Path: mythinc!moon!pixar!uupsi!psinntp!uunet!gatech!purdue!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!mace.cc.purdue.edu!jewell From: jewell@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Larry Jewell) Newsgroups: rec.aviation Subject: A fight with a MIG21 Message-ID: <54416@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> Date: 18 Jul 92 02:49:19 GMT Sender: news@mentor.cc.purdue.edu Lines: 73 Repost from vwar-l: Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1992 13:21:12 EDT Reply-To: Viet Nam War Discussion List Sender: Viet Nam War Discussion List From: Craig Morrison <70232.122@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: A fight with a MIG21 Toby et al, This probably isn't exactly what you had in mind when you asked for info on engagements with the MIG 21, and I may have told you this last October, but in the hopes that you or others might be interested, here it is. I was a Raven FAC in northern Laos in 1969 - 1970, and this engagement took place over the Ban Ban valley (which runs East and West), North of the Plain of Jars in early 1970 - a time when MIG encounters were rare. I was flying a T-28 D-5 aircraft (a former Navy propeller trainer fitted out with six hard points for bombs, rockets, etc., as well as a pair of slow firing .50 cal machine guns). The plane was unmarked as were all planes flown by the Ravens, since our government had, in 1961, agreed to keep all military forces out of Laos. The big secret that American military people _were_ in Laos was not a secret from the Soviets, the Chinese, nor the North Vietnamese - it was a secret from the American public. Gotta wear that white hat, folks! Anyhow, one afternoon, I was over the Ban Ban valley when I heard a transmission on guard ( an emergency frequency monitored by all military aircraft) that "bandits" were up. The call came from "Ethan" the call sign of a very early AWACS type aircraft. Purely by chance, I took note of the transmission and figured out where the bandit was supposed to be and to my suprise, saw him smoking across the North Vietnam/Laos border headed my way. Because I was at a low altitude and we were never bothered by such things, I called "Cricket" - the orbiting airborne command post - to warn them that an unfriendly aircraft was near my position. "Cricket" had already left. The MIG, and it turned out to be a MIG 21, rolled in on me - while, I might add, I was on the radio hollering for assistance. A good offence is always the best defence, and since there was no way that I could outrun this guy, I turned into him and fired off a couple of bursts. I did have tracers and even though the weapon I was firing was never designed as an air to air weapon, the MIG pulled up and away. We repeated this dance three times. He certainly could not turn inside me, but then I had to fire at him pointed "up hill" and could only track him until I ran out of airspeed - not very damn long. On the third pass he fired what I assumed was an Atoll heat seeking missile which , as I later figured out, headed for the sun. Interesingly enough, when he fired his missile, my first thought was that there was another aircraft in the area that the the MIG was firing at - the missile missed by a good bit. After that, this dude hauled ass for North Viet Nam. About two minutes later a couple of F-4s showed up panting and growling like hungry dogs, but North Viet Nam was off limits, and that was the end of that . The MIG 21 did, I believe have a gun onboard and either it jammed or there was some other malfunction, since I would have been a very easy target for a fast moving MIG with a gun. Yep, I'd still rather be lucky than good! My guess is that the MIG was flown by a Soviet advisor who decided to cruise across the border into Laos, probably just for the hell of it, and figured that I was an easy target. I wonder where he is now...I sure would like to meet him. Even though I just got started posting to the list, I am out of here 'till August 3rd or 4th. Alaska calls!! Good luck with your taping, Toby, and I'll put more on the list when I return. Craig -- #Larry W. Jewell (ex-USN) WWII-L Listowner jewell@mace.cc.purdue.edu # #"Sunday's horoscope is noteworthy because of its strange, sudden and wholly# #unpredictable and inexplicable occurrences, affecting all phases of life." # #--"Your Horoscope," L.A. Evening Herald Express, Saturday, Dec. 6, 1941. #