Nguyễn Nhật Chiêu (born 1934 in
Nam Sách District
Nam, Nam, or The Nam are shortened terms for:
* Vietnam, which is also spelled ''Viet Nam''
* The Vietnam War
Nam, The Nam or NAM may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Nam, a fictional character in anime series ''Dragon Ball''
* ''NAM'' (video ...
in
Hải Dương Province
H, or h, is the eighth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''aitch'' (pronounced , plural ''aitches''), or region ...
) was a
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, De ...
pilot of the
Vietnamese People's Air Force (VPAF); he flew with the 921st Fighter Regiment first with the MiG-17 before transitioning into the MiG-21, and is tied for fourth place amongst
Vietnam War fighter aces
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
with six kills.
Contrary to popular accounts in U.S. text, Nguyễn Nhật Chiêu preferred flying the MiG-21 into combat over the MiG-17, stating that: "''for me personally, I preferred the MiG-21 because it was superior in all aspects of climb, speed and armament. The Atoll missile was very accurate and I scored four kills with the Atoll... in general combat conditions I was always confident of a kill over an
F-4 Phantom when flying a MiG-21''."
The following kills are officially acknowledged and credited to him by the VPAF:
[Vietnamese Air-to-Air Victories, Part 1](_blank)
/ref>[Vietnamese Air-to-Air Victories, Part 2](_blank)
/ref>
* 20 September 1965, an American F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...
US Losses in the Vietnam War
(shot-down the F-4 while flying a MiG-17);
* 07 July 1966, a USAF F-105D Thunderchief
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Viet ...
(pilot Tomes, POW
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
, credited to Chieu's wingman Tran Ngoc Siu, first victory over piloted American fighter with the MiG-21);
* 17 July 1967, a USN F-8 Crusader;
* 23 August 1967, a USAF F-4D (pilot Tyler, POW, RWO Sittner, KIA);
* 07 October 1967, a USAF F-105F Wild Weasel (pilot Howard, RWO Shamblee, both rescued);
* 29 October 1967, an F-4 Phantom (not confirmed by the US).
See also
* List of Vietnam War flying aces
* Weapons of the Vietnam War
References
Bibliography
* Toperczer, Istvan, ''MiG-21 Aces of the Vietnam War'', Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2015; .
North Vietnamese military personnel of the Vietnam War
North Vietnamese Vietnam War flying aces
Living people
1934 births
{{Vietnam-mil-bio-stub