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MiG-21 “Fishbed”, Opposing Rolling Thunder 1966-68
By Istvan Topercze, Osprey Publishing, UK. 2023. 80 pp. Ill.

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MiG-21 “Fishbed”, Opposing Rolling Thunder 1966-68 By Istvan Topercze, Osprey Publishing, UK. 2023. 80 pp. Ill.

MiG-21 “Fishbed”, Opposing Rolling Thunder 1966-68 By Istvan Topercze, Osprey Publishing, UK. 2023. 80 pp. Ill.

MiG-21PFL, a Fishbed D (the NATO code name) was flown by Minh’s section leader Capt. Pham Thanh Ngan on Oct. 9, 1966, when he and his wingman attacked two Fighter Squadron (VF) 154 F-4Bs from the USS Coral Sea. Ngan shot down one Phantom, while Minh was soon shot down by Cmdr. Dick Bellinger, commanding officer of VF-162.

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MiG-21PFL, a Fishbed D (the NATO code name) was flown by Minh’s section leader Capt. Pham Thanh Ngan on Oct. 9, 1966

MiG-21PFL, a Fishbed D (the NATO code name) was flown by Minh’s section leader Capt. Pham Thanh Ngan on Oct. 9, 1966, when he and his wingman attacked two Fighter Squadron (VF) 154 F-4Bs from the USS Coral Sea. Ngan shot down one Phantom, while Minh was soon shot down by Cmdr. Dick Bellinger, commanding officer of VF-162.

On Oct. 9, 1966, two North Vietnamese MiG-21 pilots shot down a U.S. Navy F-4B from Fighter Squadron (VF) 154 from the USS Coral Sea (CVA 43); the pilot and RIO ejected and were captured as POWs, and repatriated in 1973. Immediately after shooting down the American Phantom, one of the VPAF pilots, Capt. Nguyen van Minh flying MiG-21 (Red 4221) was engaged by Cmdr. Dick Bellinger, commanding officer of VF-162, from the USS Oriskany (CVA 34). After a lot of maneuvering by the two fighter pilots, Bellinger shot down the VPAF MiG-21, whose pilot survived the fight and the war. It was the first Navy kill of a North Vietnamese MiG-21 for which Bellinger received the Silver Star, the usual, but certainly no less a decoration at that time of the war for a MiG kill. Here, Minh demonstrates how he and his squadron mate got their Phantom kill for two other pilots and their ground crew.

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On Oct. 9, 1966, two North Vietnamese MiG-21 pilots shot down a U.S. Navy F-4B from Fighter Squadron (VF) 154 from the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43)

On Oct. 9, 1966, two North Vietnamese MiG-21 pilots shot down a U.S. Navy F-4B from Fighter Squadron (VF) 154 from the USS Coral Sea (CVA 43); the pilot and RIO ejected and were captured as POWs, and repatriated in 1973. Immediately after shooting down the American Phantom, one of the VPAF pilots, Capt. Nguyen van Minh flying MiG-21 (Red 4221) was engaged by Cmdr. Dick Bellinger, commanding officer of VF-162, from the USS Oriskany (CVA 34). After a lot of maneuvering by the two fighter pilots, Bellinger shot down the VPAF MiG-21, whose pilot survived the fight and the war. It was the first Navy kill of a North Vietnamese MiG-21 for which Bellinger received the Silver Star, the usual, but certainly no less a decoration at that time of the war for a MiG kill. Here, Minh demonstrates how he and his squadron mate got their Phantom kill for two other pilots and their ground crew.

While two other squadron pilots go over their recent mission, Capt. Nguyen Van Coc, standing right, still wearing his flight helmet, listens. That day, Nov. 18, 1967, the two pilots shot down two U.S. Air Force F-105s, while Coc downed another F-105 with a missile.

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While two other squadron pilots go over their recent mission, Capt. Nguyen Van Coc, standing right, still wearing his flight helmet, listens

While two other squadron pilots go over their recent mission, Capt. Nguyen Van Coc, standing right, still wearing his flight helmet, listens. That day, Nov. 18, 1967, the two pilots shot down two U.S. Air Force F-105s, while Coc downed another F-105 with a missile.

The VPAF’s top ace was then-Capt, Nguyen Van Coc, shown here in his MiG-21PFM on May 7, 1968, when he shot down an F-4B Phantom of Fighter Squadron (VF) 92, the Silver Kings. Originally a MiG-17 pilot, he transitioned to MiG-21s while training in the USSR in 1965-66. He is credited with nine kills, seven fixed-wing aircraft and two unmanned drones. His MiG may have been one of several that were painted in camouflage, perhaps partially to mid-fuselage, then with the lower fuselage left in its original natural-metal. Note the strap on the left fixed to the MiG-21’s forward-opening cockpit canopy like the American Crusader, whose canopy was hinged from the rear. Coc survived the war and retired as lieutenant general, Chief Inspector of the Ministry of National Defense in 2002.

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The VPAF’s top ace was then-Capt, Nguyen Van Coc, shown here in his MiG-21PFM on May 7, 1968, when he shot down an F-4B Phantom of Fighter Squadron (VF) 92, the Silver Kings.

The VPAF’s top ace was then-Capt, Nguyen Van Coc, shown here in his MiG-21PFM on May 7, 1968, when he shot down an F-4B Phantom of Fighter Squadron (VF) 92, the Silver Kings. Originally a MiG-17 pilot, he transitioned to MiG-21s while training in the USSR in 1965-66. He is credited with nine kills, seven fixed-wing aircraft and two unmanned drones. His MiG may have been one of several that were painted in camouflage, perhaps partially to mid-fuselage, then with the lower fuselage left in its original natural-metal. Note the strap on the left fixed to the MiG-21’s forward-opening cockpit canopy like the American Crusader, whose canopy was hinged from the rear. Coc survived the war and retired as lieutenant general, Chief Inspector of the Ministry of National Defense in 2002.

Review by Cmdr. Peter B. Mersky, USNR (Ret.)

Another new entry in the Dogfight Series is another book by North Vietnamese Air Force specialist and Hungarian flight surgeon Istvan Toperczer, who has acquired heretofore never-before published knowledge of the Vietnamese People’s Air Force (VPAF) and its achievements against American Navy and Air Force fighter pilots. He has written several other Osprey books on VPAF MiG-17 and MiG-19 aces and their units. Also, besides the detailed accounts of the Fishbed (the NATO so-called code names for the MiG-21—Fresco and Farmer being the code names for the MiG-17 and MiG-19, respectively) this new book details a specific period that saw the name of which became “Operation Rolling Thunder” given to the strategic operation by the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force against the North Vietnamese civilian and military targets of interest in hopes of destroying the enemy’s ability to make and continue the bloody war against the Allied campaign.

As the author notes, the MiG-21 Fishbed was one of the most successful communist jet fighters ever built. It served in many countries around the world in widely varying numbers. Entering VPAF service in 1966, it flew throughout the war in rather limited numbers. The MiG-17 was probably considered the more dangerous MiG by the U.S. crews in all American services because of its greater maneuverability and its heavy cannon armament—whereas the Fishbed was equipped mainly with missiles (earlier models had one cannon). The MiG-21 was a sophisticated opponent and had supersonic capability the MiG-17 did not have (except in a dive). The MiG-19 Farmer, which was a later design and also served in limited numbers late in the war, was the first Soviet production aircraft to have supersonic capability at level flight. The Farmer was an obvious bridge between the MiG-17 and MiG-21.

The author notes the MiG-21 scored more than 70 American F-4s, while losing 35 of its own, the first of which went to a U.S. Navy F-8E Crusader, flown by VF-162 commanding officer Cmdr. Dick Bellinger, on Oct. 9, 1966.