Viper Pilot: The Autobiography of One of America's Most Decorated Combat Pilots

When one reads a military memoir, it is generally expected that there will be some degree of ego, bias, and even outright arrogance on display. This is only natural and isn't unusual. In the case of military aviation memoirs, it is understandable that a pilot would get not only deeply attached to a specific airframe but also to whatever mission/role they did the most. In all these ways, Hampton's book isn't really unusual. To a degree, arrogance should be expected from a fighter pilot's memoir. With that being said, the book has its share of problems. The first is structure. The chapters are largely smaller, somewhat isolated stories that take us through his career. They are interesting individually but end up making the book as a whole feel rather disjointed. This could have been solved with perhaps a better editing process but it isn't exactly a deal-breaker either. The next issue is his arrogance. We all expect some level of it in books like this but he takes it to a level where it seems that he actually enjoys being pointlessly abrasive. That he thinks being demeaning towards anyone he perceives as below him makes him a more interesting, more appealing person. It doesn't. There are even parts in the book where he is very, very clearly in the wrong but doesn't really see it. Throughout the book he takes every opportunity he can to demean others (especially non-pilots) in what seems to be a effort to sound cool and edgy but in the end, it just makes him look petty. The issue that I think is perhaps most important is that Hampton's book is often seen as a sort of "primary source" and as such, what is said about various weapons and platforms in its pages is often taken by the larger combat aviation enthusiast scene as nearly biblical scripture. This is most often seen when discussions about the HARM missile come up. If one were to really only judge the weapon by Hampton's words in the book, it would see that it is a useless, ineffective weapon. For many readers, this will not trigger any alarm bells because the opinion is delivered in such a way that it seems true. One might even think that Dan Hampton is "just telling it like it is" or "just saying what Texas Instruments or the politicians don't want you to hear!" The problem is that Dan Hampton's opinion of the HARM isn't exactly wrong but it is also not really correct. From his perspective as someone who specifically does the DEAD/Wild Weasel mission, it makes sense that he would not have a lot of great things to say about a weapon that is primarily meant to suppress (as in SEAD) SAM sites instead of outright destroying them (as in DEAD/Wild Weasel). It makes sense that he would have such opinions because that is just the culture he worked in. For every major mission type/role you will find in a modern air campaign, there are always going to be entire squadrons who think that said role (and the weapons/aircraft used to do that mission) is the most important, most interesting one in the war. Dan Hampton is no different. He was a DEAD/Wild Weasel pilot so obviously he is going to view everything (including weapon effectiveness) through that specific lens. Still. There are many who have read this book and think that his opinion on the HARM missile is a reflection of its actually usage and capability when it really isn't. It may seem like a small issue and in some ways it is but because it is such a small bit of the book, it is also one of those things that has really altered the larger discussion/narrative in military enthusiast circles. People tend to unconditionally trust these kinds of books without really cross-checking some of the "hot takes" they contain. From Hampton's specific perspective, he told the absolute truth. In reality, he only really told us a perspective that doesn't reflect the larger reality that he may not have even been aware of. It's a good book (if sometimes annoying in its arrogance and predilection towards insults) but take a lot of his stronger opinions with a grain of salt as you read. This is just a book by one pilot who has a lot of strong opinions from their specific point of view. Take it as such.

What a great read! Plenty of authentic "There I was...felt like this...smelt like that" narratives that will keep the reader spellbound. The first chapter is the most concise, complete and readable history of the Wild Weasels I have ever seen. No boring technojargon. Just thrilling personal accounts of modern warfare, which is a concoction of Technology and old-fashioned guts.I flew with the Wild Weasels in Vietnam (I would say North Vietnam, but that's redundant since the Weasel mission is against SAMs and the only area SAMS were located in that war was the North). The technological advances since those early days are cosmic, and we old-timers can only wonder how many of our comrades would not have been lost in battle, or consigned to years as POWs, if we had had anything like this available to us back then. But the essence of Weaseling has not changed over the years. The pilot still has to fly around where the SAMs are and ferret them out by offering himself as the bait to get them to reveal themselves. And then kill the SAM site before the SAM kills him.And some reviewers wonder why that pilot might seem a little overconfident, maybe (horrors!) even arrogant and egotistical? YGBSM! This is not a task for wimps.Sure, Hampton is willing now and again to step into the age-old dispute between those few at the tip of the spear and those many back in support (the REMFs). This dichotomy, sometimes over-simplified as rated vs non-rated, is internal (but not unique) to the Air Force. The reviewer who thinks Hampton is disparaging infantry and marines is way off base. Even Snoopy in Peanuts has the good grace to respect and pity "the poor blighters in the trenches." No, Hampton's beef is legitimately with those Air Force weenies who have never flown in combat but consider themselves qualified to set priorities. They are the supercilious types who think it's crucial that creases be straight and boots be polished when the real problem is bad guys trying to kill us. And note that Hampton is very complimentary to the tanker crews who disregarded standing orders and instead flew out of the safe tracks into hostile territory to rescue fuel-critical fighters who had pressed the fight even after reaching Bingo. This happened frequently in Vietnam, too, and we greatly respected the courage of those who were willing to hang it out in their slow-movers.Hampton is a very talented writer as well as a sh*t-hot fighter pilot and an outstanding Wild Weasel. I was very pleased with his preference for DEAD over mere SEAD. And I applaud his questioning why the term ACE is restricted to fighter pilots who have shot down five enemy planes. The fighters who tackle SAMs have, in many ways, an even hairier mission, and there ought to be a similar heroic appellation for 5-SAM killers. Maybe SAM-Ace? I know, I know, problems with confirmation of kills. There will always be doubters. Let's just hope there will also always be self-assured fighters of Hampton's caliber whom America will occasionally need to keep us safe and free. In my opinion, they're entitled to swagger.

Great book by a fighter jockey. Some people may find it offensive because the author kind of talked down other Air Force jobs. But it is the truth

This is a very good book. Written by an American and very much for the American market but Dan Hampton is a forthright author who obviously knows his stuff and has a good literal style. I'm half way though this book and have no reason to doubt that it will continue in the vein that it started. Buy a copy if you can, I doubt you'll be disappointed!! A bit disparaging about the RAF but a much worse opinion of the French!! So if either are likely to offend then maybe not for you but, heh, he's a fighter puke so what do you expect? !!

Hampton writes 'You'll know if there is a fighter pilot in the room.' and this succinctly describes his memoir. They'll be some who see Hampton as confident, others will see him as arrogant. Personally, I think you need to be arrogant to work in the atmosphere that Hampton forged a successful career. I'm not sure I find him likeable, but I suppose that isn't really the point of this book. His tales of daring missions are at times, too matter-of-factly brushed off. I'd also like to hear more about his progression through 'Top Gun' school. Whilst promising so much more than it delivers, 'Viper Pilot' is nevertheless a very entertaining read, even when Hampton strays into politics.

This is the best first person account of modern fighter operations I have read. Nothing else comes close to describing how not just flying, but fighting the F16 feels, from the radio exchanges to the dust in the eyes under negative G. Dan Hampton is concise, honest, irreverent and laugh out loud funny. He pulls no punches and takes no prisoners, and this book is all the better for it. Zipper your mike and prepare to head into combat!

I'd rate this up with Ed Rasimus' "When Thunder Rolled" in terms of just how well it places you in the cockpit of the type, and actually flying missions. That is a compliment to how well both authors write, and how clearly they describe the technicalities of their aircraft.

An excellent book, and Dan Hampton is a humorous and seasoned individual with independent thinking. He shows that he can criticize his own military leadership and government, which I found surprisingly refreshing. It is a good book describing the role of an F16 pilot in air-to-ground missions.