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), and five Americans.
United States' aces 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. Two American aces were pilots, two USAF WSOs, and one USN RIO.
List Name Country Service VictoriesAircraft Nguyễn Văn Cốc North Vietnam VPAF 9MiG-21 Mai Văn Cường North Vietnam VPAF 8 MiG-21 Nguyễn Hồng Nhị North Vietnam VPAF 8 MiG-21 Phạm Thanh Ngân North Vietnam VPAF 8 MiG-21 Đặng Ngọc Ngự North Vietnam VPAF 7 MiG-21Nguyễn Văn Bảy North Vietnam VPAF 7MiG-17 Charles B. DeBellevue (WSO) United States USAF 6F-4D/E Phantom II North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-17 Lê Thanh Đạo North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21 Lưu Huy Chao North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-17 Nguyễn Đức Soát North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21 Nguyễn Đăng Kính North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21Nguyễn Ngọc Độ North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21 Nguyễn Nhật Chiêu North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-17, MiG-21Nguyễn Tiến Sâm North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21 Vũ Ngọc Đỉnh North Vietnam VPAF 6 MiG-21Randy Cunningham (pilot) United States USN5F-4J Phantom II William P. Driscoll (RIO) United States USN 5 F-4J Phantom II R. Stephen Ritchie (pilot) United States USAF5 F-4D/E Phantom IIJeffrey S. Feinstein (WSO) United States USAF 5 F-4D/E Phantom IILe Quang Trung North Vietnam VPAF5 MiG-17, MiG-19Nguyễn Văn Nghĩa North Vietnam VPAF5 MiG-21 North Vietnam VPAF 5 MiG-17 North Vietnam VPAF 5 MiG-17
One source reported that the North Vietnamese claimed to have shot down 218 U.S. crewed 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. Another source claims that the U.S. attributed losses to surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft fire because it was considered "less embarrassing". Estimates of North Vietnamese losses range from 131, as documented in North Vietnamese records; to 195, as claimed by U.S. records.
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.
See also List of United States aerial victories of the Vietnam War Colonel Tomb, a high-ranking VPAF fighter-ace whom the Americans claimed to have killed
References
External links Toperczer, Istvan, MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War, Osprey Combat Aircraft #29, 2008; Michel III, Marshall L, Clashes, Air Combat over North Vietnam 1965-1972, Naval Institute Press, 1997;