complicated forms of military operation. The survivor must evade capture, establish contact and identify his position while aircraft, helicopters, intelligence staff and command centres attempt to reach him without creating several additional people in need of rescue. The air campaign of Operation Desert Storm employed extraordinary technological and numerical superiority, but Whitcomb shows that the American system for recovering downed airmen was considerably less impressive. Budgetary decisions, organisational changes and competing service responsibilities had left the United States Air Force poorly prepared for the CSAR mission. Apparently it was possible to arrange thousands of sorties over one of the world?s most heavily defended regions before settling the comparatively modest question of who would collect anyone forced to leave an aircraft unexpectedly. The problem was not a lack of courage or capable machines. Helicopter crews, special operations personnel, fighter pilots, airborne controllers and rescue coordinators were all prepared to act. What they lacked was a single, thoroughly rehearsed system linking detection, command, authentication, escort and recovery. Everyone understood that rescuing downed aircrew was important; agreement became less immediate when the conversation reached who commanded it, who searched, who authorised the launch and how quickly information should pass between them. Whitcomb approaches the subject as both historian and experienced combat aviator. Drawing upon his own background in search-and-rescue operations in Southeast Asia, as well as scores of interviews, correspondence and official sources, he reconstructs individual Desert Storm incidents from beginning to end. Each episode becomes a practical examination of decisions made under pressure, when information was incomplete, enemy forces were nearby and delay could transform a rescue into a recovery?or into nothing at all. The book considers successful extractions, unsuccessful attempts and cases in which no rescue mission could be mounted. It follows the progress of downed aviators from the moment their aircraft were hit through ejection, evasion, radio contact and the response of coalition forces. Some were recovered; others were captured or killed. Military history frequently enjoys arrows moving decisively across maps, but a stranded pilot has the inconvenient habit of reducing grand strategy to one frightened human being waiting for a particular sound in the sky. Aircraft and crews from different services had to work together across an enormous operational theatre. Special operations helicopters offered the ability to penetrate hostile territory at low level, while fixed-wing aircraft could suppress enemy defences, provide cover and help locate survivors. Tankers, command aircraft and intelligence systems supported the effort behind them. A rescue mission might therefore require an airborne organisation of remarkable complexity merely to place one helicopter beside one person. Whitcomb also examines the equipment issued to aircrew and the training intended to prepare them for isolation. Radios, survival gear, authentication procedures and evasion skills could determine whether a rescue force found the correct person before Iraqi troops did. In a war celebrated for precision-guided weapons, the decisive technology could still be a handheld radio whose user had just descended several miles beneath a parachute and landed somewhere not marked on the itinerary. The book is particularly strong on command and control: the unglamorous collection of decisions that determines whether brave crews are used effectively or merely exposed to additional danger. Who had authority to launch? What evidence was necessary? Who connected the search aircraft with the rescue force? Had the procedures actually been practised? These questions lack the visual appeal of a helicopter arriving under fire, but without satisfactory answers the helicopter remains safely on the ground while the survivor acquires an increasingly serious interest in administration. This is not simply a catalogue of heroic missions, nor is it a glossy celebration of Desert Storm?s air power. It is a detailed professional study of a capability that had been neglected before the war and improvised during it. Whitcomb identifies the tactical and strategic consequences of that neglect and draws lessons intended for future planners. Armed forces are admirably committed to learning from experience, although they occasionally arrange to acquire the experience first in the most expensive manner available. At around 325 pages, the volume offers substantial operational detail and will appeal to readers interested in the Gulf War, military aviation, special operations, personnel recovery and the machinery behind air campaigns. It is especially valuable for anyone who wants to look beyond the familiar footage of smart bombs entering buildings and consider what happened when the aeroplane delivering them failed to return. This copy is in Fine condition , having survived its own period of deployment without requiring a rescue package. Offered by Crappy Old Books, it is a serious, absorbing and frequently sobering account of the people responsible for fulfilling one of the ar.…

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 196p. A hardcover book in very good condition with a like dustjacket. Light wear to book and jacket edges; tiny tear at top of jacket spine. Otherwise, text clean, binding tight, and jacket glossy.

Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days.

Condition: New. In English.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Trade paperback in very good + condition.

Paperback. Condition: Brand New. reprint edition. 248 pages. 9.25x6.25x0.75 inches. In Stock.

Condition: New.