Fighting their way through Soviet MiGs and SAMs, Lt. Col. Mack MacLendon's 357th
Tactical Fighter Squadron rise to the challenge with the Wild Weasel, a technological
demon. Reprint.
North Vietnam, 1966. F-105 Thunderchiefs--and America's elite corps of fighter pilots
who fly them--are being shot down in startling numbers over the Vietnamese jungle by
the greatest array of sophisticated weapons ever gathered in one area. To combat the
deadly missiles, the Pentagon scrambles desperately for a way to turn the tide of war.
Their answer: the Wild Weasel, a technological demon that brings with it a new highly
dangerous mission for Lt. Col. Mack MacLendon's 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron. Fighting
their way through Soviet MIGs and SAMs, the courageous men of the squadron rise to the
challenge, and suddenly an incredible air war has begun. The prize: the most heavily
defended real estate on earth--and the lives of the men whose triumphs and tragedies
will live on in their own special place in history.
"Tom Wilson is a brilliant storyteller. He was there, and he puts you there, too.
If you like flying, you will like Termite Hill. This is how it really was."
--Larry Bond, author of Red Phoenix and Vortex.
"Tom Wilson takes you from the fighter cockpits of the SAM killers to the intricate
workings of the enemy air defenses. A knowledgeable writer and combat flyer, he was
there and tells the real story."
--Mark Berent, author of Rolling Thunder
In 1966, the tide of the air war above North Vietnam is turning against the United
States. F-105 Thunderchiefs, and the elite fighter pilots who fly them, are being
slaughtered. To destroy the greatest array of sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons
ever assembled, the Pentagon creates the Wild Weasel. The mission of Lt. Colonel
Mack MacLendon's 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron is to fly these technological demons
straight into the teeth of North Vietnam?s deadly air defenses and destroy the SAMs
and Soviet MiGs that have killed their friends, and now seek their death.