Vietnam Air Force (south) Roundel
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The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF, ), formally refers itself as the Air Defence - Air Force (ADAF, ) or the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF, ), is the aerial warfare service branch of
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. It is the successor of the former
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
ese Air Force and absorbed the South Vietnamese Air Force following the reunification of Vietnam in 1975 and is one of three main branches of the
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
, which is under the control of the
Ministry of National Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
. The main mission of the VPAF is the defence of Vietnamese airspace and the provision of air cover for operations of the People's Army of Vietnam.


History


Early years

The first aircraft in service for the Vietnamese Armed Forces were two trainers, a
de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...
and a
Morane-Saulnier Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier was a French aircraft manufacturing company formed in October 1911 by Raymond Saulnier (aircraft manufacturer), Raymond Saulnier (1881–1964) and the Robert and Léon Morane, Morane brothers, Léon (1885–1918) and ...
, which were initially the private property of the emperor
Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was em ...
. In 1945, Bảo Đại gave the aircraft to the Vietnamese government. Until 1950, even though the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) had acquired credible offensive capabilities on the ground, it was almost powerless against reconnaissance or attacking operations from the French Expeditionary Air Force. On 9 March 1949, General
Võ Nguyên Giáp Võ Nguyên Giáp (; 25 August 1911 – 4 October 2013) was a Vietnamese general and communist politician who is regarded as having been one of the greatest military strategists of the 20th century. He served as interior minister in President H ...
was authorised to establish ''the Air Force Research Committee (Ban Nghiên cứu Không quân)'' under the General Staff to study ways to deal with the air war. The first Vietnamese service aircraft flight was made by the Tiger Moth on 15 August 1949. A small-scale training was carried out in the following years. Further development of aviation in
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
began in 1956, when a number of trainees were sent to the USSR and China for pilot training. They were organised into two groups, pilots and mechanics, respectively; and among others, utilised the Czechoslovak Zlín Z-226 and
Aero Ae-45 The Aero 45 was a twin-piston engined civil utility aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia after World War II. Aero Vodochody produced the aircraft in 1947–1951, after which the Let Kunovice rolled out these planes until 1961. In 1958 the Ae-45S ...
. The first unit of the VPAF was the No. 919 Transport Regiment (''Trung đoàn Không quân Vận tải 919''), organised on 1 May 1959, with
An-2 The Antonov An-2 ("kukuruznik"—corn crop duster; USAF/DoD reporting name Type 22, NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bureau ...
,
Li-2 The Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab), originally designated PS-84, was a license-built Soviet-version of the Douglas DC-3. It was produced by Factory #84 in Moscow-Khimki and, after evacuation in 1941, at TAPO in Tashkent. The proje ...
, Il-14 aircraft, followed by the No. 910 Training Regiment (''Trung đoàn Không quân 910'') with
Yak-18 The Yakovlev Yak-18 (russian: Яковлев Як-18; NATO reporting name Max) is a tandem two-seat military primary trainer aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union. Originally powered by one 119 kW (160 hp) Shvetsov M-11FR-1 radial p ...
trainers. In 1963 the Air Force and Air Defence Force were merged into the Air and Air Defence Force (''Quân chủng Phòng không – Không quân'').


Vietnam War

The first North Vietnamese combat plane was a
T-28 Trojan The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a radial-engine military trainer aircraft manufactured by North American Aviation and used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, ...
trainer, whose pilot defected from the
Royal Lao Air Force The Royal Lao Air Force (french: Aviation Royale Laotiènne – AVRL), best known to the Americans by its English acronym RLAF, was the air force component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Royal Lao Government and ...
; it was utilised from early 1964 by the VPAF as a
night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...
. The T-28 was the first North Vietnamese aircraft to shoot down a US aircraft, a
C-123 The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Rese ...
, on 15 February 1964. The VPAF received its first jet
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
, the
MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 w ...
in February 1964, but they were initially stationed at air bases on mainland China, while their pilots were being trained. On 3 February 1964, the first fighter regiment No. 921 (''Trung đoàn Không quân Tiêm kích 921''), aka "Red Star squadron", was formed, and on 6 August it arrived in North Vietnam with its MiG-17s. On 7 September, the No. 923 fighter regiment, aka "Yen The Squadron", led by Lt. Col. Nguyen Phuc Trach, was formed. In May 1965, No. 16 bomber company (''Đại đội Không quân Ném bom 16'') was formed with Il-28 twin engine bombers. Only one Il-28 sortie was flown in 1972 against Royal Laotian forces. The VPAF's first jet air-to-air engagement with U.S. aircraft was on 3 April 1965. The VPAF claimed shooting down two
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
(USN)
F-8 Crusader The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass), and for the Frenc ...
s, which was not confirmed by U.S. sources, although they acknowledged having encountered MiGs. Consequently, 3 April became "North Vietnamese Air Force Day". On 4 April the VPAF scored the first confirmed victories to be acknowledged by both sides. The U.S. fighter community was shocked when relatively slow, MiG-17 fighters shot down advanced
F-105 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 ...
fighters-bombers attacking the
Thanh Hóa Bridge The Thanh Hóa Bridge (Vietnamese: Cầu Hàm Rồng, Hàm Rồng Bridge), spanning the Song Ma river, is situated northeast of Thanh Hóa (), the capital of Thanh Hóa Province in Vietnam. The Vietnamese gave it the nickname Hàm Rồng (''Drag ...
. The F-105s were carrying their normal heavy bomb load, and were not able to react to their attackers. In 1965, the VPAF were supplied with supersonic
MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...
s by the USSR which were used for high-speed
Ground-controlled interception Ground-controlled interception (GCI) is an air defence tactic whereby one or more radar stations or other observational stations are linked to a command communications centre which guides interceptor aircraft to an airborne target. This tactic was p ...
(GCI) controlled hit and run intercepts against American air strike groups. In 1965, the VPAF had only 36 MiG-17s and a similar number of qualified pilots, which increased to 180 MiGs and 72 pilots by 1968. The Americans had at least 200 USAF F-4s and 140 USAF F-105s, plus at least 100 USN aircraft (F-8s, A-4s and F-4s) which operated from the aircraft carriers in the
Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...
, plus scores of other support aircraft. The Americans had a multiple numerical advantage. The VPAF was a defensive air arm, with the primary mission of defending North Vietnam, and until the last stages of the war, did not conduct air operations into South Vietnam; nor did it conduct general offensive actions against enemy naval forces off the coast. The VPAF did not engage all U.S. sorties. Most U.S. aircraft were destroyed by
SA-2 The S-75 (Russian: С-75; NATO reporting name SA-2 Guideline) is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude air defence system, built around a surface-to-air missile with command guidance. Following its first deployment in 1957 it became one of the most w ...
surface-to-air missiles or
anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
(AAA), and in some cases, even small arms. Typically, VPAF MiGs would not engage unless it was to their advantage. VPAF flew their interceptors with guidance from ground controllers, who positioned the MiGs in ambush stations. The MiGs made fast and devastating attacks against U.S. formations from several directions (usually the MiG-17s performed head-on attacks and the MiG-21s attacked from the rear). After shooting down a few American planes and forcing some of the bombers to drop their bombs prematurely, the MiGs did not wait for retaliation, but disengaged rapidly. This "
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...
in the air" proved very successful. In December 1966 the MiG-21 pilots of the 921st FR downed 14 F-105s without any losses. The MiG-21 tactics became so effective that by an operation was mounted to especially deal with the MiG-21 threat. Led by Colonel
Robin Olds Robin Olds (July 14, 1922 – June 14, 2007) was an American fighter pilot and general officer in the United States Air Force (USAF). He was a " triple ace", with a combined total of 17 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. Que ...
on 2 January 1967,
Operation Bolo Operation Bolo was a United States Air Force mission during the Vietnam War, considered to be a successful combat ruse. The mission was a response to the heavy losses sustained during the Operation Rolling Thunder aerial-bombardment campaign of ...
lured MiG-21s into the air, thinking they were intercepting an F-105 strike group, but instead found a sky full of missile-armed
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 ...
s set for aerial combat. The result was a loss of almost half the inventory of MiG-21 interceptors, for no U.S. losses. The VPAF stood down for additional training after this setback. The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy continued to lay down great expectations on the F-4 Phantom, assuming that the massive arms, the perfect on-board radar, the highest speed and acceleration properties, coupled with the new tactics would provide F-4s an advantage over the MiGs. But in encounters with lighter VPAF's MiG-21, F-4 began to suffer defeat. From May to December 1966, the US lost 47 aircraft in air battles, destroying only 12 enemy fighters. From April 1965 to November 1968, in 268 air battles conducted over North Vietnam, VPAF claimed to have shot down 244 US or
Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...
(RVNAF) aircraft and they lost 85 MiGs. The disappointing performances of USAF and USN crews, even though flying the contemporary advanced aircraft of those times, combined with a legacy of successes from World War II and the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, resulted in a total revamping of aerial combat training for the USN in 1968 (
Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an a ...
school; established 1969). The designs for an entire generation of aircraft, with engineering optimised for daylight air-to-air combat (dog fighting) against both older, as well as for emerging MiG fighters, were put on the drawing board. U.S. forces could not consistently track low flying MiGs on radar, and were hampered by restrictive
rules of engagement Rules of engagement (ROE) are the internal rules or directives afforded military forces (including individuals) that define the circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in which the use of force, or actions which might be construed as pro ...
(ROE) which required pilots to visually acquire their targets, nullifying much of the advantage of radar guided missiles, which often proved unreliable when used in combat. On 24 March 1967, regiments Nos. 921, 923 and 919 were incorporated into the 371st Air Division "Thăng Long" (''Sư đoàn Không quân 371''). In 1969, No. 925 fighter regiment was formed, flying the
Shenyang J-6 The Shenyang J-6 (Chinese: 歼-6; designated F-6 for export versions; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG-19 'Farmer' fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. Design and d ...
(the Chinese-built
MiG-19 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-19; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the ...
). In 1972 the fourth fighter regiment, No. 927 "Lam Son", was formed. On 12 January 1968, in one of the few offensive air attacks by the VPAF during the entire conflict, the
Battle of Lima Site 85 The Battle of Lima Site 85, also called Battle of Phou Pha Thi, was fought as part of a military campaign waged during the Vietnam War and Laotian Civil War by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Pathet Lao, against ai ...
, a four aircraft formation of An-2 biplanes was reported flying towards a secret USAF
TACAN A tactical air navigation system, commonly referred to by the acronym TACAN, is a navigation system used by military aircraft. It provides the user with bearing and distance (slant-range or hypotenuse) to a ground or ship-borne station. It is a mor ...
and radar site in
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
guiding American bombers over North Vietnam. Two aircraft flew on to the strike, while the other two split off.Chauhan, p. 25 As the two continuing An-2s flew over, their crews dropped 120 mm mortar shells as bombs through the aircraft's floor and also strafed their targets with 57 mm rockets from the wing pods. However, as the two aircraft flew back and forth attacking the facility, one aircraft was heavily damaged by ground fire from the facility and crashed. Meanwhile, crew at Lima Site 85 managed to call in a nearby Air America helicopter; a crew member aboard the helicopter armed with an assault rifle fired on the last biplane and caused it to crash.Hamilton-Merritt, p. 181 The site was eventually overrun by
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
commando climbers. In the spring and summer of 1972, 360 USAF fighters and 96 USN fighters, a great number of which were F-4s of recent modifications, opposed only 71 VPAF aircraft (including 31 MiG-21). The culmination of the struggle in the air was 10 May 1972, when the VPAF aircraft completed 64 sorties, engaging in 15 air battles. The VPAF claimed seven F-4s were shot down (the U.S. confirmed five F-4s were lost). However, U.S. jets managed to shoot down two MiG-21s, three MiG-17s and one MiG-19. On 11 May, two MiG-21s, which played the role of "bait", brought four F-4 to two MiG-21s circling at low altitude, the MiGs attacked the F-4s and three missiles shot down two F-4. On 18 May, VPAF aircraft made 26 sorties in eight air engagements, which cost the U.S. four F-4s; VPAF fighters on that day did not suffer losses. On 13 June, a MiG-21 unit intercepted a group of F-4s, the second pair of MiGs made a missile attack and was hit by two F-4s and did not suffer losses. Over the course of the air war, between 3 April 1965 and 8 January 1973, each side would ultimately claim favourable kill ratios. A total of 201 air battles took place between American and Vietnamese planes in 1972 sorties. The VPAF lost 54 MiGs (including 36 MiG-21s and one MiG-21U) and they claimed 90 U.S. aircraft were shot down, including 74 F-4 fighters and two RF-4C (MiG-21s shot down 67 enemy aircraft, MiG-17s shot down 11 and MiG-19s shot down 12 enemy aircraft) US Navy ace
Randy Cunningham Randall Harold "Duke" Cunningham (born December 8, 1941) is a former American politician, decorated Vietnam War veteran, fighter ace, and ex-felon. Cunningham served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's ...
believed that he shot down a Mig-17 piloted by the mythical "
Nguyen Toon Colonel Tomb, also Nguyen Toon (Nguyễn Tuân) or Colonel Toon was a mythical Vietnam People's Air Force, North Vietnam Air Force Flying ace, fighter ace loosely based on a North Vietnamese pilot from the 921st Fighter aircraft, Fighter Regimen ...
" or "Colonel Tomb" while flying his F-4. However, no research has been able to identify Col. Tomb's existence; Cunningham most likely downed a flight leader of the 923rd Regiment. Legend states Col. Toon had allegedly downed 13 US aircraft during his tenure. Many VPAF pilots were not only skilled but unorthodox, as Cunningham found out after making elementary tactical errors. The resulting dogfight became extended. Cunningham climbed steeply, and the MiG pilot surprised Cunningham by climbing as well. Cunningham finally forced the MiG out ahead of him and destroyed it. In fact, there wasn't any pilot in VPAF named Nguyễn Toon, he was a fictional character of the American pilots and they often made jokes with the dissertation. An invention of the American pilots, Colonel Toon was a combination of good pilots in Vietnam, like the "solo artist" lonely night bombing in World War II was called
Washing Machine Charlie Washing Machine Charlie was a name given by the Allies (primarily the United States) to Imperial Japanese aircraft that performed usually solitary, nocturnal operations over Henderson Field on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign, as well as ...
. On 19 April 1972 in the Battle of Đồng Hới two MiG-17s attacked several USN warships causing minor damage to the . The USN claimed to have shot down one MiG with SAMs, while the VPAF claims both aircraft returned safely to base. On 22 April USN jets attacked Khe Gát Airfield, where the attack was launched from, destroying one MiG-17 on the ground and damaging a second. There were several times during the war that the US bombing restrictions of VPAF airfields were lifted. Many VPAF aircraft were destroyed on the ground, and those that were not, were withdrawn to a sanctuary in the north west of the country or into China. In December 1972, during
Operation Linebacker II Operation Linebacker II was an aerial bombing campaign conducted by U.S. Seventh Air Force, Strategic Air Command and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) during the final period of ...
the North Vietnamese air defences used their supply of SAMs trying to down the high-flying B-52 raids over the north. The North Vietnamese Air Defence Network was degraded by
electronic countermeasure An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...
s (ECM) and other suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) measures. Though the North Vietnamese forces claim over 81 U.S. aircraft shot down, (including 34 B-52s, two attributed to the VPAF),, U.S sources acknowledge only 27 aircraft lost (including 15 B-52s). During the 12 days of the Operation Linebacker II (18–29 December), during the eight air battles seven US aircraft (including four F-4s) and three VPAF MiG-21s were shot down. After the signing of the
Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords, () officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (''Hiệp định về chấm dứt chiến tranh, lập lại hòa bình ở Việt Nam''), was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1 ...
in early 1973 ended U.S. military involvement, the No. 919 transport air group (''Lữ đoàn Không quân vận tải 919''), was formed; and equipped with fixed-wing aircraft, as well as helicopters (rotor-wing) in November. The VPAF did not play a major role during the
Ho Chi Minh Campaign The 1975 spring offensive ( vi, chiến dịch mùa Xuân 1975), officially known as the general offensive and uprising of spring 1975 ( vi, Tổng tiến công và nổi dậy mùa Xuân 1975) was the final North Vietnamese campaign in the Vie ...
in 1975. SA-2s were transported into South Vietnam to counter possible US military air strikes, but the U.S. did not re-enter the conflict and the RVNAF did not have the capability to strike targets in the north and had a limited effect in defending against the invasion. The
bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base The Bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base occurred on April 28, 1975, just two days before the Fall of Saigon. The bombing operation was carried out by the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) Quyet Thang Squadron, using captured Republic of Vietnam Air ...
, the only airstrike conducted by the VPAF, occurred on 28 April 1975, just two days before the
Fall of Saigon The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Saigon, the capital of ...
. The operation was carried out by the VPAF's Quyet Thang Squadron, using captured A-37 aircraft flown by VPAF pilots and RVNAF defectors led by
Nguyen Thanh Trung Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元)is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...
who had bombed the Presidential Palace in
Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...
, less than one month earlier before defecting to the north. During the war, the VPAF used the MiG-17F, PF (J-5); MiG-19 (J-6), MiG-21F-13, PF, PFM and MF fighters. They claimed to have shot down 266 US aircraft and the U.S. claimed to have shot down or destroyed 204 MiG aircraft and at least six An-2s, of which 196 were confirmed with multiple witnesses/physical evidence (100 MiG-17s, 10 MiG-19s and 86 MiG-21s). However, VPAF admits only 154 MiGs were lost through all causes, including 131 in air combat (63 MiG-17s, 8 MiG-19s and 60 MiG-21s)). Using those figures, total kill ratio would be 1:1.3 to 1:2. With the number of losses to MiGs confirmed by US (121 aircraft shot down and 7 damaged), the kill ratio turns 1.6:1 against the MiGs, or 1.1:1 even accepting the VPAF's figure of only 131 in air combat. According to Dana Drenkowski and Lester W. Grau, the number of U.S. aircraft lost confirmed by themself is unconfirmed since the U.S. figures are also suspect. If a plane was badly damaged, but managed to land, the USAF did not count as a loss, even if it was too damaged to fly again.


Post-war developments

After the end of the Vietnam War in May 1975, more regiments were formed. No. 935 fighter regiment "Đồng Nai" and no. 937 fighter-bomber regiment "Hậu Giang", followed by no. 918 transport regiment "Hong Ha" and no. 917 mixed transport regiment "Đồng Tháp" were created in July 1975. In September 1975, the four newly created regiments were formed into the 370nd Air Division "Lê Lợi" and the 372nd Air Division "Hai Van" was formed, including among others the 925th fighter regiment. On 31 May 1977, the VPAF (''Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam'') was separated from the Air Defence Force (''Quân chủng Phòng không''). When South Vietnam was overrun by PAVN forces on 30 April 1975, approximately 877 aircraft were captured by PAVN. Of that number, 41 were F-5s and 95 were A-37s. When Vietnam helped Cambodia in 1979 with the Pol Pot situation, former VNAF A-37s flew most of the ground support missions. These aircraft were more suited to the role than the MiGs. Former VNAF
F-5E The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and the ...
s, C-123s,
C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...
s, and UH-1s were used by the VPAF for many years after the end of the War. In the years between 1953 and 1991, approximately 700 warplanes, 120 helicopters, and 158 missile complexes have been supplied to North Vietnam by the USSR and PR China (primarily the MiG-19 (J-6 series). Even today, three-quarters of Vietnamese weaponry has been made in post-Cold-War Russia. Today the VPAF is in the midst of modernisation. It still operates late model
Su-22 The Sukhoi Su-17 (''izdeliye'' S-32) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet military. Its NATO reporting name is "Fitter". Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to enter ...
s, aircraft of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
era. However, it has recently been modernising its air force with models of the
Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...
-SK air superiority fighter following closer military ties, and an array of arms deals with Russia. To date, Vietnam has ordered and received 12 of these aircraft. In 2004, it also acquired 4 modified variants of the
Su-30 The Sukhoi Su-30 (russian: Сухой Су-30; NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter ...
MK2V, newer models of the Su-27. In May 2009, they signed a deal to procure additional 12 aircraft from the Russians to bolster their ageing fleet. The Vietnamese air force has also acquired new advanced air defence systems, including two S-300 PMU1 (NATO designation: SA-20) short-to-high altitude SAM batteries in a deal worth $300 million with Russia. In June 2015, it was reported that the air force was interested in acquiring European and U.S. aircraft as part of its ongoing modernisation. Possible candidates included the
Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...
,
Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide ran ...
,
General Dynamics F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...
and Saab Gripen E/F. With the lifting of the US embargo on lethal weapons exports to Vietnam, the first lethal Western arms procured were Israeli-sourced medium-range SAM-system SPYDER-MR. First deliveries began in 2016.


Organisation


Order of battle

The organisational levels of Vietnam People's Air Force, from highest to lowest are: * High Command of Vietnam People's Air Force * Air Division () * Air Regiment/
Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
/
Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
() * Air Flight/
Squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
() * Air Section/
Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...
()


Air bases

Some airbases in the south were built by the French, Japanese* (World War II),
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
or
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
for
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
. The northern bases were likely built with assistance and/or use by the French, China or the Soviet Union during the Vietnam War. *
Kép Air Base Kép Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) ''(Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam)'' military airfield located near the town of Kép, Bắc Giang Province approximately northeast of Hanoi. History Vietnam War A September 1965 CIA inte ...
(VVKP) *
Biên Hòa Air Base Bien Hoa Air Base (Vietnamese: ''Sân bay Biên Hòa'') is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) military airfield located in South-Central southern Vietnam about from Ho Chi Minh City, across the Dong Nai river in the northern ward of Tân Phon ...
(VVBH/VBH) * Đồng Hới Airport (VVDH/VDH) *
Hòa Lạc Air Base Hòa Lạc Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) ''(Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam)'' military airfield located approximately west of Hanoi. History Vietnam War The airfield started operation in February 1967. On 26 March 1967 Col ...
(VVHL/VHL) *
Gia Lam Airbase Gia Lam Airport () is an airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, located in Long Biên District, on the eastern bank of the Red River. It is primarily a military field, used by the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF), with MiG-21 fighters and Kamov Ka-28 helic ...
(VVGL/VGL) * Anh Son Airfield * Thanh Son Airbase (VVPR/VPR) *
Tho Xuan Airport Thọ Xuân Airport, formerly Sao Vàng Airport ( vi, Sân bay Sao Vàng, vi, Sân bay Thọ Xuân) (also known as Thanh Hoá Air Base or Bái Thượng Air Base), is an airport located in Sao Vàng town in Thọ Xuân District, Thanh Hóa Prov ...
– (VVTX) training school for Vietnam fighter pilot. * Truong Sa Airfield (VVSA) *
Tan Son Nhut Air Base Tan Son Nhut Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Tân Sơn Nhứt) (1955–1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility. It was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base durin ...
(VVTS/SGN) * Yên Bái Air Base – (VVYB) training school for Vietnam fighter pilot. * Cam Ranh Airport (VVCR/CXR) – open for commercial flights in 2005 * Vũng Tàu Airfield (VVVT) operates for offshore helicopter services * Cần Thơ Airfield – (VVCT/VCA) open and upgrade for logistic support air group. *
Phúc Yên Air Base Phúc Yên Air Base (also known as Noi Bai Air Base) is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) ''(Không quân Nhân dân Việt Nam)'' military airfield located immediately north of Noi Bai International Airport and approximately north of Hanoi. ...
– 921st Fighter Regiment *
Nha Trang Air Base Nha Trang Air Base (also known as Camp McDermott Airfield and Long Van Airfield) was a French Air Force, Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF), United States Air Force (USAF) and Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) ''(Khong Quan Nhan Dan Viet N ...
(closed in 2009)


Equipment

Most of the aircraft were supplied by the Soviet Union, but hundreds were left over by the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
via the
Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, most which are no longer in service.


Aircraft


Retired

Some notable aircraft that were operated consisted of the
Shenyang J-6 The Shenyang J-6 (Chinese: 歼-6; designated F-6 for export versions; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG-19 'Farmer' fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. Design and d ...
,
Shenyang J-5 The Shenyang J-5 (Chinese: 歼-5) (NATO reporting name ''Fresco'') is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5 and was originally designated ...
,
MiG-15UTI The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one ...
, MiG-17F,
MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...
, the American
F-5 Tiger II The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and the ...
, and the
A-37B Dragonfly The Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, or Super Tweet, is an American light attack aircraft developed from the T-37 Tweet basic trainer in the 1960s and 1970s by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. The A-37 was introduced during the Vietnam War and remained in pea ...
. Transport aircraft were the
C-47 Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...
,
C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
, An-2 Colt,
Antonov An-26 The Antonov An-26 ( NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twin ...
, and the
Beriev Be-12 The Beriev Be-12 ''Chayka'' ("Seagull", NATO reporting name: Mail) is a Soviet turboprop-powered amphibious aircraft designed in the 1950s for anti-submarine and maritime patrol duties. Design and development The Beriev Be-12 was a successo ...
. Helicopters consisted of the
Ka-25 Hormone The Kamov Ka-25 (NATO reporting name "Hormone") is a naval helicopter, developed for the Soviet Navy in the USSR from 1958. Design and development In the late 1950s there was an urgent demand for anti-submarine helicopters for deployment on new ...
,
Mil Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been ...
,
Mil Mi-6 The Mil Mi-6 (NATO reporting name Hook), given the article number ''izdeliye 50'' and company designation V-6, is a Soviet/Russian heavy transport helicopter that was designed by the Mil design bureau. It was built in large numbers for both mili ...
,
Mil Mi-4 The Mil Mi-4 (USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 36", NATO reporting name "Hound") is a Soviet transport helicopter that served in both military and civilian roles. Design and development The Mi-4 was designed in response to the American H-19 Chick ...
, and the CH-47A Chinook Most of these aircraft have now been sold off or scrapped, due to loss of parts. Vietnam's rapid economic development is opening the country to foreign investment and has resulted in Hanoi's new acquisition of more modern equipment. The air force is deemed efficient but financial problems mean its improvement programs will be slow at best


Armament


Air Defence


Ranks


Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of
commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
s.


Other ranks

The rank insignia of
non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
s and
enlisted personnel An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States m ...
.


See also

*
Battle of Lima Site 85 The Battle of Lima Site 85, also called Battle of Phou Pha Thi, was fought as part of a military campaign waged during the Vietnam War and Laotian Civil War by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Pathet Lao, against ai ...
, (Northeastern
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
, 12 January 1968) *
Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...
*
Vietnam People's Air Force Museum, Hanoi The Vietnam People's Air Force Museum, Hanoi or ''Bảo Tàng Phòng Không - Không Quân'' is located on Truong Chinh Street in the ''Bach Mai'' District of Hanoi. The museum is on the edge of the disused Bach Mai Airfield. The museum tells the ...
*
Vietnam People's Air Force Museum, Ho Chi Minh City The Vietnam People's Air Force Museum, Saigon or ''Bảo Tàng Phòng Không - Không Quân'' is located on ''Duong Thang Long'' (Thang Long Street) in the ''Phuong'' 4 District of Ho Chi Minh City. The museum is near to Tan Son Nhat International ...
* Colonel Nguyen Toon


References

Published Government Documents * * Gilster, Herman L. ''The Air War in Southeast Asia: Case Studies of Selected Campaigns''. Maxwell Air Force Base AL: Air University Press, 1993. * Head, William P. ''War from Above the Clouds: B-52 Operations During the Second Indochina War and the Effects of the Air War on Theory and Doctrine''. Maxwell AFB AL: Air University Press, 2002. * McCarthy, Brig. Gen. James R. and LtCol. George B. Allison, ''Linebacker II: A View from the Rock''. Maxwell Air Force Base AL: Air University Press, 1979. * Nalty, Bernard C. ''Air War Over South Vietnam: 1969–1975''. Washington, D.C.: Center of Air Force History, 1995. * Schlight, John, ''A War Too Long''. Washington, D.C.: Center of Air Force History, 1993. * Tilford, Earl H. ''Setup: What the Air Force Did in Vietnam and Why''. Maxwell Air Force Base AL: Air University Press, 1991. * Thompson, Wayne, ''To Hanoi and Back: The US Air Force and North Vietnam, 1966–1973''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002. Secondary Sources * Asselin, Pierre, ''A Bitter Peace: Washington, Hanoi and the Making of the Paris Agreement'', Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. * Ambrose, Stephen E., ''The Christmas Bombing'' in Robert Cowley, ed. ''The Cold War: A Military History'', New York: Random House, 2005. * Casey, Michael, Clark Dougan, Samuel Lipsman, Jack Sweetman, Stephen Weiss, et al., ''Flags into Battle''. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1987. * Dorr, Robert. ''Boeing's Cold War Warrior: B-52 Stratofortress''. Osprey Publishing, 2000. * Drendel, Lou, ''Air War over Southeast Asia: Vol. 3, 1971–1975''. Carrollton TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1984. * Hobson, Chris, "Vietnam Air Losses USAF/NAVY/MARINE, Fixed-wing aircraft losses Southeast Asia 1961–1973. 2001. * Karnow, Stanley, ''Vietnam: A History''. New York: Viking Books, 1983. * Lipsman, Samuel, Stephen Weiss, et al., ''The False Peace: 1972–74''. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985. * Littauer, Raphael and Norman Uphoff, ''The Air War in Indochina''. Boston: Beacon Press, 1972. * McCarthy, Donald J. Jr. ''MiG Killers: A Chronology of US Air Victories in Vietnam 1965–1973.'' North Branch, Minnesota: Speciality Press, 2009. . * Morocco, John, ''Rain of Fire: Air War, 1969–1973''. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985. * Pribbenow, Merle L.(trans) ''Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People's Army of Vietnam.'' University Press of Kansas, 2002. * Zaloga, Steven J. ''Red SAM: The SA-2 Guideline Anti-Aircraft Missile''. Osprey Publishing, 2007.


External links


Vietnamese's Air-to-Air Victories






{{Air forces
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
Aviation in Vietnam