Nicknamed the 'flying dump truck', the A-1 was a key component in naval air wings from the end of World War II into the 1960s, allowing the aircraft to play its part in the escalating conflict in Vietnam. Both A-1 attack and EA-1F airborne early warning aircraft saw action in Southeast Asia from 1960 through 1969, when the last examples were finally retired from carrier decks. The A-1s in particular bombed targets in both North and South Vietnam, despite the aircraft being highly vulnerable to enemy flak and fighters. Co-written by a two-tour Vietnam War combat veteran in the A-1, this is the first book that focuses exclusively on the aircraft's service in Vietnam.

Rick Burgess is a retired naval flight officer who served in two patrol squadrons. Burgess, a former editor of Naval Aviation News and the current managing editor of Sea Power magazine, is the editor of two books on naval aviation and the author of numerous articles and books on naval aviation history and organisation.