List of Vietnam War flying aces

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The claimed flying aces of the Vietnam War, pilots who shot down five or more enemy aircraft, include 19 Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) pilots, (six MiG-17 and 13 MiG-21 pilots),[1]: 228  and five Americans.

A MiG-21 of the VPAF which became the primary fighter-interceptor against USAF and USN aircraft.

United States' aces[edit]

All the American aces flew as members of two-man crews on F-4 Phantoms, reflecting the emergence of air-to-air missiles as the primary weapons of aerial combat; both crewmen were awarded a kill for each VPAF aircraft shot-down. The F-4 Phantom II crew consisted of a pilot and a radar intercept officer (RIO) in the United States Navy (USN) or a weapon systems officers (WSO) in the United States Air Force (USAF). This crew configuration allowed for effective multi-role combat capabilities and improved coordination in air-to-air engagements. The pilot primarily focused on flying the aircraft and managing the missile systems, while the RIO or WSO operated the radar, navigational systems, and weapon targeting systems.[2] Two American aces were pilots, two USAF WSOs, and one USN RIO.

List[edit]

Name Country Service Victories Aircraft
Nguyễn Văn Cốc[3] North Vietnam VPAF 9 MiG-21
Mai Văn Cường[3] North Vietnam VPAF 8 MiG-21
Nguyễn Hồng Nhị[3] North Vietnam VPAF 8 MiG-21
Phạm Thanh Ngân[3] North Vietnam VPAF 8 MiG-21
Đặng Ngọc Ngự †[3] North Vietnam VPAF 7 MiG-21
Nguyễn Văn Bảy[3] North Vietnam VPAF 7 MiG-17
Charles B. DeBellevue (WSO)[4] United States USAF 6 F-4 Phantom II D/E
Lê Hải[3] North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-17
Lê Thanh Đạo[3] North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21
Lưu Huy Chao[3] North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-17
Nguyễn Đức Soát[3] North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21
Nguyễn Đăng Kỉnh[3] North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21
Nguyễn Ngọc Độ[3] North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21
Nguyễn Nhật Chiêu[3] North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-17, MiG-21
Nguyễn Tiến Sâm[5] North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21
Vũ Ngọc Đỉnh[3] North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21
Randy Cunningham (pilot)[6] United States USN 5 F-4 Phantom II
William P. Driscoll (RIO) United States USN 5 F-4 Phantom II J
R. Stephen Ritchie (pilot)[7] United States USAF 5 F-4 Phantom II
Jeffrey S. Feinstein (WSO)[8] United States USAF 5 F-4 Phantom II
Le Quang Trung †[9] North Vietnam VPAF 5 MiG-17, MiG-19
Nguyễn Văn Nghĩa North Vietnam VPAF 5 MiG-21
Nguyễn Phi Hung †[1]: 131  North Vietnam VPAF 5 MiG-17
Võ Văn Mẫn †[1]: 51  North Vietnam VPAF 5 MiG-17

One source reported that the North Vietnamese claimed to have shot down 218 U.S. manned aircraft in air to air combat in Vietnam, of those kills, 85 are not supported by U.S. records, while another 37 were attributed by the U.S. to surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft fire.[10] Another source claims that the U.S. attributed losses to surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft fire because it was considered "less embarrassing".[11] Estimates of North Vietnamese losses range from 131, as documented in North Vietnamese records; to 195, as claimed by U.S. records.[12]

William A. Sayers writing in 2019 asserted that North Vietnam only had three aces in the war including Phạm Thanh Ngân, with the other "aces" being creations of North Vietnamese propaganda that included claimed "kills" on days where no U.S. losses occurred, crediting VPAF pilots with kills that had actually been achieved by surface to air missile or antiaircraft artillery units and shootdowns of drones. He also stated that there were no MiG-17 aces.[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Toperczer, Istvan (2015). MiG Aces of the Vietnam War. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-4895-2.
  2. ^ Scranton, Roy (2019), "Introduction", Total Mobilization, University of Chicago Press, pp. 1–14, doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226637457.003.0001, ISBN 978-0-226-63731-0, retrieved 2023-10-12
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Zampini, Diego (2012-03-23). "North Vietnamese Aces". acepilots.com. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  4. ^ Futrell, R. Frank (1976). United States Air Force in Southeast Asia 1965-1973: Aces and Aerial Victories. Air University, Headquarters USAF. pp. 93–105.
  5. ^ Toperczer, István (2017-09-21). MiG-21 Aces of the Vietnam War. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 95. ISBN 9781472823540.
  6. ^ Sherman, Stephan (2012-03-22). "Randy Cunningham". acepilots.com. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  7. ^ Boyce, Ward. "Brig. Gen. Steve Ritchie". tripod.com. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  8. ^ "Jeffrey S. Feinstein". Air Force Times. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  9. ^ Toperczer, István (2016-10-20). MiG-17/19 Aces of the Vietnam War. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 52. ISBN 9781472812568.
  10. ^ Lednicer, David; Camp, Adrian (2002-06-09). "US Air-to-Air Losses in the Vietnam War". myplace.frontier.com. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  11. ^ E., Gordon (2008). Mikoyan MiG-21. Dexter, Keith., Komissarov, Dmitriĭ (Dmitriĭ Sergeevich). Hinckley: Midland. ISBN 9781857802573. OCLC 245555578.
  12. ^ Air warfare: an international encyclopedia. Boyne, Walter J., 1929-. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. 2002. p. 679. ISBN 978-1576073452. OCLC 49225204.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. ^ William A. Sayers (7 May 2019). "How North Vietnam claimed more aces than it really had". HistoryNet. Retrieved 23 July 2022.

External links[edit]

  • Toperczer, Istvan, MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War, Osprey Combat Aircraft #29, 2008; ISBN 978-1-84176-263-0
  • Michel III, Marshall L, Clashes, Air Combat over North Vietnam 1965-1972, Naval Institute Press, 1997; ISBN 978-1-59114-519-6
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