The story of 'hunting for B-52 flying fortresses' in Nghe An sky

(Baonghean.vn) – Colonel Vu Dinh Rang is known as the first Vietnamese pilot to shoot and injure an American “B-52 Flying Fortress”. That feat is associated with the land and sky of Nghe An..

More than 2 years ago, during his visit to Dua airport in Tuong Son commune (Anh Son - Nghe An) to revisit the old battlefield, Colonel pilot Vu Dinh Rang told the people here about his military career, especially his feat of shooting and injuring and eliminating from combat the American "B-52 Flying Fortress".

He was born in 1945 in Nam Thang commune, Tien Hai district (Thai Binh), joined the army early, at 18 he was already a pilot in the 305th Airborne Brigade. In 1965, Vu Dinh Rang was selected to go to the Soviet Union to learn to fly the MiG-21. Three years later, after graduating from the flight course, he and 60 pilots in the class were transferred to Noi Bai airport, assigned to a combat company specializing in daytime training.

Colonel and pilot Vu Dinh Rang (center) visits a cave where fighter planes are hidden at Dua airport, Tuong Son commune (Anh Son - Nghe An). Photo: Cong Kien

In July 1969, under the guidance of Soviet experts, Vu Dinh Rang and 12 other pilots began to practice night flying. Night flying was very difficult because pilots could not use the naked eye to observe and were completely dependent on ground command. Moreover, takeoffs and landings on field airports were often rough, with narrow, short runways and no lighting, making the difficulties even greater.

At this time, the US used B-52 strategic bombers to drop bombs on key traffic points on the Truong Son route with high precision, causing 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.

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

The 13-person night flight team, including pilot Vu Dinh Rang, was sent to Zone 4 to study how to fight B-52s, directly observing enemy aircraft formations 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.

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

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, following the Dai Hue range at low speed, taking precautions against veering off course towards the sea. When I reached Quang Binh airspace, I received orders from the ground command to drop the auxiliary fuel tank and accelerate upwards.”

Vu Dinh Rang flew towards the B-52 and turned on the radar, detecting a target about 6km 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 2km, he pressed the button to launch the missile.

Children of Tuong Son commune (Anh Son) presented flowers to Colonel Vu Dinh Rang (far right) and pilots who fought at Dua airport during their visit to the old battlefield. Photo: Cong Kien

The missile left the launch pad, flew straight into the target and exploded. Vu Dinh Rang immediately accelerated, escaped high and returned to land at Dua airport amid the joy and happiness of his comrades and teammates.

Later, according to US Air Force documents, Vu Dinh Rang's B-52, hit by a 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.

“As a fighter pilot with thousands of takeoffs and landings, hundreds of sorties, and dozens of airports, I cannot forget the night sortie on November 20, 1971 at Dua airport. For me, Nghe An sky is always a beautiful memory” – Colonel Vu Dinh Rang shared.

Cong Kien