Do you feel the need for speed? Fifty years of the Topgun fighter unit that inspired the Eighties hit movie are celebrated in stunning new book
- The Topgun fighter program was founded in 1968 as the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School
- Since its inception the unit has been involved in almost every major conflict involving the US military
- The 1986 movie ‘Top Gun’ made the unit famous and grossed over £275million worldwide at the box office
- A new book ‘Top Gun: 50 Years of Naval Air Superiority’ reveals the remarkable history of the fighter unit
Topgun, the US Navy’s world-famous fighter unit which inspired one of the eighties most beloved films, turns fifty this year and is celebrated in a new book.
Although the 1986 movie was a smash hit, having grossed over £275million worldwide, the history of the Topgun military school stretches back way before the movie’s release.
Jon Zimmerman’s new book ‘Top Gun: 50 Years of Naval Air Superiority’, explains the remarkable history, technology, and culture within the famous unit.
Originally called the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, it was founded after a 1968 study determined that U.S. pilots needed better training.
During the worst days of the Vietnam War, US fighter pilots were managing to down two enemy fighters for every casualty but following the formation of the ‘Topgun’ program, that ratio soared to 24:1.
Stunning photos included in the book show an A4 Skyhawk in 1965 taking off to fight in the Vietnam War, and diligent US servicemen prepping one of their fighters during the Second World War.
‘After the movie, every young male, athletic or not, who left the theatre wanted to be a Navy pilot,’ Zimmerman said, ‘And while there was a natural dropoff over the years, just the mention of the name ‘Topgun’ is enough to catch the attention of young men everywhere.’
Four fighter jets soar above US territory in close formation. Dwight Jon Zimmerman’s ‘Top Gun: 50 Years of Naval Air Superiority’ tracks the remarkable history of the elite unit throughout the global conflicts of the past century
Captain Joseph P.McConnell, USAF, the ace of the Korean War in the cockpit of his F-86 Sabre, ‘Beauteous Butch II,’based on his wife’s nickname. His sixteen victories are indicated by the stars painted on his plane’s fuselage. He was another inspiration for the Topgun program instructors
Original Top Gun: With twenty-six aerial victories, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was America’s ace of aces in World War I. In those days pilots had an extremely short life expectancy
Lt. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise, in the 1986 movie ‘Top Gun’. Nowadays, the US Navy has an uneasy relationship with the film. Whilst appreciating its recruiting power, it also realises the action-thriller over glorifies the life of an elite fighter pilot
During the Vietnam War, the Navy recognized the need for an advanced air-to-air tactical fighter unit. That unit became Topgun. Here, a catapult officer signals launch and an A-4 Skyhawk screams down the deck of an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea in March 1965
The Republic F-86 Sabre was America’s top jet fighter in the Korean War. Prior to that conflict,the military changed the World War II designation for fighters, ‘P’ for ‘Pursuit,’ to ‘F’ for ‘Fighter’
Top Gun’s famous Grumman F-14 Tomcat is the first American military jet fighter to have twin tails. Its advanced weapons control system computer is capable of simultaneously tracking up to twenty-four targets
Since the release of the 1986 film, many teenagers have dreamt of taking to the skies. Pictured: One of the unit’s most treasured planes sitting next to a modern fighter jet which is used in worldwide conflicts
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Lieutenant Colonel Dave Berke,USMC, a Topgun student and later, instructor, standing on an airfield at an unknown location. Topgun pilots are among the most rigorously trained in the entire world
The F-14 Tomcat became the Navy and Marine Corps’ top multirole air superiority aircraft in 1974. By the time it was retired from service in 2006, it was considered one of their greatest aircraft
A Wildcat being lifted by elevator from the hangar deck to the flight deck in preparation for aerial operations. Zimmerman’s book explores the rich history of American fighter pilots, as well as the film and the 1969 military school
Left: Gervais Raoul Lufbery was one of America’s great aces in the First World War. Right: The Navy’s top ace during World War II was Commander David McCampbell, an inspiration for the Topgun program. Here, Commander McCampbell poses in the cockpit of his F6F Hellcat on board USS Essex in October 1944. The Japanese flags below his fighter’s canopy rail signify twenty enemy planes he shot down. At war’s end he would tally a total of thirty-four Japanese planes shot down; receiving the Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, amongst other decorations
F-8E Crusader pilots often referred to themselves as Top Guns during the Vietnam War. Here, a Crusader of All Weather Fighter Squadron 235 is loaded with 250-pound bombs and rockets for its next mission over Vietnam in April 1967
The crowded flight deck of the USS Essex showing her squadrons of F6F Hellcat fighters and SBD scout bombers during World War Two. Note the folded wings, a space-saving feature given the flight deck and hangar constraints on the aircraft carrier
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