MiG-1719 Aces of the Vietnam War by István Toperczer

Author:István Toperczer
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2016-04-10T04:00:00+00:00

American tactics changed in October 1967, with the bombing effort in the north now focusing on paralysing VPAF operations via a tactic known as the ‘in the nest’ destruction principle. The result was that the bases at Kien An, Cat Bi and Gia Lam were attacked time and again. Hoa Lac was attacked no less than 33 times, Kep 29 times, Kien An 25 times and Noi Bai nine times. Following attacks in Vinh Phu Province, the population of the villages of Kim Anh and Da Phuc joined soldiers from the 921st FR in working to re-build Noi Bai air base. However, in late October 1967 both Noi Bai and Gia Lam had to be evacuated. The former was destroyed after the fifth attack by American bombers, yet the latter returned six more times in November and seven in December, lengthening the time taken to rebuild the facility. On the 24th, however, civilians and soldiers restored Kep to operational status in just one night. Kien An’s runways were destroyed on 17 November, although the 28th Technical Brigade restored them in two days.

During this massive air campaign many aircraft were destroyed on the ground. In a desperate effort to save those still intact, the VPAF was forced to employ great ingenuity to protect its surviving MiGs. Earth revetments were erected between 500 m and 2000 m from the runway, with some built as far as 3000 m away. A total of 140 aircraft and 200 truck shelters were built. Thousands of trees were planted to hide the MiGs, while bamboo stakes and bales of straw were used to protect the jets from shrapnel damage. Some aircraft were dispersed to safe areas using Mi-6 helicopters, while others were concealed in villages.

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