Voodoo Warriors: The Story of the McDonnell Voodoo Fast-Jets

2015 | History & Politics

During the mid-1950s the United States Air Force was given its most powerful single-seat, two-engine fighter to date. The Voodoo would be deployed before the end of that decade in the tactical nuclear bomber and tactical reconnaissance roles world-wide, and in homeland defence with the two-seat, all-weather variant. In December 1957 it took the World Air Speed Record to Mach 1.6 - over one and a half times faster than the sound barrier. This book looks at the evolution of the original design and its introduction into service. Chapters cover operations in Korea, Vietnam, the Cuban Crisis and in Europe during the Cold War years. Many first-hand accounts from pilots are included and the author's own experiences with the aircraft are relayed with fascinating insight. The Voodoo was an elegant, mean-looking fighting machine that epitomised fast flying in the fifties and sixties. It continues to be a revered aeroplane.

Nigel Walpole (Author)