Author(s): Istvan Toperczer; Gareth Hector (Illustrator); Jim Laurier (Illustrator)

Military

The MiG-21 "Fishbed" was one of the most successful communist jet fighters ever built. The aircraft was involved in a series of deadly duels with American fighters over North Vietnam as the USAF and US Navy ramped up strike missions during Operation Rolling Thunder. Having honed their skills on the subsonic MiG-17, pilots of the Vietnamese People's Air Force (VPAF) received their first examples of the legendary MiG-21 supersonic fighter in 1966. Soon thrown into combat over North Vietnam, the guided-missile-equipped MiG-21 proved a deadly opponent for the American crews striking at targets deep into communist territory thanks to the VPAF's mastery of high-speed "hit-and-run" attacks. Utilizing archival photographs sourced directly from Vietnam and combat accounts from the pilots involved, leading VPAF historian István Toperczer explains how the communist MiG-21 pilots claimed more than 70 US aircraft for the loss of 35 "Fishbeds" during the dogged defence of North Vietnam in 1966-68. Tactical ribbon diagrams, Battlescene artwork, Armament views, Fully illustrated throughout