{"id":13269849,"date":"2026-08-17T16:45:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/colonel-toon-vietnam-mig-17-ace-myth-cunningham-1972\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T12:45:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T10:45:53","slug":"colonel-toon-vietnam-mig-17-ace-myth-cunningham-1972","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/colonel-toon-vietnam-mig-17-ace-myth-cunningham-1972\/","title":{"rendered":"Colonel Toon: The Ace Who Never Was"},"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 #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color 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He was North Vietnam&rsquo;s deadliest ace, the ghost every Navy flier feared meeting over Haiphong. There was only one problem with the legend of Colonel Toon. He may never have existed at all.<\/p>\r\n<p>The story starts with a real dogfight &mdash; one of the most famous in the history of naval aviation &mdash; and ends with a mystery that historians are still arguing about.<\/p>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">10 May 1972<\/h2>\r\n<p>Lieutenant Randy &ldquo;Duke&rdquo; Cunningham was heading home. Flying an <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-4-phantom-ii\/\">F-4J Phantom II<\/a> from the carrier USS Constellation, callsign &ldquo;Showtime 100,&rdquo; with Willie Driscoll in the back seat running the radar, he had just come off a strike near Haiphong. That day he had already downed two <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mig-17-fresco\/\">MiG-17s<\/a>. Then a third Fresco came at him nose-on, cannons winking, and refused to die.<\/p>\r\n\r\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\/08\/cunningham-driscoll-aces-cockpit.jpg\" alt=\"Randy Cunningham and Willie Driscoll in the cockpit of their F-4J Phantom, May 1972\" 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\">Lt. Randy &ldquo;Duke&rdquo; Cunningham (front) and Lt(jg) Willie Driscoll, the US Navy&rsquo;s only aces of the Vietnam War. US Navy photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p>What followed was not a modern missile duel but an old-fashioned knife fight. The two aircraft went vertical, then into a rolling scissors, each pilot trying to force the other out in front. The MiG matched Cunningham climb for climb, canopy to canopy, at one point just a hundred yards away. It was everything American aircrews had been told the MiG-17 could not do against a Phantom.<\/p>\r\n\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\/dqY0vrXccPs\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The shot<\/h2>\r\n<p>The fight bled speed until both jets were wallowing near 150 knots &mdash; the MiG&rsquo;s home turf, not the Phantom&rsquo;s. Cunningham chopped his throttle, popped his speed brakes, and let the MiG overshoot. When it pitched up to run, he fired his third Sidewinder.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;This is no place to be with a MiG-17&hellip; at 150 knots&hellip; that slow, he can take it right away from you. But he had stayed too long.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Randy &ldquo;Duke&rdquo; Cunningham<\/strong> &mdash; US Navy F-4 pilot, VF-96<\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>For a heartbeat the missile seemed to miss. Then a flash, black smoke, and the MiG-17 fell away and hit the ground at a shallow angle. It was Cunningham and Driscoll&rsquo;s fifth kill &mdash; making them the only U.S. Navy aces of the entire war. Minutes later a surface-to-air missile caught their Phantom near the coast; the two men ejected into the South China Sea and were rescued.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:18px\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px;line-height:1.8\"><li><strong>The legend:<\/strong> Colonel Toon (or &ldquo;Tomb&rdquo;), a North Vietnamese ace credited with 13 US kills<\/li><li><strong>The reality:<\/strong> no pilot of that name appears in North Vietnamese records<\/li><li><strong>The dogfight:<\/strong> 10 May 1972, Cunningham &amp; Driscoll (F-4J &ldquo;Showtime 100&rdquo;) vs a MiG-17<\/li><li><strong>The result:<\/strong> the MiG-17 downed; the crew became the Navy&rsquo;s only Vietnam aces<\/li><li><strong>Likely origin:<\/strong> a propaganda composite, sometimes linked to real ace Nguyen Van Coc<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Out to Sea on Rudder and Throttle<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fight over, Showtime 100 turned for the coast. Near Nam Dinh an SA-2 surface-to-air missile exploded close to the Phantom. In Cunningham&rsquo;s account the hydraulics bled away, a fire started and the jet pitched nose up. With the flight controls failing, he kept it heading for the Gulf of Tonkin by rolling it with rudder and throttle as it climbed and dived. A few miles out to sea it finally departed into a spin. Both men ejected over the water and were picked up by Navy rescue helicopters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The three MiG-17s that day followed a MiG-21 on 19 January 1972 and another MiG-17 on 8 May. Five victories made Cunningham and Driscoll the first American aces of the Vietnam War, ahead of the US Air Force&rsquo;s Steve Ritchie, and the only Navy aces of the war. Both received the Navy Cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DecGY8nD9Io\/\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\"background:#fff;border:0;margin:24px auto;max-width:540px;min-width:280px;width:100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DecGY8nD9Io\/\">View this post on Instagram<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Chasing a ghost<\/h2>\r\n<p>After the war, when researchers went looking for Colonel Toon in North Vietnamese archives, they found nothing. No service record, no photograph, no biography &mdash; a strange absence for a national hero with thirteen victories. Most historians now believe Toon was a myth: a name that drifted through American ready rooms and hardened into a legend, perhaps loosely inspired by genuine aces like Nguyen Van Coc.<\/p>\r\n\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\/zh2vYYh03Mk\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>That does not make the pilot Cunningham fought any less real, or any less good. Whoever sat in that MiG-17 that day flew one of the finest defensive fights of the war.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;Even if today it seems that Toon was a propaganda amalgam of several fine North Vietnamese pilots, there is no doubt that the pilot faced by Showtime 100 crew that day was a great dogfighter.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>George Hall<\/strong> &mdash; author, &ldquo;Top Gun&rdquo;<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\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\/08\/mig-17-fresco.jpg\" alt=\"A Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 Fresco\" 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\">The MiG-17 Fresco &mdash; slower than the Phantom, but lethal in a slow, turning fight. This example is preserved today.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why the myth endured<\/h2>\r\n<p>Legends need a villain, and Colonel Toon was a perfect one &mdash; faceless, deadly, and finally beaten by American skill and training. His defeat became the story the U.S. Navy wanted to tell about its new Top Gun school: that preparation, not luck, won dogfights. Whether or not Toon was ever a man, he became something more useful &mdash; a symbol. And the aircrew who &ldquo;killed&rdquo; him flew home into history.<\/p>\r\n\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\/Lgpju-PsGGQ\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">After the War<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both men took their experience to TOPGUN, the Navy Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar. Driscoll, who flew 170 combat missions, became an instructor there and later taught on the F-14 Tomcat with VF-124; he has spoken to every TOPGUN graduating class. Cunningham instructed at TOPGUN, served as executive officer and commanding officer of the adversary squadron VF-126 and retired as a commander in 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His later life was far less heroic. Elected to Congress for San Diego in 1990, he served eight terms before pleading guilty in 2005 to taking bribes from defence contractors. He was sentenced in March 2006 to eight years and four months in prison, and was pardoned by President Trump in 2021. Duke Cunningham died in August 2025 in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the age of 83.<\/p>\n\n\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>Who was Colonel Toon?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Colonel Toon, or Tomb, was said to be North Vietnam&rsquo;s top ace, credited with 13 American kills and shot down by Randy &ldquo;Duke&rdquo; Cunningham on 10 May 1972. No pilot of that name appears in North Vietnamese records, and most historians now regard him as a myth or a composite of real pilots.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who were the first American aces of the Vietnam War?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">US Navy pilot Randy &ldquo;Duke&rdquo; Cunningham and his radar intercept officer Willie Driscoll became the first American aces of the Vietnam War on 10 May 1972, when they shot down three MiG-17s in an F-4J Phantom from USS Constellation. They were the Navy&rsquo;s only aces of the war.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many MiGs did Cunningham and Driscoll shoot down?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Cunningham and Driscoll shot down five MiGs: a MiG-21 on 19 January 1972, a MiG-17 on 8 May 1972, and three MiG-17s on 10 May 1972. All five were credited to them as a crew in their F-4 Phantom.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What happened to Cunningham and Driscoll after their fifth kill?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">On the way out on 10 May 1972, their F-4J Phantom, callsign Showtime 100, was damaged by an SA-2 surface-to-air missile near Nam Dinh. Cunningham kept the burning jet flying toward the sea using rudder and throttle until it spun out over the Gulf of Tonkin. Both men ejected and were rescued by Navy helicopters.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What medals did Cunningham and Driscoll receive?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Both Randy Cunningham and Willie Driscoll received the Navy Cross, the US Navy&rsquo;s second-highest award for valour, for the 10 May 1972 engagement. Cunningham&rsquo;s awards also included two Silver Stars and a Purple Heart.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What happened to Duke Cunningham later in life?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Duke Cunningham taught at TOPGUN, commanded the adversary squadron VF-126 and retired from the Navy in 1987. He served eight terms in Congress from 1991 before pleading guilty to bribery in 2005 and being sentenced to eight years and four months in prison. He was pardoned in 2021 and died in August 2025, aged 83.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who was Colonel Toon?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Colonel Toon, or Tomb, was said to be North Vietnam\u2019s top ace, credited with 13 American kills and shot down by Randy \\\"Duke\\\" Cunningham on 10 May 1972. No pilot of that name appears in North Vietnamese records, and most historians now regard him as a myth or a composite of real pilots.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who were the first American aces of the Vietnam War?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"US Navy pilot Randy \\\"Duke\\\" Cunningham and his radar intercept officer Willie Driscoll became the first American aces of the Vietnam War on 10 May 1972, when they shot down three MiG-17s in an F-4J Phantom from USS Constellation. They were the Navy\u2019s only aces of the war.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many MiGs did Cunningham and Driscoll shoot down?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Cunningham and Driscoll shot down five MiGs: a MiG-21 on 19 January 1972, a MiG-17 on 8 May 1972, and three MiG-17s on 10 May 1972. All five were credited to them as a crew in their F-4 Phantom.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened to Cunningham and Driscoll after their fifth kill?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"On the way out on 10 May 1972, their F-4J Phantom, callsign Showtime 100, was damaged by an SA-2 surface-to-air missile near Nam Dinh. Cunningham kept the burning jet flying toward the sea using rudder and throttle until it spun out over the Gulf of Tonkin. Both men ejected and were rescued by Navy helicopters.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What medals did Cunningham and Driscoll receive?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Both Randy Cunningham and Willie Driscoll received the Navy Cross, the US Navy\u2019s second-highest award for valour, for the 10 May 1972 engagement. Cunningham\u2019s awards also included two Silver Stars and a Purple Heart.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened to Duke Cunningham later in life?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Duke Cunningham taught at TOPGUN, commanded the adversary squadron VF-126 and retired from the Navy in 1987. He served eight terms in Congress from 1991 before pleading guilty to bribery in 2005 and being sentenced to eight years and four months in prison. He was pardoned in 2021 and died in August 2025, aged 83.\"}}]}<\/script><p style=\"font-style:italic;color:#777;font-size:14px;margin-top:24px\">Sources: The Aviation Geek Club; MilitaryHistoryNow; SOFREP; George Hall, &ldquo;Top Gun&rdquo;; Wikipedia (&ldquo;Colonel Tomb&rdquo;). Cunningham quote via his own account of the engagement.<\/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\r\n<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\/topgun-nine-men-a-trailer-and-a-revolution-in-air-combat\/\">Top Gun: Nine Men, a Trailer, and a Revolution in Air Combat<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/constant-peg-red-eagles-secret-migs\/\">Constant Peg: America&rsquo;s Secret Squadron of Soviet MiGs<\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share this story He had thirteen American kills, a colonel&rsquo;s rank, and a name that made young U.S. pilots go quiet: Colonel Toon. He was North Vietnam&rsquo;s deadliest ace, the ghost every Navy flier feared meeting over Haiphong. There was only one problem with the legend of Colonel Toon. He may never have existed at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":13269377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13269849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Colonel Toon: The Vietnam Ace Who Never Was<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Colonel Toon was North Vietnamu2019s most feared MiG ace u2014 downed by Navy aces Cunningham and Driscoll in 1972. 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