The MiG-17 as well as the Chinese version, the Shenyang J-5, was the
most numerous fighter in the Vietnamese People's Air Force, with the
first batch of 36 arriving as "gifts" from the USSR in February 1964
together with a few MiG-15UTI trainer aircraft to equip the 921st Air
Regiment, which was the first unit to be formed by the NVAF. MiG-17s
first saw action on April 3, 1965, when two groups of MiG-17s took off
from Noi Dai Airbase under the command of Lieutenant Pham Ngoc Lan. The
first group of two MiGs was to act as a bait for US aircraft while the
second group of four MiGs was to engage enemy aircraft. The target was a
US Navy strike package consisting of 80 aircraft that was tasked with
the destruction of the Ham Rung bridge near Thanh Hoa.
The group of four MiGs attacked a group of F-8E Crusaders of VF-211 from USS Hancock,
and Lieutenant Lan did damage a F-8E flown by Lieutenant Commander
Spence Thomas, who had to perform an emergency landing ashore at Da
Nang. Lieutenant Lan's wingman, Lieutenant Phan Van Tuc claimed a second
F-8, although this was not corroborated by the the US Navy.
Three
North Vietnamese aviators became aces while flying MiG-17s: Nguyen Van
Bay with seven victories together with Luu Huy Chao and Le Hai who both
scored six victories. MiG-17s accounted for 71shot down US aircraft,
with most of the victories being supersonic-capable jets a generation
ahead of the 1950s vintage MiG-17. Two MiG-17s were also the first
aircraft to attack USN vessels since WW2, when the light cruiser USS Oklahoma City and the destroyer USS Higbee were bombed on April 19, 1972.
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