South Viet Nam: Duels in the Sun

American warplanes have enjoyed virtually untrammeled freedom of the skies ever since regular bombing runs over North Viet Nam began. Only four times in 15 months did North Viet Nam's Russian-built MIGs rise to do battle, knocking down two U.S. fighter-bombers in their initial surprise appearance, then losing five MIG-175 in the next three encounters. But last week, as the U.S. continued to hack away at the vital transportation spokes feeding into Hanoi, the North Vietnamese air force suddenly scrambled into the skies—only to be cut down in a series of swirling dogfights. As the week drew to a close, the score stood 6-0 for the U.S. and 11-2 for the air war overall.

Suddenly a Sparrow. The first encounter took place just north of Hanoi as four Air Force F-4C Phantom II jetfighters, flying "CAP" (Combat Air Patrol) for a bombing strike on the Bac Giang bridge linking Hanoi with China, headed down to their orbit area. At 18,000 feet they picked up "bogies" on their radar, and wheeled to intercept them. Within minutes they spotted six MIG-175 flying level in close formation below them. The MIGs jettisoned their external gas tanks, split up, and with cannons winking, climbed to meet the Phantoms' attack.

Armed with heat-seeking Sidewinder missiles and Sparrow radar-guided missiles, the U.S. flight leader dove out of the sun but overshot on his first pass. Three MIGs cut between the Phantoms, separating them into pairs, and went after the two U.S. lead planes. The second brace of F-4Cs, sweeping into the classic 6 o'clock target position that the Sidewinders require for homing, closed in, dropped one MIG with a missile right up the tailpipe. When a fourth MIG tried to pull in behind, the successful Phantom's wingman pounced, followed through in a diving roll, and brought the Communist craft down with a sudden Sparrow.

Later in the day U.S. planes again encountered MIGs, with no losses on either side. But two of the enemy planes were the advanced MIG-215 known to pilots as "Fishbeds"—the same generation of fighter as the Phantom and capable of flying twice the speed of sound. The U.S. had long wanted to measure the Fishbed in battle.

The chance came two days later when an Air Force Phantom commanded by Major Paul Gilmore, 33, of Alamogordo, N. Mex., spotted two jets diving in on him. Both were Fishbeds. Gilmore went into a tight diving turn of his own, whipped up behind one of the MIGs, fired off two Sidewinders.

Thinking both had missed, and muttering to himself in a cold rage, Gilmore followed the MIG through another wrenching, rolling loop of a brain-draining six gravities, then cut loose a third Sidewinder. The enemy's tail section came apart in a tumble of torn metal, and the plane pitched earthward. In fact, Gilmore's first Sidewinder had also scored, and the Red pilot had ejected. In getting the first MIG-21, Gilmore had killed it twice.