Stephen Coonts' "Flight of the Intruder": Summary
Stephen Coonts' "Flight of the Intruder": Summary
This week I read Flight of the Intruder by Stephen Coonts. I read from page 1 to page 437 for a total of 437 pages. The book is about an A-6A Intruder (a naval bomber) pilot named Jake
Grafton. In the first few pages Jake's best friend and B/N
(Bombardier/Navigator) is killed by a Vietnamese soldier's rifle. In this mission their target was a "suspected truck park." Jake goes into despondency
(depression, despair) for a days and tries to convince his squadron leader that the targets are worthless, that thousand of Americans have died en route and returning from these. The leader replies that he is not in control of the targets, the Pentagon and Air Force is. Jake gathers information from maps and a friend in the navigation department to learn about a target he wants to go after: The Vietnam Communist Party Headquarters. The three figure that if they succeed, they'll have a good chance of hitting the leader of the party. Grafton and his bombardier, Virgil Cole miss the building completely and just hit a few bystanders and blow craters in the sidewalk. Just when the two are about to be court-martialed, President Nixon gives the orders of unauthorized bombings anywhere in North and South Vietnam. Grafton and Cole fly their next mission with a EA-6B for SAM (surface-to-air missiles) suppression. This plane only carried antiradiation missiles to destroy the SAMs and their radar. But, as they were approximating (approaching, advancing on) the first SAM surface gun destroyed most of the plane. The crew ejected within the midst of the night;
Grafton landing safely, but Cole's back broke. Eventually, they were rescued by a helicopter, but an A-1 Skyraider pilot who was killing off the Vietnamese that were trying to shoot the crew. The setting of the book was in the Vietnam Era, most likely in the early years. There were various settings like the aircraft carrier, Cubi Point Naval
Air Station in the Philippines,
This week I read Flight of the Intruder by Stephen Coonts. I read from page 1 to page 437 for a total of 437 pages. The book is about an A-6A Intruder (a naval bomber) pilot named Jake
Grafton. In the first few pages Jake's best friend and B/N
(Bombardier/Navigator) is killed by a Vietnamese soldier's rifle. In this mission their target was a "suspected truck park." Jake goes into despondency
(depression, despair) for a days and tries to convince his squadron leader that the targets are worthless, that thousand of Americans have died en route and returning from these. The leader replies that he is not in control of the targets, the Pentagon and Air Force is. Jake gathers information from maps and a friend in the navigation department to learn about a target he wants to go after: The Vietnam Communist Party Headquarters. The three figure that if they succeed, they'll have a good chance of hitting the leader of the party. Grafton and his bombardier, Virgil Cole miss the building completely and just hit a few bystanders and blow craters in the sidewalk. Just when the two are about to be court-martialed, President Nixon gives the orders of unauthorized bombings anywhere in North and South Vietnam. Grafton and Cole fly their next mission with a EA-6B for SAM (surface-to-air missiles) suppression. This plane only carried antiradiation missiles to destroy the SAMs and their radar. But, as they were approximating (approaching, advancing on) the first SAM surface gun destroyed most of the plane. The crew ejected within the midst of the night;
Grafton landing safely, but Cole's back broke. Eventually, they were rescued by a helicopter, but an A-1 Skyraider pilot who was killing off the Vietnamese that were trying to shoot the crew. The setting of the book was in the Vietnam Era, most likely in the early years. There were various settings like the aircraft carrier, Cubi Point Naval
Air Station in the Philippines,