The first victory in the land and sky of Nghe An

MiG-21's sortie at Coconut Airfield

Colonel Vu Dinh Rang (born in 1945) is known as the first Vietnamese pilot to shoot down and injure an American B-52 bomber. That feat is associated with the land and sky of Nghe An. Nearly 9 years ago, when he visited the old battlefield at Dua Airport in Tuong Son Commune, Anh Son District (Nghe An), he told the people here about his feat of shooting down and injuring and eliminating the American B-52 bomber from combat.

Colonel and pilot Vu Dinh Rang (center) visits a cave hiding fighter planes at Dua Airport, Tuong Son Commune, Anh Son District (Nghe An). Photo courtesy: Cong Kien

In 1969, the US used B-52s to drop bombs on key traffic points on the route.Truong Son Roadcausing us many losses. The Ministry of National Defense and the Air Defense - Air Force were determined to use MiG-21 fighters to shoot down the B-52s. A night flight team of 13 people, including pilot Vu Dinh Rang, was sent to Zone 4 to study how to fight the B-52s, directly observing the enemy aircraft formation flying at an altitude of 10 km with binoculars to develop a combat plan.

“On the night of November 20, 1971, there was an alert that B-52 aircraft were violating the airspace of Zone 4. The fighter crew at Dua Airport was ordered to be ready for combat. The first MiG-21 sortie, piloted by Hoang Bieu, was detected by enemy radar, so the B-52 group returned to Thailand,” recalled pilot Vu Dinh Rang.

Pilot Vu Dinh Rang - the first person to take a B-52 out of combat - recounts the sortie at Coconut Airport on the night of November 20, 1971. Photo: Cong Kien

He continued: “About 15 minutes later, the combat crew received another message that B-52s were flying from Thailand. This time, I was ordered to take off. According to the trained tactics, I flew the MiG-21 very low, followingDai Hue rangeat low speed, be careful not to deviate from the sea. When reaching Quang Binh airspace, we received orders from the Ground Command to drop the auxiliary fuel tank and accelerate to high altitude.

Vu Dinh Rang flew towards the B-52 and turned on the radar, detecting a target about 6 km away. At this distance, using air-to-air missiles would be ineffective, so he decided to continue approaching the target. Although detected by the enemy, he remained calm, controlling the MiG-21 to follow the B-52. When the distance was only 2 km, he pressed the missile launch button. The missile left the launch pad, flew straight to the target and exploded.

A US B-52 strategic bomber on a night flight. File photo

Vu Dinh Rang immediately accelerated, escaped to high altitude and returned to land at Coconut Airport amid the joy and happiness of his comrades and teammates. Later, according to documents of the US Air Force, the B-52 hit by Vu Dinh Rang's missile had one engine damaged and still "crawled" back to Thailand but could not be repaired and was eliminated from the war. Therefore, the US Air Force still considers him the first person to shoot down a B-52.

Interference lines at Sy hill

Exactly 10 years ago, we had the opportunity to talk with Colonel Nghiem Dinh Tich - former Head of Radar Station 45 - the first unit to detect B-52 aircraft entering Hanoi during this historic campaign.

He said: "In those days, the US Air Force continuously sent fake signals, interfering with our radar station systems. The Radar Division Command ordered the units to enter a level 1 combat readiness state. By 7:00 p.m. on December 18, 1972, the entire division was prepared for the highest level of combat spirit.Ministry of Defense, the military branch and division commander continuously sent telegrams to units to inform them of the situation, thoroughly monitor and closely follow aerial targets, especially to detect B-52 aircraft as soon as possible.

Officers and soldiers of Radar Station 45 (Regiment 291) deploy the combat plan. Photo: Archive

At 18:50, December 18, 1972, Company 45 - Radar Regiment 291 stationed at Sy hill in Thuan Son commune (Do Luong) discovered and announced: B-52 aircraft headed towards Hanoi!. Before that, Radar Station 16 stationed in Thanh Hoa also suspected that enemy aircraft were attacking Hanoi from the Southwest direction but did not dare to confirm.

Information from Company 45 was quickly transferred to the Army Command 35 minutes in advance.Air Defense - Air ForceImmediately ordered missile battalions to track the flight path and distance of enemy aircraft to destroy them. Thanks to that, on the night of December 18, 1972, missile troops shot down 8 enemy aircraft, including 3 B-52 aircraft.

The US B-52 aircraft were detected by Radar Station 45 (Regiment 291), helping air defense, missile and anti-aircraft artillery units destroy them in the "Dien Bien Phu in the Air" Campaign (1972). Photo archive

Colonel Nghiem Dinh Tich added: "The unit has accumulated experience in detecting B-52 aircraft operating in the South of Zone 4 since 1969, and has participated in guiding them."pilotVu Dinh Rang shot down a B-52 aircraft on the night of November 20, 1971, directly ensuring that Missile Regiment 263 shot down a B-52 aircraft on the night of November 22, 1972, and gained experience in anti-jamming to detect B-52 aircraft attacking the Plain of Jars - Xieng Khouang.

That day, I, along with the gunners Pham Hoang Cau and Nguyen Van Xich, immediately identified the B-52 jamming bands in the southwest direction. Under the order of Captain Dinh Huu Thuan, the entire crew on duty handled the B-52 anti-jamming procedure. In just a moment, gunner number 1 Pham Hoang Cau reported the intelligence of the B-52 groups to the Regiment Command and reported to the Radar Station at the Army Command.