Dan Pedersen

Dan Pedersen was credited as being the leading force[1] behind the creation of the Naval Air Station Miramar’s “TOPGUN” program (1969).[2] He was chosen for the role due to his experiences in the Vietnam air battles (having joined the U.S. Navy in 1953)[3] which imbued him with knowledge on the problems with US equipment and tactics given that weaponry had a 90 percent failure rate.[4] In 1980 he became the Captain of USS Ranger.

Recognition

The Top Gun School ratio went from a 2-to-1 failure rate to a 24-to-1 ratio following Pederson’s program.[5] This earned him the title the ‘Godfather of Top Gun’[6] and Skipper of the ranger.[7] In conjunction with the Navy Fighter Weapons School 50th anniversary,[8] Pederson’s memoir ‘Topgun: An American Story,’ was published by Hachette Books (2019)[9] and popularized into a movie.[10] [11] In 2018, Pederson was honored at Palm Springs Air Museum Gala.[12]

See also

References
  1. August 2019, Dan Pedersen (2019-06-18). "The Man Behind the Topgun Fighter Pilot School". HistoryNet. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  2. "The skipper of the carrier USS Ranger vigorously denied..." UPI. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  3. "Top Gun: The New Book by Navy's Program Founder Is a Rare Aviation Literary Gem". The Aviationist. 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  4. "Dan Pedersen". Hachette Book Group. 2018-07-03. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  5. "The man behind Top Gun". Military Press. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  6. "The Real Military Program That Inspired 'Top Gun' Just Turned 50. Here's How Being a Navy Pilot Has Changed Since Then". Time. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  7. Ap (1981-07-29). "SKIPPER IS ACCUSED IN SAILOR'S DEATH (Published 1981)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  8. "Captain Dan Pedersen". Fox News. 2020-12-31. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  9. "Top Gun: An American Story | Naval Historical Foundation". Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  10. "Topgun - U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  11. "Top Gun: The New Book by Navy's Program Founder Is a Rare Aviation Literary Gem". The Aviationist. 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  12. Greer, By Ann. "Story from Palm Springs Air Museum: Naval Top Gun Founder To Be Honored at Palm Springs Air Museum Gala". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
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