The story of 'hunting B-52 flying fortresses' in the skies over Nghe An.

(Baonghean.vn) – Colonel Vu Dinh Rang is known as the first Vietnamese pilot to shoot and wound a US B-52 bomber. This heroic feat is associated with the land and skies of Nghe An..

More than two years ago, during a visit to Dua Airport in Tuong Son commune (Anh Son district, Nghe An province) to revisit the old battlefield, Colonel pilot Vu Dinh Rang recounted to the local people his military career, especially his achievement of shooting down and disabling a US "B-52 Flying Fortress".

Born in 1945 in Nam Thang commune, Tien Hai district (Thai Binh province), he joined the military early, becoming a pilot in the 305th Parachute Brigade at the age of 18. In 1965, Vu Dinh Rang was selected to study MiG-21 piloting in the Soviet Union. Three years later, after graduating from the flight course, he and 60 other pilots in his class were assigned to Noi Bai airport, forming a combat company specializing in daytime combat training.

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

In July 1969, under the guidance of Soviet experts, Vu Dinh Rang and 12 other pilots began practicing night flying. Night flying was extremely difficult because pilots could not use their eyes to observe, relying entirely on ground control. Furthermore, taking off and landing on makeshift airfields was often challenging due to rough terrain, narrow and short runways, and lack of lighting.

At this time, the US used B-52 strategic bombers to drop bombs on key transportation points along the Truong Son trail with high accuracy, causing us heavy losses. The Ministry of National Defense and the Air Force Command were determined to use MiG-21 fighter jets to shoot down the B-52s.

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

A 13-person night flight squadron, including pilot Vu Dinh Rang, was deployed to Zone 4 to study how to attack B-52s. They directly observed enemy aircraft formations flying at an altitude of 10 km using binoculars to develop combat plans.

“On the night of November 20, 1971, there was an alert about B-52 aircraft violating the airspace of Zone 4. The fighter crew at Dua Airfield was ordered to be ready for combat. The first MiG-21 to take off, 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 during a night flight. (Archive photo)

He continued: “About 15 minutes later, the duty crew received another report that B-52s had appeared from the direction of Thailand. This time, I was ordered to sortie. Following the tactics we had been trained in, I piloted the MiG-21 very low, following the Dai Hue mountain range at a low speed, to avoid veering out to sea. Upon reaching the airspace over Quang Binh, I received orders from the ground command center to jettison the auxiliary fuel tanks and increase speed.”

Vu Dinh Rang flew towards the B-52 and activated his radar, detecting the target at approximately 6km. At this distance, using air-to-air missiles would be ineffective, so he decided to continue approaching the target. Despite being detected, he remained calm, maneuvering his MiG-21 to closely track the B-52. When the distance was only 2km, he pressed the missile launch button.

Children from Tuong Son commune (Anh Son district) present flowers to Colonel Vu Dinh Rang (far right) and the pilots who fought at Dua Airfield during a visit to the old battlefield. Photo: Cong Kien

The missile left the launch pad, flew straight towards its target, and exploded. Vu Dinh Rang immediately accelerated, escaped to a higher altitude, and returned to land at Dua Airfield amidst the joy and excitement of his comrades.

Later, according to US Air Force documents, the B-52 hit by Vu Dinh Rang's missile, which had one engine damaged, still managed to "crawl" back to Thailand but could not be repaired and was removed 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 experience at dozens of airfields, I can never forget the sortie on the night of November 20, 1971, at Dua Airfield. For me, the skies over Nghe An will always hold beautiful memories,” shared Colonel Vu Dinh Rang.

Cong Kien