Every war the Vietnam Air Defence – Air Force has fought
The claims of the air war over the North have never been reconciled: the United States says it shot down 196 MiGs, while the service admits 154 lost to all causes and claims 266 US aircraft in air-to-air fighting, and each figure is given with the side that makes it. China and Vietnam both claimed victory in 1979. The 1988 clash at Johnson South Reef, in the Spratly Islands claimed in whole or in part by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, is included although no air role is recorded. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From the guns of Điện Biên Phủ in 1954 to Johnson South Reef in 1988.
| Conflict | Jaren | Tegen | Hoofdvliegtuig | Uitvallen | Vliegtuig verloren | |
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| First Indochina Warthe anti-aircraft war at Điện Biên PhủViệt Minh anti-aircraft artillery (predecessor) | 1946–1954 | Frankrijk | — | — | — | |
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No aircraft flew in combat; the predecessor units were anti-aircraft gunners, notably Regiment 367 (formed 1 April 1953). The service counts its lineage from before it had any aircraft. An air research bureau was set up on 9 March 1949, but in the war against France the fight in the air was waged from the ground. Anti-aircraft Regiment 367, founded on 1 April 1953, is the oldest unit the service names in its own history. At Điện Biên Phủ in 1954 the Việt Minh brought up anti-aircraft guns, mainly of Soviet origin, which cut the valley off from French air supply. The standard account of the battle puts French losses at 62 aircraft destroyed and 167 damaged. That experience — of an air defence built from guns before the country had an air force — shaped the combined service created in 1963. Resultaat The French garrison surrendered on 7 May 1954; the Geneva agreements followed. The 62/167 figures are from Wikipedia’s account of the battle; the service’s own 2025 article does not give numbers for the war against France.
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| Operation Rolling Thunderthe air war over North Vietnam, 1965–1968Vietnam People’s Air Force and Air Defence Service (combined service) | 1965–1968 | Verenigde Staten | MiG-17, MiG-21, MiG-15UTI | — | 85 | |
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Intercepted US strike packages with MiG-17s and, from 1966, MiG-21s, alongside the guns and SA-2 missiles of the air defence divisions. The air force went to war with a few dozen MiG-17s. On 3 April 1965, over the Thanh Hóa bridge, Phạm Ngọc Lan and Phan Văn Túc claimed two F-8 Crusaders; the US Navy says all returned, though Lt Cdr Spence Thomas’s aircraft was written off after diverting to Đà Nẵng. On 4 April MiG-17s shot down two F-105s, but the defenders lost three pilots. MiG-21s followed in April 1966. The Americans fought back with tactics as much as numbers: on 2 January 1967 Colonel Robin Olds’s Operation Bolo sent F-4s disguised as F-105s; the US claims seven MiG-21s, Vietnamese sources admit five, and there were no US losses. Hanoi’s pilots learned to strike fast from below and behind and leave; the leading ace, Nguyễn Văn Cốc, scored his first claim on 30 April 1967 and ended with nine aircraft and two drones claimed, seven aircraft and two drones acknowledged by the USAF. Wikipedia records that from May to December 1966 the US lost 47 aircraft in air battles while destroying 12 fighters, a figure that shows how contested the middle years were. Resultaat The bombing ended on 1–2 November 1968 without forcing Hanoi to negotiate on US terms. Kill ratios are disputed. The US claims an overall 3.7:1 advantage in the war and about 2:1 for the Air Force; Vietnam claims 244 for 85 in this period. Neither side’s totals match the other’s loss records.
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| Raid on Lima Site 85An-2 biplanes against a US radar in LaosVietnam People’s Air Force | 1968 | United States and Kingdom of Laos | An-2 | 2 | 2 | |
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Attacked the US TSQ-81 radar site with An-2 biplanes dropping mortar shells and firing rockets. On 12 January 1968 the air force tried something no other jet-age air arm has done: it sent Antonov An-2 biplanes to bomb a mountain-top radar. Lima Site 85, on Phù Pha Thi in Laos, guided US bombers onto the North. According to the US accounts summarised by Wikipedia, four An-2s were seen and two attacked, dropping 120 mm mortar shells through holes in the floor and firing 57 mm rockets. One was brought down by ground fire; an Air America UH-1 flown by Captain Ted Moore chased the other, and flight mechanic Glenn Woods fired an AK-47 at it until it hit a ridge. The radar was not hit. Two months later North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao ground troops took the site, in the USAF’s largest single ground combat loss of the war. Resultaat The radar survived the air raid; the site fell to a ground assault on 10–11 March 1968, with 12 Americans killed. The account of the air raid is the US one; the Vietnamese account was not checked.
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| Operation Linebackerthe 1972 air war and the battle of 10 MayVietnam People’s Air Force | 1972 | Verenigde Staten | MiG-21, J-6 (MiG-19), MiG-17 | — | 47 | |
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Intercepted the renewed US bombing campaign with MiG-21s, MiG-19s and MiG-17s. Linebacker, from 9 May to 23 October 1972, brought the heaviest air fighting of the war. On 10 May the US flew 414 sorties; the VPAF claims seven F-4s, the US confirms five losses and claims 11 MiGs. That day the US Navy’s Randy Cunningham and William Driscoll became the first American aces of the war; the USAF’s Steve Ritchie followed on 28 August, and Charles DeBellevue and Jeffrey Feinstein in October. Two days earlier, on 8 May, Regiment 925’s MiG-19s from Yên Bái had fought their first battle; the service’s newspaper says two flights of four claimed two F-4s in about eight minutes and all returned. Sixteen Vietnamese pilots are counted as aces, 13 of them on MiG-21s, but many of their claims have no match in US loss records. Resultaat Linebacker ended on 23 October 1972 as the peace talks advanced; they broke down again in December. In Afterburner Eleven Days of Christmas Over Hanoi Claims do not match. The service claims 90 aircraft for 47 MiGs over the period; US records show fewer air-to-air losses. The claim of two F-4s on 8 May 1972 is the Vietnamese account and was not checked against US records.
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| Operation Linebacker IIthe December 1972 bombing of HanoiAir Defence – Air Force Service | 1972 | Verenigde Staten | MiG-21, SA-2 (S-75) | 31 | 3 | |
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Defended Hanoi and Hải Phòng against B-52 night raids with SA-2 missiles, guns and a small number of MiG-21 night sorties. From 18 to 29 December 1972 the US sent B-52s against Hanoi and Hải Phòng night after night — 741 dispatched, 729 completing their missions — with 1,274 tactical sorties in support. The air defence divisions fired 266 SA-2s, according to Wikipedia. The service claims 81 aircraft for the campaign, including 34 B-52s and five F-111s, and in October 2025 credited itself with 53 of them, 32 B-52s. US figures are 15 B-52s shot down and 24 aircraft of all types lost. Vietnam credits two B-52s to MiG-21 pilots: Phạm Tuân on the night of 27 December and Vũ Xuân Thiều, who was killed, on 28 December, flying from the newly repaired strip at Cẩm Thuỷ. US records attribute both losses to missiles. Hanoi reported 1,624 civilians killed. Resultaat The Paris Peace Accords were signed on 27 January 1973. Every loss figure for Linebacker II is contested; the 81/34 figures are Vietnam’s, the 15 B-52s the US’s. The two MiG B-52 claims are Vietnamese; the US attributes those losses to SAMs.
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| 1975 Spring Offensivethe bombing of Tân Sơn NhấtVietnam People’s Air Force | 1975 | Republic of Vietnam | A-37 (captured) | 5 | — | |
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Captured and pressed into service RVNAF aircraft; five captured A-37s bombed Tân Sơn Nhất air base on 28 April 1975. The Republic of Vietnam Air Force had 2,075 aircraft and 61,417 personnel at the January 1973 ceasefire and was has been called the fourth-largest air force in the world. In spring 1975 it collapsed with the army: 130 aircraft were flown out of Đà Nẵng on 27 March and about 180 abandoned. The northern air force took over what it could. On 28 April five captured A-37s took off from Phan Rang, led according to Wikipedia by Nguyễn Thành Trung, the South Vietnamese pilot who had defected after bombing the Presidential Palace on 8 April. They struck Tân Sơn Nhất late in the afternoon, closing the airport and ending the fixed-wing evacuation; Operation Frequent Wind followed. About 877 aircraft were captured in all, including 95 A-37s and, per Wikipedia, 87 F-5As and 27 F-5Es. Resultaat Saigon fell on 30 April 1975. About 877 RVNAF aircraft were captured. Damage claims for the Tân Sơn Nhất raid differ widely between the Vietnamese and US accounts.
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| Cambodian-Vietnamese Warthe war against the Khmer RougeVietnam People’s Air Force | 1978–1989 | Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge) | A-37 (captured), F-5 (captured), MiG-21en nog 1 | — | — | |
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Bombed Khmer Rouge positions from June 1978, then supported the invasion from 25 December 1978 and the ten-year occupation with ground attack, transport and reconnaissance. In 1977 Vietnam was estimated to have an air force of 12,000 people and about 300 combat aircraft, including a squadron of light bombers. From June 1978 it bombed Khmer Rouge positions along the border at about 30 sorties a day, and on 25 December 1978 Vietnam invaded with an estimated 150,000 troops. The ground-attack work fell mostly to the former RVNAF A-37s and F-5s, which were better suited to it than the MiGs; Wikipedia says the VPAF used 41 F-5s operationally. The war dragged on as a counter-insurgency against the Khmer Rouge until Vietnam withdrew in September 1989. The A-37s wore out for lack of spare parts and, according to Wikipedia, were phased out by the early 1980s. Resultaat Vietnam completed its withdrawal between 21 and 26 September 1989. No reliable figure for Vietnamese aircraft losses in Cambodia was found.
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| Sino-Vietnamese Warthe 1979 border warVietnam People’s Air Force | 1979 | China | MiG-21, MiG-17, F-5 (captured)en nog 2 | — | — | |
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Did not fly direct combat; supported ground troops, flew troops from Cambodia to the north and flew reconnaissance. China attacked across the northern border on 17 February 1979. According to Wikipedia, Deng Xiaoping kept the navy and air force out of the fighting, partly because Vietnam’s air defences were among the strongest in the world and partly to reassure Moscow that the war was limited. The Vietnamese air force likewise stayed out of direct combat: it supported the ground troops, carried units back from Cambodia to the north and flew reconnaissance. The captured A-37s were used in the conflict. The fighting ended with China’s withdrawal in March. Resultaat China withdrew by 16 March 1979; both sides claimed victory. Casualty figures are each side’s own and differ widely; they concern the ground war.
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| Johnson South Reef skirmishthe Spratly clash of 1988Vietnam People’s Navy (no air force role recorded) | 1988 | China | — | — | — | |
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No air role recorded in the sources checked; the clash was fought between ships and landing parties. On 14 March 1988 Chinese and Vietnamese forces clashed at Johnson South Reef. The accounts differ: China says Vietnamese troops ignored warnings and opened fire; Vietnam says Chinese ships opened fire on its ships while its men were unloading building materials. Vietnam lost 64 men and two transports. The clash is included here because it shaped Vietnam’s later air and maritime priorities, but the sources checked record no part for the air force in it. The Spratly Islands are claimed in whole or in part by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Resultaat China took the reef; both countries, and other claimants, still claim the Spratlys. Each side says the other fired first; this page takes no position on the sovereignty dispute.
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Niets komt overeen met die zoekopdracht.
Elk cijfer, gecontroleerd
- Báo Phòng không – Không quân: Quân chủng Phòng không – Không quân 25 năm hợp nhất, phát triển (Lt Gen Nguyễn Văn Hiền, 24 July 2024)Lineage dates: air research bureau 9 March 1949, AA Regiment 367 1 April 1953, radar 15 June 1956, Air Force Department 24 January 1959, service founded 22 October 1963, split 1977, re-merged 3 March 1999 by decree 03/L-CTN.
- Báo PK-KQ: MiG-19 chủ động xuất kích bắn rơi 2 máy bay Mỹ (17 August 2026)Vietnamese account of Regiment 925 MiG-19s from Yên Bái on 8 May 1972, claiming two F-4s in about eight minutes.
- Báo PK-KQ: Đại đội ra đa 22 bảo đảm cho không quân bắn rơi B-52 (4 September 2026)Vietnamese account of the B-52 claims by Phạm Tuân (27 December 1972) and Vũ Xuân Thiều (28 December 1972, killed).
- Báo PK-KQ: Hero of the People’s Armed Forces title and 62nd anniversary ceremony (21 October 2025)Title awarded 3 October 2025; Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính attended; Vietnamese claims of 2,635 US aircraft downed by the service (of 4,181 downed by "army and people"), 64 B-52s and 13 F-111s, and 81 aircraft including 34 B-52s in December 1972; lists Maj Gen Vũ Hồng Sơn as commander.
- Acepilots.com: Vietnamese aces (Diego Zampini, 2002, updated 2012)Sixteen VPAF aces (13 MiG-21, 3 MiG-17), with each pilot’s claims set against US records.
Cijfers geverifieerd op 30-09-2026. Back to the Vietnam Air Defence – Air Force.