I Always Wanted to Fly: America's Cold War Airmen

What exhilarating suspense could I possibly find in a title such as I always Wanted to Fly? I always wanted both of my feet on the ground. So, I played it safe and fastened my seat belt for the trip. I knew from previous readings that a Wolfgang Samuel book is always loaded with hair-raising details that easily bring emotions to the surface. And it did; as in the past, a thoroughly rewarding experience. All creatures were not created equal. The flyers were brave men by virtue of their wanting to fly while aware of the perils. They were heroes because of what they did while flying under the horrors of battle. And they were brave and heroic again and again. Others, unlike them, although devoted and dedicated, tended to their menial undertakings, other than combat, while having both feet safe on the ground and the mess hall within reach. I Always Wanted to Fly describe the missions in such vivid details that the reader is flying right along with the crew and experiencing the thrills of victory as well as the agony of all that goes wrong. A reader that always wanted both feet on the ground may be undeserving of either; for even in defeat there is the thrill of having done your best and one can only do that by been there flying the mission in flesh and blood. Oh, but the reader can surely gain a fuller appreciation of the brave and heroic deeds of our airmen in their many war missions, whether COLD or HOT.

This book is four stars. I was sort of expecting Colonel Samuels to write about his flying, kind of like a follow up to his very excellent book, "German Boy". However, Author Samuels only gives a few snippets about his flying for the USAF. Well over 95% of the book is about flyers and a small amount is about the aircrews. The USAF was born in the late 40s, a result of military reforms by President Truman. The USAF found itself quickly involved in the Korean war. Samuels give a write up to the raids the B-29 bombers made on North Korea. Generally, the day light raids by the B-29 bombers were a debacle. The world war two era B-29 bombers stood little chance against the highly advanced MiG-15 fighters. The raids switched to night time bombings. Author Samuel gives stories from both the pilots and enlisted aircraft gunners point-of-view. Author Samuels covers stories on the F-51 (ex WWII P-51) ground support and B-26 attack missions in Korea. Note, the stories on the F-51 are rather lacking in detail. A big problem of the F-51 was it had a water cooled engine and many were brought down in the ground support role by simple bullet holes in their radiators. This does not make the book and the excellent WWII fighter ended its days as only a fair ground support aircraft in Korea. The A-1 Skyraider was a better aircraft for ground support but was not assigned to the USAF at that time. Author Samuels does give a bit of writing to the RB-47, RB-45, and the interwar period of 1954 to 1964, before heavy involvement in Vietnam. This is during the hard cold war era. Space craft really had not been invented yet and so it was left to the crews of the RB-47 to fly spy missions in Russian air space. More than a few RB-47s come back with cannon holes. Samuels does write about Thule (pronounced Thew-Lee) AFB in Greenland. There are prisons in the USA that had better conditions than Thule. The grim living conditions and unsanitary conditions were most unpleasant. Samuels does not write about the conditions of the USAF at their normal bases during the 1950s to 1960s period. This is a little strange. There is no comment on the lives of the officers in USAFE (Europe) nor of the fairly laid back life style of SAC before Vietnam. Samuels does give chapters of his writings to Vietnam. Basically, the USAF needed follow up aircraft for the type of fighting it saw in Korea. Instead the USAF had some of the worst aircraft for the mission it ever had. The F-4 Phantom was an outsized aircraft that left a smoke trail that could be seen from 50 miles away. The F-104C could not turn. The F-105 neither could turn nor fly faster than a MiG. Vietnam was a borderline debacle for the USAF. It was reduced to using ex-Navy A-1 Skyraiders and surplus B-26 bombers for some close support missions. The new generation AC-130 gunships are mentioned in passing. "I always wanted to fly" is a book about the first generation USAF, the USAF of 1947 to 1973, the

Wolfgang Samuel does it again... After penning German Boy, a book relating his own experiences as a German youth fighting for survival at the end of WWII, Samuel examines the post-World War II Cold War through the eyes of American air force flyers. As a reader, I found it refreshing that throughout the book Samuel allowed military aviators to tell their own stories. But more importantly, he puts the events and activities into historical context so that readers who are not steeped in the history of the time understand the critical importance of the Cold War air effort documented by him. Early on, we hear American flyers saying "I Always Wanted to Fly" but I found the stories to be about commitment, motivation, dedication and the determined fight for the very freedoms we enjoy everyday. This book is a must read for history buffs and an adventurous, exciting and engaging work for any reader interested in the Cold War.

In this extraordinary book you learn what it cost America to maintain our freedom - the many lives lost of airmen who flew what they called reconnaissance against the Soviet Union and Communist China. I never knew much about this secret war. Well, I Always Wanted to Fly, tells you all about those brave men who flew the RB-45 and the RB-47 in the coldest years of the Cold War. It tells you about the picture takers and those who gathered the electronic intelligence. At times their cold war flights got pretty hot. Samuel takes you along on one of those missions high over the Barents Sea, lets you experience what Hal Austin and his crew felt when they turned south, heading for Archangelsk. I admire those men and Samuel told their story beautifully. This is a book you don't want to miss if you have any interest in Cold War reconnaissance. I call them spy flights.

Another outstanding book by Wolfgang Samuel as he presents another facet of history in way it always needed to be told. We tend to look at history from the perspective of those who shape history - the politicians and statesmen, but here we see it from the perspective of those who make history - the military, as they go about doing their job. So eloquently written that the reader can't help but feel like being along on the mission as part of the crew - exciting, frightening and an unforgetable experience. The author has made it possible for the general public to get a taste of the airmen's world and to look behind the scenes of the many battles and wars fought since the end of World War 11. It makes one proud and appreciative of our Cold War Airmen, and thankful to them for a job well done. Highly recommend this book, as it's an eye opener for anyone who wants to know what has been going on during the last fifty five years.