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Chopper: A History of America Military Helicopter Operations from WWII to the War on Terror | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert F. Dorr
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $2.99
You Save: $21.96 (88%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 660074
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0425202739
Dewey Decimal Number: 358.4183
EAN: 9780425202739
ASIN: 0425202739
Publication Date: July 5, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Real-life stories from the pilots and the passengers.
From its first use in military operations, during a rescue mission behind enemy lines in 1944, to its crucial role in Vietnam, to the Black Hawk combat copters in the current war on terror, the helicopter changed the face of aviation-and the face of warfare. Whether they are bringing supplies and medical help or coming to the rescue of trapped soldiers, the modern battlefield could not function without them.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
America a wonderful world to itself March 26, 2008
This book is wonderful.
I did not know that the Germans were the first to use helicopters in combat in WW2 and not the Americans!
Now I know this as a fact!
And it is amazing that they flew public demonstrations of helicopters even before 1938, setting speed and altitude records! What amazing craft such as the Fl-185, FW-61, Fa-223, FL-265, FL-282 all flying years before Sikorsky!
And we here in America always assume when someone says "the first american to do something" it means the first person in the world to do something.
How amazing to find out that the Germans had operational combat choppers performing air-sea-rescues and submarine spotting in the Baltic before Sikorsky's craft had ever left the ground .
We in America are always so eager to claim we were the first at everything when after a little investigation it is so easy to find out that our common perceptions of History are mostly wrong.
How wonderful that this book clears up those kinds of misconceptions and sets the record straight, showing that the Burma rescue of 1944 came years after German helicopter rescues at sea. Wonderful to discover that air mobile operations and combat troop transport and transport of artillery and ammunition was carried out from huge twin rotor Focke Achgellis 223 choppers. They even airlifted whole airframes of downed fighter craft and heli airlifted a broken down Fieseler Storch observation plane back to base, something we couldn't do untill post war. They even airlifted light trucks by helicopter.
We always assume we were the first but we should know better.
But Hang on, are all these facts actually mentioned in this book at all, or am I getting confused with Steve Coates' book "Helicopter of the Third Reich"? Perhaps here again an American book about the American military is oblivious to the rest of the world and the priority of foreign achievements. If it didn't happen in America it didn't happen right? Read this book with awareness of those sorts of biases.
 Not Impressed July 5, 2006
Although this book reflects considerable research there are glaring flaws in that research. It is confusing at times and poorly written, because it is full of typographical errors and conflicting and confusing data. I am intimately familiar with two of the stories related in this book and one of them is fairly accurate while the other one has many inaccuracies. I served two tours in SEA in Rescue helicopters and I know a thing or two about the subject matter. It could have been an excellent book if the author had hired a proof reader and considered finding more corroboration for some of the material. Otherwise, it is a great summary of the important role of helicopters in military aviation.
A Great Author - A Great Book February 13, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've known Bob Dorr as a friend for about a decade or more. He and I both share a passion for aviation and aviation photography. Bob, however, goes beyond passion when he writes books. His unique ability is to write books that puts readers into the cockpit of helicopters or other aircraft. You feel exactly what other crews have felt while flying missions. Bob's amazing knowledge of aircraft and history and his dogged research makes for truely unique books.
I enjoy Bob's books and encourage others to try them out.
Belongs on the shelf of everyone interested in military aviation history December 28, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Dorr's "Chopper" belongs on the shelf of everyone interested in military aviation history and the men who were part of it. Dorr interviewed more than 75 pilots and crewmen and these individuals come to life as their remarkable stories are told in this very readable book.
"Chopper" is laid out chronologically. It starts behind enemy lines in Burma in 1944, when a young American pilot named Harman and a mechanic named Phelan flew a Sikorsky "R-4" helicopter on what was apparently the first ever U.S. military helicopter rescue. From here on out, the role played by "whirlybirds" in almost every major U.S. military operation is examined, including: air rescue missions during the Korean War, troop airlift operations in Vietnam, heliborne assaults in Afghanistan and helicopter attacks in Iraq.
I liked "Chopper" because it lets each pilot, mechanic, and crewman tell his story in his own words, and this makes for a readable, entertaining, and often exciting journey through history. All the services get their due as well---Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine helicopter pilots and aircrew are all part of Dorr's narrative.
From what I can tell, "Chopper" also is a true "first" in the history of book publishing: the first book to compile first-person accounts of helicopter pilots and crews who flew military rescue and combat missions; the first book to tell the comprehensive story of military helicopter operations from World War II to the current war on terror; and the first book to combine these personal histories with technical data on each helicopter flown or crewed.
General readers, amateur historians, and professional researches will find this book well worth the money.
Chopper November 9, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I own and have read a number of books by military author and historian, Robert F. Dorr. Chopper is, by far, the best.
Starting with "eggbeaters" in Burma and continuing through the "snake" in Iraq, Dorr lets the pilots and crews tell their own stories. The stories include a father-and-son combination as well as the memories of fixed-wing aircraft pilots suddenly assigned to fly helicopters. As the pilots and crews recount their experiences, the humor of military personnel in tough situations spreads through the pages.
Dorr has amassed an amazing collection of photographs that accompany the narrative, making it easy and fascinating to follow the development of helicopters from 1945 to the present day. Chapter sidebars telling the reader who's who add to the readability.
This book is a pleasure to read. I recommend it without reservation.
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