The 'MiG-17F' no.
3020 was a license-made
Shenyang J-5 attached to the VPAF's 923rd Fighter Regiment, and was flown by at least two of the six
VPAF's MiG-17 fighter aces, including
Nguyễn Văn Bảy and
Lê Hải; both of whom survived the war, with Lê retiring as a Senior Colonel. Like all combat-ready VPAF MiG-17s, these were painted a green and brown camouflage by 1967, and were affectionately called
con rắn (snakes) by their ground crew. The beginning of the
Operation Linebacker air interdiction campaign against
North Vietnam in May 1972 proved to be especially bloody for both sides of the air war; four of the 923rd FR's MiG-17s were dispatched against a large strike-force of
A-6 Intruders,
A-7 Corsairs IIs and F-4
Phantom IIs targeting the bridges around
Hải Dương on 10 May 1972. Although outnumbered, the VPAF pilots attacked the strike-force, and in the ensuing melee, MiG-17 pilot Do Hang was shot down by AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles fired from Lt. Duke Cunningham/Lt.(jg) Willy Driscoll's F-4, and although the MiG-17 pilot Do Hang was able to eject, he was then killed by
20mm gunfire from
American fighter/attack aircraft making strafing passes at him while descending underneath his parachute; two more MiG-17s were shot-down by the F-4s of Lt. Cunningham/Lt.(jg) Driscoll and Lt. Connelly III/Lt. Blonski, and pilot Tra Van Kiem was
KIA, while Nguyen Van Tho bailed out and survived and the MiG-17 piloted by Ta Dong Trung, who pursued the A-7s out to sea without scoring any hits, was able to return to base. The F-4s however, now flying about 10 km north of Hải Dương, were intercepted by a pair of
MiG-21MFs piloted by Vu Duc Hop and
Le Thanh Dao of the new 927th FR whom were effectively vectored by
GCI against the Phantoms; Vu Duc Hop and Le Thanh Dao each firing
R-3S "Atoll" missiles at their selected targets, had found their marks respectively against the F-4s of Lt. Cunningham/Lt.jg Driscoll and Cdr. Blackburn/Lt. Rudloff, and while Cunningham/Driscoll were able eject out at sea where they were rescued, Blackburn/Rudloff were seen to have successfully ejected from their stricken Phantom by the Americans, and while their parachutes were observed to have gone down over land, only Lt. Rudloff was ever on the
POW manifest by North Vietnamese records.'''' The remains of Cdr. Harry L. Blackburn were returned to the Americans on 10 April 1986 and positively identified as his later that year. == Notable USAF/USN and VPAF losses/victories on 10 May 1972 ==