Snake Pilot: Flying the Cobra Attack Helicopter in Vietnam

The best book I have read about the helicopter air war in Vietnam

Zahn tells his story well; from his days in flight training to his arrival in theater and his year of living on the edge. The book is well organized and thoughtfully written. He writes using excellent grammar. While the words get salty in places, those were the days of our youth and that was the way most of us in the military spoke at the time. His references of letters home and diary entries reinforces his memories of the intensity of it all. Of the several books that I own of that long-ago war, Zahn's is my new favorite. I'm amazed at the background similarity shared by the aircrews and 'woulda' beens'. I'd signed up for flight school and was well into the program at Fort Wolters when the RIF's hit. Can't complain, I was well treated by the Army, but I've carried a sense of regret at not having gained that Warrant for much of my life. I can live vicariously in that long-ago while enjoying his great re-telling. It is cathartic, I think. And---I am still alive and healthy; a privilege not accorded to about 30% of those noble pilots and gunners who never came home.

I am sorry to read the negative and derogatory reviews of Mr. Zahn's book. As far as his "insubordination" goes, many of the finest soldiers (pilots) I served with in Vietnam made courageous decisions not to follow direct orders, even in the face of a possible court marshall. I witnessed a few "senior officers" making decisions that cost people's lives because they did not have first hand information about the situation at hand. I was personally involved in a situation like this, and because the ground mission commander called the shots, our air mission commander was overruled, and the results were tragic. This still keeps me up at night.I was with the 101st Airborne Division ( 158th Assault Helicopter Battalion) and we had guys flying Cobras, OH6-A scout helicopters, Hueys, and Chinooks. Each of these aircraft had their pluses and minuses, but all of the pilots were genuine heroes in my opinion.As I read this book, I was transported back in time to the year I spent in Quang Tri province and I found his description accurate and informative. So, if you are looking for a book that accurately portrays the experience of a Cobra pilot in Vietnam, this book is all you need. Thank you Mr. Zahn for your courageous service and for writing this book.

This story is a personal history of the authors experiences from a teenager in California to an Army aircraft commander in the AH-1 Cobra Gunship. It is well written and shows great attention to detail which has been provided by letters and audio tapes that were saved by his parents during his tour in Vietnam. As a pilot who has flown an OH-6A, but not in the military, I was fascinated by the descriptions of flying the LOH and Cobra as a "pink team". My helicopter check ride was given by a former LOH pilot who was shot down and wounded flying the "pink team" missions. Zahn's tehnical explanations are free of the mistakes often made in other books that employed ghost writers who were not pilots. I have heard of the 1st Cav a lot, but this is the first book about it I have read that gives a complete look at the missions, conditions and tactics used by them. Overall a great book, I recommend it to anyone interested in combat flying, the Vietnam war, or just helicopters.

As I read his story I could close my eyes and have flashbacks and insight into what he was going through. His description of running an air mission puts one right in the cockpit. No BS or exaggeration of what was going on. He described these operations as he lived them, and from what I read he did them well. What he wrote about the missions was what really happened. The only thing he could not explain was the calmness he obviously dispalyed while flying in these intense combat situations. Great Read.

The book is a good history of helicopter service during the Vietnam war.

Having been a gunship pilot in Vietnam during this authors tour and flying in the same area, I find this book accurate and takes me back to those times and brought back mixed emotions, mostly good. Highly recommend this to all Vietnam helicopter pilots, especially warrants. WOPA rules!!!!!!!

The is an excellent story told from the first person perspective of a helicopter gunship pilot providing first hand accounts of the flying and wartime experience. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the Vietnam War, helicopters and aviation combat. He provides a refreshing “tell it like it is” insight that only someone who was there could reveal. I would like to have heard more about the training phase of the pilot's experience as it seems to have been watered down by the editors for some unknown reason. I give the story 5 stars.Took off an Amazon rating star for the lack of Nook availability. If you buy the physical hard copy you should be able to get the electronic addition as a backup without having to purchase another book. Other than that this is a great book and highly recommended.

Randy Zahn wasnt conscripted against his will to fight for the US in the Vietnam conflict, nor was he some starry-eyed idealist volunteer with dreams of bringing freedom to the oppressed people of South East Asia. No, Randy Zahn just wanted to fly, and he got his chance in 1970 as an attack helecopter pilot in the seat of the world very first specialist gunship, the Bell AH-1 'Cobra'.The Cobra became the backbone of the United States Armys attack helecopter fleet for decades, and whilst it would eventually be replaced it was a piece of equipment so effective that it is still used by the US and other nations around the world to this day.In Vietnam however it was bleeding edge technology, and became a symbol of a new era of air war - and despite not being old enough to buy a drink or hire a car in the US, Zahn was entrusted with $12 million (in adjusted dollars) worth of helecopter, wrapped up in a sleek, aerodynamic package, capable of exceeding 170mph, and of carrying more than 4000lbs of ordinance that included twin 7.62mm mini-guns, a grenade launcher, 20mm vulcan cannons, and 2.75" rocket pods, all capable of utterly destroying its targets - the grisly effects of which were witnessed by Zahn first hand from tree top level.Zahn arrived in Vietnam at a crucial point in the conflict. US forces had recently been authorised to conduct operations in neighbouring Cambodia which - despite apparantly being neutral - had been providing the NVA and Viet Cong shelter throughout the conflict, and the success of these operations (in which Zahn participated), where hundreds of enemy combatants were killed, and thousands of tons of enemy equipment and supplies destroyed and seized, created an air of optimisim amongst those that participated that the war could be won by America and its allies.Unfortunately the optimisim was not to last as new President Richard Nixon later introduced his policy of 'Vietnamisation', which involved greatly reducing Americas presence in a theatre which had become increasingly controversial and unpopular back home, and handing more and more responsibility for the conflict back to a South Vietnam that appeared to be incapible of bearing it.Zahns twelve months in-country provides a fascinating reflection of the changing feelings and attitudes of those who participated in the vietnam conflict, and wouldnt have been possible at all if not for the many, many letters and cassette tapes that he had sent home to his parents detailing his experiences and feelings, and which his parents handed back to him years later to become the basis for this book.Its a deeply personal account of someone who was no more than a boy when he first joined the military. It details the full spectrum of human emotions felt by those who served in Vietnam - from the exhillaration of piloting one of the most advanced aircraft of the era, to the camaraderie and tight bonds formed by serving with others like yourself in a combat zone, to the intense fear generated by incoming enemy fire or a call over the radio of 'bird down!' (the code used to indicate a helecopter grounded by enemy fire, crash, or malfunction), the fury that results from being lead by officers not even trained to do the job that they were required to direct others to do, and the cost of the decisions they make, and the anger generated when even your own loved ones cant understand that which you experience.Its one of the best, most detailed, most personal and ultimately heart-rending accounts of the Vietnam conflict I've ever read, and I cant recommend it enough!

I've read many aviation memoirs that really make the reader feel they are in the cockpit with the author, sharing their exhilaration and fears. Sadly this is not one of those books.For a book subtitled 'Flying the Cobra attack helicopter', there just is not enough description of what it is like to pilot one of these machines in combat.For example, Zahn's first mission flying in the 'back seat' - which actually resulted in combat and enemy casualties - is covered in just one paragraph. Many other missions are just as brief.Far too many pages are taken up with events back at base - his banter with his friends, his anger that people back home don't fully understand what he's going through, and his numerous confrontations with his superiors (which he always seemed to win).There is no doubting Randy Zahn's courage (just look at the medals he won) and his skill as a pilot, but as a piece of writing I found Snake Pilot lacks the humility and subtle humour of Robert Mason's Chickenhawk and the understanding of how to build suspense to tell a really good story - as in Marshall Harrison's A Lonely Kind of War or Ernest K Gann's Fate is the Hunter, to name two books which focus much more on the art of flying.That said, as a description of the emotions felt by a young man many thousands of miles from home, risking his life and seeing close friends killed, then Snake Pilot is worth reading.But as a detailed account of 'Flying the Cobra attack helicopter', for me it is well off target.

Great book met the author in my career was an amazing person his best quote was ,don’t get your honey where you get your money...... he was on our Crew Resource Management Course.It’s a lesson that most people should learn when the relationship goes south work becomes a difficult place...

Although there are no shortage of 'nam helicopter memoirs this very readable account of the work of the Pink Teams (Cobra and OH-6 'Loach') is one of the best. Undoubtedly the source material of the authors own audio tape letters to his family have helped to keep this book very close to his real experiences of the time and he doesn't shrink from trying to deal with the confusion and uncertainties that prevailed.

Well done the Cotswold library for keeping in stock books that you wouldn't normally find in circulation , this book snake pilot is in great condition content non fiction ,good binding clear text it's a personal account from the Vietnam war and interesting for historians.