On May 10, 1972, eleven North Vietnamese MiGs were shot down — eight by the navy and three by air force pilots. Two air force F-4s were lost to MiG 19s. During the remainder of the war, the navy kill ratio climbed to 8.33 to 1. In contrast, the air force rate improved only slightly to 2.83 to 1.[670]
The reason for this difference was Top Gun. The navy had revitalized its air combat training, while the air force had stayed stagnant. Most of the navy MiG kills were by Top Gun graduates, Cunningham among them. Top Gun was soon made a separate command, ending the need to beg, borrow, or steal aircraft, fuel, or supplies. The air force also saw the need and, starting in 1975, began the Red Flag exercises. This went far beyond Top Gun, in that Red Flag was a war game involving not only fighters but attack aircraft, bombers, and transport in simulated combat against units that mim-icked Soviet forces.[671]
Yet behind the success of Top Gun, there was Have Drill. The Cunningham dogfight is an example. The maneuvers he used in that epic fight were all taught at Top Gun. But they had been originally developed as part of Have Drill. These included the use of high speed to counter the MiG 17's maneuverability, the close head-on pass, turning away at a right angle to the MiG's flight path, and the pilot-RIO teamwork. Cunningham and Driscoll had used all these to survive and triumph, even when outnumbered by seven or eight to one. And when it was one on one.
There was one loose end, however. Cunningham called the pilot he had fought in the fifth kill the best he had ever faced — to quote Driscoll, "Who is this guy?" Clearly, he was not a typical North Vietnamese pilot. Cunningham was later told, based on intercepts of North Vietnamese radio traffic, that he was "Colonel Toon" (also spelled "Tomb"). He was described as being the North Vietnamese air force's leading ace with thirteen kills. A MiG 21 with thirteen kill markings was thought to be his.[672]
An examination of North Vietnamese propaganda, however, revealed no mention of a pilot named Toon or Tomb.[673] The North Vietnamese were quite willing to describe the exploits of their pilots, even while the war was going on. Toon and Tomb are also not standard Vietnamese names. In the two decades since the dogfight, there has been considerable speculation about the identity of Colonel Toon.
The day after the fight, the North Vietnamese announced the death of Col. Nguyen Van Coc, a MiG 17 pilot with nine claims (including the only F-102 shot down during the war). It was not stated that he had been shot down, however. Cunningham doubted that Coc was Toon. It has also been speculated that he was a Soviet, North Korean, or even Warsaw Pact pilot.
In the early 1990s, former Soviet pilots stationed in North Vietnam indicated that Toon was actually the nickname given by the Soviets to a North Vietnamese pilot named Pham Tuan. Tuan, however, survived the war. In 1980, he was selected by the Soviets to make an eight-day flight to the Salyut 6 space station. He subsequently became a senior air force officer.[674]
From these fragments, it is possible to reconstruct the events of May 10, 1972. The MiG 17 pilot Cunningham and Driscoll shot down was, in fact, Col. Nguyen Van Coc. Despite Cunningham's doubts, several factors point in this direction. The rank, timing of his death, type of aircraft he flew, and skill level all match. More important, Colonel Coc was the North Vietnamese air force's highest scoring ace with nine kills. This would match the claim that Toon was also the top ace.[675]
The story of a North Vietnamese pilot with thirteen kills was apparently based on the photo of a MiG 21 with thirteen stars painted on its nose. The thirteen kill markings were the total for the plane, however, and were claimed by several pilots.[676] It seems likely that the story of a hotshot pilot named Toon and the thirteen-kill MiG 21 were connected.
It is possible that Tuan was aloft during May 10, 1972, and, with the confusion of the large numbers of North Vietnamese MiGs in the air, was mistaken for the pilot Cunningham shot down. Radio intercepts are often difficult to interpret. One need only recall the decades of confusion from the intercepts made during the shooting down of Powers's U-2.
In the end, all that matters is that the two best pilots met in the sky that day. They flew their aircraft to their limits, and Cunningham won — thanks to a Black program.
With the end of the Vietnam War, U.S. MiG operations seem to have undergone some changes. The navy's Have Drill program was ended; the air force now had sole control of the MiGs.[677] Top Gun and Red Flag had their own "Aggressor units," which used Soviet-style tactics. Top Gun used A-4s to simulate MiG 17s, while F-5s stood in for MiG 21s. They did not need the special security of the MiGs, and the flight characteristics of the aircraft were close enough for training.
The MiGs still had a role, however. During the early 1970s, the prototypes of the F-14, F-15, and F-16 fighters made their first flights. This new generation of U.S. fighters was designed with the lessons of Vietnam in mind. They were much more agile than the F-4; they also packed a 20mm cannon — something the original F-4 lacked. The MiGs might have been used in tests of these new fighters. This would allow development of tactics for the new fighters, much as the Have Drill tests were used to develop F-4 tactics. The orientation flights for senior officers also continued.
It appeared that the U.S. MiG operation grew to squadron size. During the Vietnam War period, it appears that there were two MiG 17s and two MiG 21s (the two captured Syrian MiG 17s, the original MiG 21, and 007).
At some point, according to reports, four of the captured Algerian MiG 21s were also sent by Israel to the United States.[678] If true, this would raise the total to eight MiGs (two MiG 17s and six MiG 21s). The MiG operations were based at the former A-12 test hangars at the north end of the Groom Lake complex.
With a squadron-sized force, there was also need for a formal unit to operate them. This was the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron, also known as the "Red Eagles." Its unit patch featured a red-eagle design with a white or black star.[679] The MiGs had less flamboyant markings — the MiG 21s were in bare metal with only the U.S. star and bar insignia on the nose.[680]
Part of the attraction of working on a Black airplane project is the challenge. The U-2 and A-12 pushed the limits of aviation technology. The MiGs, in contrast, were ordinary operational fighters. Still, they posed a challenge — the challenge of keeping them flying. The simple and cheap design of the MiGs helped in this regard. It was reported that the MiG 17s were flown 255 times without a "down."[681]
Still, high-performance jet aircraft require regular maintenance. This means a supply of spare parts. Soviet jet engines were known for having a short operating lifetime. Tires were also a problem — they were good for only a few landings before replacement. It was reported that one of the reasons U.S. MiG operations were kept so secret was the problem of clandestine parts support (especially engines). The work done on the MiGs was described as "first rate."
673
Jeffrey Ethell and Alfred Price,
This was later "improved" to 18. They have yet to admit the loss of any MiGs. Even when there is a rough match between accounts, North Vietnamese claims have major discrepancies as to location and timing.
674
Robert S. Hopkins III, "In Search of Colonel Toon,"
676
Ethell and Price,