VENETIC

Dogfights

Red River Delta

9 May 1972

by W.S. McCallum

Operation Linebacker has started and it is all on over the Red River Delta during the heaviest day of aerial combat in the Vietnam War.

Dogfight 1

A Skyhawk approaches the Red River Delta.

Although maintaining a watch on the sky ahead, its pilot fails to spot an oncoming speck over the delta: a MiG-17 that has been ordered by ground radar to intercept the Skyhawk.

High overhead, Larry the Kereru is watching the show…

The MiG-17’s pilot decides to conduct an aggressive head-on attack.

By now the Skyhawk pilot has spotted the MiG-17, but it is too late to take evasive action: he decides to do a fly-past and then a turn, assuming that the MiG pilot will not risk a head-on collision.

He is wrong: the MiG-17 pilot opens fire with his 2 x 23 mm cannons and his 37 mm cannon.

The Skyhawk is seriously damaged and its pilot reaches for the ejector seat control….

Dogfight 2

A Skyhawk returning from a bombing mission is being pursued by a MiG-17.

The Skyhawk pilot takes evasive action, but the MiG-17 stays on his tail.

Getting right up close, the MiG-17 pilot lets loose with his cannons but misses.

Finding that veering left and right is having no effect, the Skyhawk pilot decides to execute a barrel roll.

The MiG-17 pilot follows.

At this point, the Skyhawk pilot thinks he has evaded the MiG pilot, but soon the latter is out of his loop, still right behind the Skyhawk.

The MiG-17 fires again but misses as the Skyhawk pilot takes further evasive action, veering right.

He pulls the tightest turn he can at speed, but the MiG-17 matches his turn.

The Skyhawk pilot does nonetheless manages to keep out of range of the MiG’s cannons.

The MiG-17 closes again, but the Skyhawk takes evasive action before he can be hit by its cannons.

The Skyhawk pilot continues with his turn, ending up doing a 360-degree turn and returning to near where the dogfight started.

Eventually he manages to outrun the MiG and continue on his homeward path to his carrier in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Dogfight 3

A Phantom approaching the Red River Delta has picked up a blip on its radar: there is a MiG-21 approaching from 10 o’clock.

Aware that it is already well within the range of the Phantom’s more advanced missiles, the MiG-21 fires an Atoll-2 missile at its extreme range.

The Phantom’s pilot evades by hitting the afterburner at the last possible moment.

After doing a loop, it is back in the fray and fires off 2 AIM-7 Sparrow missiles at the MiG-21.

The MiG’s pilot successfully evades both missiles and veers off from the Phantom, losing it.

Further along the coast, it picks up another Phantom ahead, and gives chase.

The MiG-21 only has one Atoll-2 missile left: the pilot launches it.

It looks like a lock-on…

… but the missile explodes without causing anything more than superficial damage to the Phantom.

The Phantom pilot executes a turn: the MiG-21’s pilot matches his turn. He is clearly seeking to close in so he can rake the Phantom with his 37 mm cannon.

The Phantom keeps turning: as he is travelling at over 1,000 kmph, his maneouvre is much wider than a Skyhawk’s turn.

The MiG-21 follows but is failing to keep up.

Having shaken the MiG-21, the Phantom’s crew continue on their course home to Danang.