Hikoki Publications

MiGs Over North Vietnam

by  Roger Boniface

Reviewed By  Chad Richmond, IPMS# 10346

MSRP: $54.95 ISBN 10: 1-902109-05-8, ISBN 13: 978-1-902109-05-3 Review Sample from Specialty Press: www.specialtypress.com Roger Boniface has put together a 176 page hard bound 9" x 12" book that covers almost a day-by-day history of the other side of the Vietnam air war during 1965 to 1975. There are 150 photos, both black and white in this publication that, for the most part, are published for the first time. Even some of the pictures of American aircraft are new to me. The author was able to gain almost unlimited access to the VPAF Museum, the Vietnamese News agency and several of the major fighter pilots of North Vietnam. At one time or another, Mr. Boniface introduces the reader to every pilot in service with the VPAF. Included in the book are numerous rosters that include the listing of every aerial kill by VPAF targets, several color plates of VPAF aircraft, with some never seen before camouflage paint jobs. I will do this review in two parts, and you will understand why later. Unlike the aircraft in almost any other aerial war, the VPAF portion of the fighting in the skies over North Vietnam was controlled almost in its entirety by ground controllers who vectored the fighters to their intercepts and even directed them on how many engagements they were allowed to make before breaking off the fight. The rare exception to that was late in the war when the most sought after kill was that of a B-52. There were some daring young men in their flying machines with little night tactical training and little other experience who tried to become the hero of North Vietnam by downing a B-52. These pilots were largely on their own due to the need for radio silence and tracking radar silence. It was also very interesting to find out just how small the VPAF was, both in the number of pilots available and the number of aircraft available. The most MiGs ever available was 48 in1966 and the most pilots available were 129 in 1975. That meant a lot of flights for the pilots and maintenance nightmares for the ground crews. By US standards, their availability rate for aircraft was horrible. This was due in large part to having very few trained maintenance technicians. I think every air enthusiast has heard of the infamous Colonel Toon at some time or another. There are three brief mentions of such a person in the book, and it is pretty much evident that "Colonel Toon" was a propaganda tool that has carried on to this day. As with most nations' air forces, the VPAF aircraft carried the kill markings for all kills made in that aircraft. And, as is common in most air forces, many pilots flew these aircraft, which helped keep the legend alive. The name "Toon" does not appear on any roster, anywhere in the VPAF. The name does not even register with most VPAF pilots. There were four aces, however, which routinely flew MiG-21 "Red 5020", an aircraft most commonly associated with Colonel Toon. The same can be said for MiG-17F "Red 3020". Selection for pilot training, which was conducted in Russia or China, was also something totally different from what we are accustomed to as prerequisites for being a fighter pilot. With the VPAF, a high school equivalency, a strong display of national loyalty and good physical conditioning, and a killer instinct were the primary considerations for selection. Being book smart was not a consideration, nor was it considered to be of any advantage. MiGs over Vietnam is a very detailed compilation of the history of the ten year air war that was conducted to protect the major cities and supply channels of North Vietnam's military effort against South Vietnam, and shows a great amount of research in the process of its publishing. But now, it's time for part two, as promised. When I first started reading this book, I knew I was going to have a hard time keeping an open mind. The author's bias, intended, or otherwise, was clearly on the side of North Vietnam, and was made evident within the first few pages of the publication. Being a Vietnam helicopter pilot who spent a lot of time with Air Force, Navy and Marine fighter and attack pilots, made it even more difficult. The fact that I love aviation history and have over 600 books on that subject in my own library, made it even more difficult the further I got in to the book. Since 1971 I have known the capital of North Vietnam to be Hanoi, as, I believe the majority of the world has come to know it. However, in Mr. Boniface's book, it is Ha Noi. No big deal. However, Pleiku was not spelled "Play Cu", nor is it spelled that way today. There are numerous other cities, both North Vietnam and South Vietnam that I had to get out my old Vietnam survival map to check on the correct spelling. I started having my doubts quite early on about the author's knowledge of aircraft, as well. In one passage he talks about a MiG-17 pilot engaging an aircraft with its four cannons. There are only three. In relating one engagement, the author talks about the VPAF pilot taking of in a MiG-17, but he lands in a MiG-21. One more than one occasion he talks about the signature from a MiG-21's "exhausts". A Mig-21 is a single engine aircraft. He also talks about MiG-21's dropping their long range fuel tanks. A MiG-21 only carried a centerline tank. Several of the very well done color profiles of aircraft are mislabeled. One of the grossest errors is shown. It names a MiG-17 a MiG-21. This error occurs more than once. There are several references to American attack helicopters being engaged by MiGs. I'm sure there are many time SAR helicopters wished they were attack helicopters. Randy Cunningham is referred to by the author as the first USAF ace. He also refers to Steve Ritchie as the first USAF ace. Cunningham's and Ritchie's kills are brought into question on several occasions by the author, as are most US kills. He doesn't question the VPAF kills, because of their meticulous system of recording and substantiating kills. Mr. Boniface's biography lists him as being a historian with a particular interest in the Luftwaffe. However, he refers to Gerhard Barkhorn as being the Luftwaffe's leading ace with 352 kills. In fact, he was the second leading ace with 301 kills. Lastly, the text could have used a good proof reading before publishing. Very few publications make it though the whole process without their being a few errors, but the grammatical and spelling errors in the publication are almost unforgivable. I do have to say, however, that even with the above errors and biased leanings, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, because I had never read anything that provided such an in depth analysis of the VPAF and their side of the story. Seeing the many pictures for the first time gave everything a lot of meaning as well. It's just a shame that such a publication as this had to be as flawed as it was. I'd like to thank IPMS/USA for allowing me to review this book and to Marie Ray, Promotions and Publicity Specialist, for providing the review sample. You can order this book by calling 1-800-895-4585 or go to www.specialtypress.com. Shipping will cost $6.95.

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