{"id":26300727,"date":"2026-10-03T11:19:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T09:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/ted-swartz-a-4-skyhawk-mig-17-kill-zuni-rocket-1967-va-76\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T11:19:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T09:19:49","slug":"ted-swartz-a-4-skyhawk-mig-17-kill-zuni-rocket-1967-va-76","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/es\/ted-swartz-a-4-skyhawk-mig-17-kill-zuni-rocket-1967-va-76\/","title":{"rendered":"Ted Swartz: The US Navy Skyhawk Pilot Who Downed a MiG-17"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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It was small, light and nimble, and in Vietnam it hauled bombs and rockets into some of the most heavily defended airspace in history. Shooting down enemy fighters was the job of the Crusaders and Phantoms flying above it.<\/p>\n<p>On 1 May 1967, over Kep airfield north-east of Hanoi, Lieutenant Commander Theodore R. \"Ted\" Swartz of attack squadron VA-76 broke that rule. Flying an A-4C from the carrier USS Bon Homme Richard, he shot down a North Vietnamese <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mig-17-fresco\/\">MiG-17<\/a> with an unguided Zuni rocket meant for ground targets. It was the only air-to-air kill scored by a Skyhawk in the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Date:<\/strong> 1 May 1967<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Pilot:<\/strong> Lt. Cdr. Theodore R. Swartz, VA-76 \"Spirits\"<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Douglas A-4C Skyhawk<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Carrier:<\/strong> USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31)<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Target area:<\/strong> Kep airfield, north-east of Hanoi<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Weapon:<\/strong> Unguided 5-inch Zuni air-to-ground rocket<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Victim:<\/strong> Vietnamese People's Air Force MiG-17<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Significance:<\/strong> The Skyhawk's only air-to-air victory of the Vietnam War<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Award:<\/strong> Silver Star, according to Aviation Wings<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A flak-suppression job at Kep<\/h2>\n<p>Kep was one of North Vietnam's main MiG bases, and on 1 May 1967 it was the target of a Navy strike. Swartz and his wingman, Lieutenant John Waples, were on a defence-suppression mission: their job was to hit the anti-aircraft guns so the bombers could get through.<\/p>\n<p>As they started their attack run, according to accounts drawn from Peter Mersky's Osprey history of Navy and Marine Skyhawk units, they saw MiG-17s on the runway and fired their Zunis, destroying two of them on the ground.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/a-4c-skyhawk-uss-bon-homme-richard-1964.jpg\" alt=\"A-4C Skyhawk on the deck of USS Bon Homme Richard\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An A-4C Skyhawk of VA-195 lands aboard USS Bon Homme Richard in 1964. Swartz flew his A-4C from the same carrier in 1967. U.S. Navy photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The MiG that got in front<\/h2>\n<p>As the Skyhawks pulled away from the target, a third MiG-17 attacked. Swartz manoeuvred defensively, and the MiG ended up ahead of him, a position no fighter pilot wants to be in with an enemy behind.<\/p>\n<p>Swartz fired his remaining Zuni rockets. They were designed for trucks, bunkers and gun positions, not for a manoeuvring jet fighter. One of them crippled the MiG, which went down behind a hill. Waples, according to these accounts, saw it fall and then a plume of black smoke rise.<\/p>\n<p>That same day an F-8E Crusader pilot of VF-211, Lieutenant Commander Wright, also shot down a MiG-17 with a Sidewinder missile, and a USAF F-4C crew downed another. Swartz's kill, scored with a ground-attack weapon from an attack aircraft, was the one that stood out.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nt6XcsZf_F0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why a Zuni kill was so unlikely<\/h2>\n<p>The Zuni is a 5-inch, unguided folding-fin rocket fired from pods. It has no seeker: it goes where the aircraft is pointing when it leaves the rail. Hitting an aircraft with one requires the target to fly through a very small piece of sky at exactly the right moment.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mig-17-fresco\/\">MiG-17<\/a>, for its part, was one of the most dangerous threats US pilots faced over North Vietnam. It was slow by the standards of the Phantom, but it could out-turn almost anything the Americans flew and carried heavy cannons, as the photograph below of a MiG-17 attacking an F-105 shows.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/mig-17-firing-pass-f-105-thunderchief-vietnam-1967.jpg\" alt=\"North Vietnamese MiG-17 attacking a USAF F-105 Thunderchief in 1967\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A North Vietnamese MiG-17 making a firing pass at a USAF F-105D Thunderchief over North Vietnam in December 1967. U.S. Air Force photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Not the only Skyhawk kill in history<\/h2>\n<p>Swartz's victory was unique for the US Navy and for the Vietnam War, but not for the Skyhawk itself. In May 1970, an Israeli Air Force A-4 flown by Colonel Ezra Dotan shot down two Syrian MiG-17s over southern Lebanon, one with unguided rockets and the other with cannon fire.<\/p>\n<p>In American service, though, there was only ever one. Swartz himself told the story decades later in a live interview with Air2Air, embedded below.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gPGqbbsp3gM\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wcHsmJ_EoT0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p><em>Sources: Wikipedia (VA-76; Douglas A-4 Skyhawk; List of US aerial victories of the Vietnam War), The Aviation Geek Club, Aviation Wings, Peter Mersky<\/em><\/p>\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Did an A-4 Skyhawk ever shoot down a MiG?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. On 1 May 1967, Lt. Cdr. Theodore R. Swartz of VA-76 shot down a North Vietnamese MiG-17 with an unguided Zuni rocket while flying an A-4C from USS Bon Homme Richard. It was the Skyhawk's only air-to-air victory of the Vietnam War. Israeli A-4s also shot down MiG-17s, including two by Col. Ezra Dotan in May 1970.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who was Ted Swartz?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Theodore R. \"Ted\" Swartz was a US Navy lieutenant commander flying A-4C Skyhawks with attack squadron VA-76 \"Spirits\". On 1 May 1967 he shot down a MiG-17 near Kep airfield in North Vietnam, the only Skyhawk air-to-air kill of the war.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What weapon did Swartz use to shoot down the MiG-17?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Swartz used a Zuni, an unguided 5-inch air-to-ground rocket fired from a pod. It has no guidance, so hitting a manoeuvring fighter with one is extremely rare.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Where did the Skyhawk MiG kill happen?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The kill happened near Kep airfield, a North Vietnamese MiG base north-east of Hanoi, during a US Navy strike on the base on 1 May 1967.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What other MiGs were shot down on 1 May 1967?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">On the same day, Lt. Cdr. Wright of VF-211, flying an F-8E Crusader, shot down a MiG-17 with an AIM-9 Sidewinder, and a USAF F-4C crew from the 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron downed another MiG-17.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Did Israeli Skyhawks shoot down MiGs?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. In May 1970 an Israeli Air Force A-4 flown by Col. Ezra Dotan shot down two Syrian MiG-17s over southern Lebanon, one with unguided rockets and the other with 30 mm cannon fire.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Did an A-4 Skyhawk ever shoot down a MiG?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes. On 1 May 1967, Lt. Cdr. Theodore R. Swartz of VA-76 shot down a North Vietnamese MiG-17 with an unguided Zuni rocket while flying an A-4C from USS Bon Homme Richard. It was the Skyhawk's only air-to-air victory of the Vietnam War. Israeli A-4s also shot down MiG-17s, including two by Col. Ezra Dotan in May 1970.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who was Ted Swartz?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Theodore R. \\\"Ted\\\" Swartz was a US Navy lieutenant commander flying A-4C Skyhawks with attack squadron VA-76 \\\"Spirits\\\". On 1 May 1967 he shot down a MiG-17 near Kep airfield in North Vietnam, the only Skyhawk air-to-air kill of the war.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What weapon did Swartz use to shoot down the MiG-17?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Swartz used a Zuni, an unguided 5-inch air-to-ground rocket fired from a pod. It has no guidance, so hitting a manoeuvring fighter with one is extremely rare.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Where did the Skyhawk MiG kill happen?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The kill happened near Kep airfield, a North Vietnamese MiG base north-east of Hanoi, during a US Navy strike on the base on 1 May 1967.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What other MiGs were shot down on 1 May 1967?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"On the same day, Lt. Cdr. 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Ezra Dotan shot down two Syrian MiG-17s over southern Lebanon, one with unguided rockets and the other with 30 mm cannon fire.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/a-4-skyhawk-heinemanns-hot-rod\/\">The A-4 Skyhawk: Heinemann's Hot Rod That Refused to Retire<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/bud-day-misty-01-f-100-pilot-escaped-north-vietnam\/\">Bud Day, Misty 01: The F-100 Pilot Who Escaped North Vietnam<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/leo-thorsness-wild-weasel-f-105f-medal-of-honor\/\">Leo Thorsness: The Wild Weasel Who Took On Most of North Vietnam<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 1 May 1967 Lt. Cdr. Ted Swartz shot down a MiG-17 with an unguided Zuni rocket, the only air-to-air kill by a Skyhawk in the Vietnam War.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":26300653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26300727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ted Swartz: The A-4 Skyhawk That Shot Down a MiG-17 | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On 1 May 1967 VA-76 pilot Ted Swartz shot down a MiG-17 near Kep with a Zuni rocket, the A-4 Skyhawk&#039;s only air-to-air kill of the Vietnam War.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/es\/ted-swartz-a-4-skyhawk-mig-17-kill-zuni-rocket-1967-va-76\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ted Swartz: The A-4 Skyhawk That Shot Down a MiG-17 | MiGFlug\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On 1 May 1967 VA-76 pilot Ted Swartz shot down a MiG-17 near Kep with a Zuni rocket, the A-4 Skyhawk&#039;s only air-to-air kill of the Vietnam War.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/es\/ted-swartz-a-4-skyhawk-mig-17-kill-zuni-rocket-1967-va-76\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-03T09:19:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-03T09:19:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/va-76-spirits-a-4c-skyhawk-carrier-landing-1966.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"737\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/ted-swartz-a-4-skyhawk-mig-17-kill-zuni-rocket-1967-va-76\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/ted-swartz-a-4-skyhawk-mig-17-kill-zuni-rocket-1967-va-76\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\"},\"headline\":\"Ted Swartz: The US Navy Skyhawk Pilot Who Downed a MiG-17\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-03T09:19:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-03T09:19:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/ted-swartz-a-4-skyhawk-mig-17-kill-zuni-rocket-1967-va-76\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":984,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/ted-swartz-a-4-skyhawk-mig-17-kill-zuni-rocket-1967-va-76\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/va-76-spirits-a-4c-skyhawk-carrier-landing-1966.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; 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