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Viper Pilot
- The Autobiography of One of America's Most Decorated Combat Pilots
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
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Viper Pilot
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Summary
151 combat missions
21 hard kills on surface-to-air-missile sites
Four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor
One Purple Heart
Sure to rank as one of the greatest aviation memoirs ever written, Viper Pilot is an Air Force legend's thrilling eyewitness account of modern air warfare.
From 1986 to 2006, Lt. Col. Dan Hampton was a leading member of the Wild Weasels, the elite Air Force fighter squadrons whose mission is recognized as the most dangerous job in modern air combat. Weasels are the first planes sent into a war zone, flying deep behind enemy lines purposely seeking to draw fire from surface-to-air missiles and artillery. They must skillfully evade being shot down - and then return to destroy the threats, thereby making the skies safe for everyone else to follow. Today these vital missions are more hazardous than direct air-to-air engagement with enemy aircraft. Hampton's record number of strikes on high-value targets make him the most lethal F-16 Wild Weasel pilot in American history. This is his remarkable story.
Taught to fly at an early age by his father, Hampton logged twenty years and 608 combat hours in the world's most iconic fighter jet: the F-16 "Fighting Falcon", or "Viper" as its pilots call it. Hampton spearheaded the 2003 invasion of Iraq, leading the first flight of fighters over the border en route to strike Baghdad. In the war that followed, he engaged in a series of brilliantly executed missions that earned him three Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor; he notably saved a U.S. Marine unit from certain death by taking out the surrounding enemy forces near Nasiriyah. Two years earlier, on 9/11, Hampton's father was inside the Pentagon when it was attacked; with his dad's fate unknown, Hampton was scrambled into American skies and given the unprecedented orders to shoot down any unidentified aircraft. Hampton also flew critical missions in the first Gulf War, served on the Air Combat Command staff during the Kosovo War, and was injured in the 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist attack.
With manned missions rapidly giving way to remote-controlled UAV drones, Viper Pilot may be the last memoir by a true hero of the skies. Gripping and irreverently humorous, it is an unforgettable look into the closed world of fighter pilots and modern air combat.
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What listeners say about Viper Pilot
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 18-06-23
Great listen
Great listen and some great details with great narration and sorties to follow through the whole experience
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- guy castle
- 25-09-17
fantastic book really enjoyed it.
loved it. really good to see the life of a viper pilot from his own eyes and experience.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- bernie
- 29-08-19
Great narrator! Great read for combat flight nuts
Funny story about the Officers Bar, and great detailed stories about the comms, activities and thoughts in the heat of critical moments of the writers combat service.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- slick0074
- 14-07-18
Excellent!
I wasn't expecting much from this one. It took me a few minutes to get used to the narrator's American accent, but I really got to love this book. It's interesting, factual and has some good humour. I know I will return to this one in the future.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- gregg
- 01-10-20
A great one for aviation enthusiasts
I've been getting into DCS during lockdown so Ive learned some NATO radio brevity which really helped visualise the action sequences in this book, and in turn this book really helped renforce what I've learned and expand on it greatly. Hitting SAM sites with a guided missile from the comfort of my living room is challenge enough for me right now, so hitting one point blank with a bomb while dealing with the stress of g forces and leading a team is pretty much heroic in my eyes. Felt like it went into a bit of a rant there at the end though. Would give 4.5 stars if I could.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Lars Hagen
- 19-05-21
Adrenaline kick for an ol’ fighter pilot:
Just my kind of an operational fighter pilot. With a one mission life expectancy over the Cola Penninsula during the 1970ies, it is professionally reassuring to read that the USAF later got their act together and produced real warrior pilots, who had balls and knew their stuff! With this equipment and knowhow we could have stood a chance against SA-6s and the dreaded ZSU-23s. as well. We were just political canon fodder if we ever had been launched towards Monchegorsk or take on the Northern Fleet. This shows what brave men can do with the right tools and- training in the real world. You can feel the sweat and G-forces by just reading this, if you have ever seen 450kts and 6 Gs on the clock! Shit hot!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Panda
- 30-07-21
Wild Weasels
This is an good e-book, detailing air operations of a wild weasel fighter pilot, the main thing that I took away from this listen is just how gung-ho the Americans are!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Trevor
- 22-06-15
Wonderful story credit to his Nation
A truly great listen and insight into a world
Few enter a less leave amazing .... Enough said
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- paul
- 18-05-15
Viper Pilot!
What an amazing & detail loaded account of a modern day fighter pilots world!
I should top of any military reading for sure!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Dovydas
- 16-02-21
Real life hero
For a fighter jet enthusiast, this is just priceless! Clear and easy to understand explanations of tactical stuff makes it easy to understand. Narrator let's you almost feel some of the action. And this fighter pilot is really a true real life hero! What a life!
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