Robert Chappelear

Always wanting to be a fighter pilot, Bob Chappelear volunteered for a second tour of duty in Viet Nam. This is the story of that second tour. It is a telling of what it was like to fly the A-37 Close Air Support Fighter. This airplane was "the worlds smallest fighter, the fastest gun!" The airplane only weighted roughly 6000 pounds but the gun shot 6000 rounds a minute. The airplane quickly gained a reputation for superior accuaracy and so it quickly became a favorite of both the Forward Air Controllers and the ground troops that it supported. This story of that year flying the airplane out of Bien Hoa Air Base Republic of Viet Nam relates what it was like to fly these missions. It describes in detail, daytime/night "fragged" missions, "Sky Spots", daytime/night time "scrambles". The book includes descriptions of transitioning from flying cargo airplanes to flying this air to ground fighter. There are mission descriptions of missions flown in close support of friendly troops, missions flown in mountains, and exciting missions like what it is like to hit a tree with the airplane going about 300 MPH.