{"id":19023756,"date":"2026-09-01T21:07:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T19:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T21:08:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T19:08:18","slug":"steve-ritchie-unico-pilota-dellaeronautica-militare-statunitense-asso-dellaviazione-vietnamita-con-lf-4-phantom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Ritchie: l&#039;unico asso dell&#039;aviazione militare statunitense in Vietnam."},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style><p>Tra maggio e agosto del 1972, un pilota di F-4 Phantom di Reidsville, nella Carolina del Nord, si guadagn\u00f2 l&#039;abbattimento di cinque MiG-21 sul Vietnam del Nord. Tutti e cinque furono abbattuti dal missile AIM-7 Sparrow, un missile a guida radar dalla pessima reputazione, tanto che gli equipaggi ne scherzavano. Quando atterr\u00f2 dopo aver abbattuto il quinto aereo, il Capitano Richard Stephen Ritchie divenne qualcosa che l&#039;Aeronautica Militare degli Stati Uniti non ha pi\u00f9 prodotto da allora: un asso dell&#039;aviazione.<\/p>\r\n<p>A distanza di oltre cinquant&#039;anni, rimane l&#039;unico asso dell&#039;aviazione statunitense di quella guerra, e da allora nessun pilota americano ha pi\u00f9 raggiunto il titolo di asso in alcuna guerra.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px;border-radius:8px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:17px\">Informazioni rapide<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px;line-height:1.8\"><li><strong>Pilota:<\/strong> Il generale di brigata Richard Stephen \u201cSteve\u201d Ritchie, nato il 25 giugno 1942<\/li><li><strong>Unit\u00e0:<\/strong> 555\u00b0 Squadrone Caccia Tattico \u201cTriple Nickel\u201d, 432\u00b0 Stormo Caccia Tattico, Base Aerea di Udorn, Thailandia<\/li><li><strong>Aeromobili:<\/strong> McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II<\/li><li><strong>Vittorie:<\/strong> Cinque, accreditati come MiG-21: 10 maggio, 31 maggio, due l&#039;8 luglio e il 28 agosto 1972<\/li><li><strong>Arma:<\/strong> Tutti e cinque equipaggiati con il missile a guida radar AIM-7 Sparrow.<\/li><li><strong>Distinzione:<\/strong> L&#039;unico asso dell&#039;aviazione statunitense della guerra del Vietnam.<\/li><li><strong>Decorazioni:<\/strong> Croce dell&#039;Aeronautica, quattro stelle d&#039;argento, dieci croci di volo distinte<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">L&#039;istruttore che si \u00e8 offerto volontario per tornare<\/h2>\r\n<p>Ritchie lasci\u00f2 l&#039;Accademia dell&#039;Aeronautica Militare nel 1964, dove era entrato a far parte della squadra di football e aveva giocato come halfback titolare nel Gator Bowl del 1963. Si classific\u00f2 primo nel suo corso di addestramento per piloti a Laredo e, cosa insolita per un sottotenente, fu scelto per pilotare l&#039;F-104 Starfighter durante le prove di volo a Eglin.<\/p>\r\n<p>Il suo primo periodo di servizio nel Sud-est asiatico risale al 1968 con il 480\u00b0 Squadrone Caccia Tattico a Da Nang, dove partecip\u00f2 alla prima missione &quot;Fast FAC&quot; del programma di controllo aereo avanzato F-4. Tornato in patria nel 1969, a soli 26 anni divenne uno dei pi\u00f9 giovani istruttori nella storia della Scuola di Armi da Caccia di Nellis, insegnando tattiche aria-aria ai migliori piloti dell&#039;Aeronautica. In seguito, si offr\u00ec volontario per un secondo turno di servizio in zona di combattimento.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=23269661  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/mcdonnell-douglas-f-4d-phantom-ii-usaf.jpg\" alt=\"Un McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">L&#039;F-4D Phantom II. Ritchie conquist\u00f2 tutte e cinque le vittorie con questo tipo di aereo, ognuna a bordo dello Sparrow. Foto: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p>Robin Olds, che sapeva riconoscere un pilota da caccia quando ne vedeva uno, ammirava Ritchie in termini che suonavano anche come un monito.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>\u201cBrillante, ma si credeva un dono di Dio.\u201d<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Generale Robin Olds<\/strong> \u2014 Su Steve Ritchie, come riportato nei resoconti dell&#039;epoca<\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">La scatola segreta che ha cambiato le probabilit\u00e0<\/h2>\r\n<p>La USS Triple Nickel aveva un vantaggio che quasi nessun altro possedeva. Otto dei suoi F-4D erano equipaggiati con un sistema top secret denominato APX-80, nome in codice Combat Tree, in grado di interrogare i transponder IFF installati sui MiG nordvietnamiti, ovvero le stesse apparecchiature utilizzate dai controllori di terra per distinguere gli amici dai nemici.<\/p>\r\n<p>Visualizzato su uno schermo nella cabina di pilotaggio del passeggero posteriore, il sistema Combat Tree permetteva all&#039;equipaggio di un Phantom di identificare un MiG anche quando questo era ancora fuori dalla portata visiva. In una guerra le cui regole di ingaggio solitamente richiedevano prima un&#039;identificazione visiva, questo era quasi un superpotere e rendeva finalmente lo Sparrow un aereo degno di essere impiegato.<\/p>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">10 maggio 1972 e il suo costo<\/h2>\r\n<p>Il primo giorno cruciale dell&#039;Operazione Linebacker vide Ritchie al comando di un contingente, a bordo dell&#039;Oyster 3, impegnato in una pattuglia aerea di combattimento con i MiG. L&#039;allarme giunse da un EC-121 sopra il Laos e dalla USS Chicago, l&#039;incrociatore di pattugliamento radar, soprannominato &quot;Red Crown&quot;. La formazione degli Oyster si scontr\u00f2 quasi frontalmente con i MiG, disperdendoli, e Ritchie rivendic\u00f2 la sua prima vittoria.<\/p>\r\n<p>Fu anche quella una brutta mattinata. Il capo squadriglia, il maggiore Robert Lodge, un uomo che Ritchie aveva addestrato a Nellis, fu abbattuto e ucciso dai MiG-19 che lo seguivano. Il suo copilota, il capitano Roger Locher, si eiett\u00f2 e riusc\u00ec a fuggire a terra per 23 giorni prima di essere tratto in salvo.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=1530087649  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/f-4d-phantom-ii-museum-display-usaf.jpg\" alt=\"Un F-4D Phantom II conservato in un museo\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">L&#039;F-4D non era dotato di cannoni interni. Tutto dipendeva dai missili e dall&#039;uomo seduto sul sedile posteriore. Foto: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Ottantanove secondi l&#039;8 luglio<\/h2>\r\n<p>L&#039;8 luglio, al comando del gruppo Paula con il capitano Charles DeBellevue alle sue spalle, Ritchie abbatt\u00e9 due MiG-21 in uno scontro durato un minuto e ventinove secondi, eguagliando il record di Robin Olds per il Sud-est asiatico, che durava da cinque anni. Ne parl\u00f2 anni dopo in televisione.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>\u201c&quot;La missione dell&#039;8 luglio \u00e8 stata la pi\u00f9 intensa, la pi\u00f9 emozionante che abbia mai affrontato. Tutto ha funzionato alla perfezione. In quel minuto e 29 secondi ho attinto a tutte le mie esperienze di vita. Ogni aspetto del mio addestramento e della mia formazione si \u00e8 unito in quel momento e ha dato i suoi frutti.&quot;\u201d<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Steve Ritchie<\/strong> \u2014 Intervistato per il programma &quot;Weapons at War: The Aces&quot; di History Channel\u201c<\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Il quinto<\/h2>\r\n<p>Il 28 agosto 1972, ai comandi dell&#039;F-4D 66-7463 con il codice di identificazione Buick 01 e DeBellevue a bordo, Ritchie ingaggi\u00f2 un paio di MiG-21, uno dei quali frontalmente. Manovr\u00f2 abilmente, si posizion\u00f2 alle spalle degli aerei nemici e lanci\u00f2 due missili Sparrow da oltre sei chilometri di distanza, entrambi i colpi al di fuori dell&#039;inviluppo di tiro previsto per il missile.<\/p>\r\n<p>Il primo ha mancato il bersaglio. Poi il MiG ha virato bruscamente, accorciando la gittata invece di aumentarla, e il secondo Sparrow lo ha distrutto. In totale, cinque.<\/p>\r\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\/PHw85PkZocI\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">L&#039;uomo seduto sul sedile posteriore ha fatto ancora meglio<\/h2>\r\n<p>Questa storia non pu\u00f2 essere raccontata onestamente senza Charles DeBellevue, l&#039;ufficiale addetto ai sistemi d&#039;arma di Ritchie responsabile di quattro delle cinque vittorie. DeBellevue era stato scartato dall&#039;addestramento da pilota, si era riqualificato come navigatore e aveva terminato la guerra con all&#039;attivo sei MiG abbattuti, pi\u00f9 di qualsiasi altro aviatore americano in Vietnam. Ricevette anche la Croce dell&#039;Aeronautica.<\/p>\r\n<p>Dei cinque assi americani di quella guerra, solo due erano piloti: Ritchie per l&#039;Aeronautica e Randy Cunningham per la Marina. Gli altri tre sedevano nei posti posteriori. Questa \u00e8 la vera lezione del combattimento aereo del 1972, e non \u00e8 certo lusinghiera per il culto del pilota da caccia solitario.<\/p>\r\n<p>Ritchie lasci\u00f2 il servizio attivo nel 1974, prest\u00f2 servizio nella Riserva dell&#039;Aeronautica e si ritir\u00f2 nel 1999 con il grado di generale di brigata, con oltre 3.000 ore di volo, di cui 800 in combattimento.<\/p>\r\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\/w0ezJLuUsdI\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p><em>Fonti: Wikipedia, AcePilots, Vintage Aviation News, Military.com e la Gathering of Eagles Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Post correlati<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/colonel-toon-vietnam-mig-17-ace-myth-cunningham-1972\/\">Colonnello Toon: l&#039;asso del Vietnam che forse non \u00e8 mai esistito.<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/i-migliori-piloti-da-caccia-di-tutti-i-tempi\/\">I migliori piloti da caccia di tutti i tempi<\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Between May and August 1972, an F-4 Phantom pilot from Reidsville, North Carolina was credited with shooting down five MiG-21s over North Vietnam. Every one fell to the AIM-7 Sparrow, a radar-guided missile with a reputation so poor that crews joked about it. When he landed from the fifth, Captain Richard Stephen Ritchie became something [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":19023113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19023756","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 v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Steve Ritchie: The Air Force&#039;s Only Pilot Ace of Vietnam | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Steve Ritchie downed five MiG-21s in 1972 to become the only USAF pilot ace of the Vietnam War. The Sparrow, Combat Tree and the man behind him.\" \/>\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\/it\/steve-ritchie-unico-pilota-dellaeronautica-militare-statunitense-asso-dellaviazione-vietnamita-con-lf-4-phantom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"it_IT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Steve Ritchie: The Air Force&#039;s Only Pilot Ace of Vietnam | MiGFlug\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Steve Ritchie downed five MiG-21s in 1972 to become the only USAF pilot ace of the Vietnam War. The Sparrow, Combat Tree and the man behind him.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/steve-ritchie-unico-pilota-dellaeronautica-militare-statunitense-asso-dellaviazione-vietnamita-con-lf-4-phantom\/\" \/>\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=\"2026-09-01T19:07:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-01T19:08:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/f-4d-555th-tfs-udorn-1972-triple-nickel-phantom.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"239\" \/>\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=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\"},\"headline\":\"Steve Ritchie: The Air Force&#8217;s Only Pilot Ace of Vietnam\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-01T19:07:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-01T19:08:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":978,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/09\\/f-4d-555th-tfs-udorn-1972-triple-nickel-phantom.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; Legends\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Steve Ritchie: The Air Force's Only Pilot Ace of Vietnam | MiGFlug\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/09\\/f-4d-555th-tfs-udorn-1972-triple-nickel-phantom.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-01T19:07:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-01T19:08:18+00:00\",\"description\":\"Steve Ritchie downed five MiG-21s in 1972 to become the only USAF pilot ace of the Vietnam War. The Sparrow, Combat Tree and the man behind him.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/09\\/f-4d-555th-tfs-udorn-1972-triple-nickel-phantom.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/09\\/f-4d-555th-tfs-udorn-1972-triple-nickel-phantom.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":239,\"caption\":\"F-4D 65-0683 of the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Udorn RTAFB, January 1972\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Steve Ritchie: The Air Force&#8217;s Only Pilot Ace of Vietnam\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\",\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Connor Kerr\"},\"description\":\"Connor Kerr writes MiGFlug\u2019s long-form features \u2014 aviation history, how-it-works explainers and the stories behind the headlines.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/author\\\/connorkerr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Steve Ritchie: The Air Force's Only Pilot Ace of Vietnam | MiGFlug","description":"Steve Ritchie downed five MiG-21s in 1972 to become the only USAF pilot ace of the Vietnam War. The Sparrow, Combat Tree and the man behind him.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/steve-ritchie-unico-pilota-dellaeronautica-militare-statunitense-asso-dellaviazione-vietnamita-con-lf-4-phantom\/","og_locale":"it_IT","og_type":"article","og_title":"Steve Ritchie: The Air Force's Only Pilot Ace of Vietnam | MiGFlug","og_description":"Steve Ritchie downed five MiG-21s in 1972 to become the only USAF pilot ace of the Vietnam War. The Sparrow, Combat Tree and the man behind him.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/steve-ritchie-unico-pilota-dellaeronautica-militare-statunitense-asso-dellaviazione-vietnamita-con-lf-4-phantom\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-09-01T19:07:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-01T19:08:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":239,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/f-4d-555th-tfs-udorn-1972-triple-nickel-phantom.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Connor Kerr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Connor Kerr","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/"},"author":{"name":"Connor Kerr","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9"},"headline":"Steve Ritchie: The Air Force&#8217;s Only Pilot Ace of Vietnam","datePublished":"2026-09-01T19:07:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-01T19:08:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/"},"wordCount":978,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/f-4d-555th-tfs-udorn-1972-triple-nickel-phantom.jpg","articleSection":["History &amp; Legends","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/","name":"Steve Ritchie: The Air Force's Only Pilot Ace of Vietnam | MiGFlug","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/f-4d-555th-tfs-udorn-1972-triple-nickel-phantom.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-01T19:07:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-01T19:08:18+00:00","description":"Steve Ritchie downed five MiG-21s in 1972 to become the only USAF pilot ace of the Vietnam War. The Sparrow, Combat Tree and the man behind him.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/f-4d-555th-tfs-udorn-1972-triple-nickel-phantom.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/f-4d-555th-tfs-udorn-1972-triple-nickel-phantom.jpg","width":600,"height":239,"caption":"F-4D 65-0683 of the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Udorn RTAFB, January 1972"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Steve Ritchie: The Air Force&#8217;s Only Pilot Ace of Vietnam"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","name":"Afterburner - La rivista di MiGFlug","description":"Per chi \u00e8 interessato a pilotare aerei militari e argomenti correlati all&#039;aviazione.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9","name":"Connor Kerr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Connor Kerr"},"description":"Connor Kerr scrive gli articoli di approfondimento di MiGFlug: storia dell&#039;aviazione, spiegazioni sul funzionamento dei sistemi e le storie che si celano dietro i titoli dei giornali.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/author\/connorkerr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19023756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19023756"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19023756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19023883,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19023756\/revisions\/19023883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19023113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19023756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19023756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19023756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}