General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark
by Peter Davies, Osprey Publishing, 2013
Of the wide variety of warplanes introduced during the Vietnam War, the General Dynamics F-111A stands among the most misunderstood—starting with its very designation. The product of the TFX (tactical fighter, experimental) program formulated in 1961, the big plane was less a fighter capable of achieving air superiority than a high-speed fighter-bomber with the emphasis on “bomber.”
The plane incorporated many innovations, such as variable geometry “swing wings” and state-of-the-art electronics and weaponry, which required further development at the time of its somewhat premature and disastrous combat debut over Vietnam in 1967, during which three were quickly lost.
The plane was also plagued by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara’s effort to foist it on all services, including the carrier-capable F-111B for an increasingly unwilling Navy.
As jet expert Peter Davies describes in General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, persistence eventually paid off. Improved and redeployed for Operation Linebacker in 1972, the F-111As conducted all-weather, high-speed, low-altitude bombing missions with stunning success and the lowest loss rate of any type of combat plane in the war (0.15 percent).
From then on, a series of improvements fully redeemed the plane, which served both the U.S. Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force. The 10th in Osprey’s “Air Vanguard” series focusing on warplanes, General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark explains the plane’s remarkable evolution from a crash waiting to happen into one of military aviation’s great success stories.
Originally published in the April 2015 issue of Vietnam. To subscribe, click here.
