Nguyễn Văn Cốc Nguyễn Văn Cốc ( born 1943 ) is a former North Vietnam ese MiG - 21 PFL fighter ace of the Vietnamese People ' s Air Force ' s ( also known as the North Vietnamese Air Force ) 921st Fighter Regiment . Biography . Coc was born in the Viet Yen district of the province of Bac Giang in French Indochina , north of Hanoi . When he was 5 years old , his father , Nguyen Van Bay , who was Chairman of the Viet Minh in the district , and his uncle , also a member of the Viet Minh , were killed by the French . Fearing further trouble with the French , his mother relocated the family , which led to him spending the rest of his childhood near Chu air base , which kindled an interest in aircraft . He attended Ngo Si Lien school in Bac Giang and upon completion of his schooling , enlisted in the " Quan Chung Khong Quan " ( Vietnamese People ' s Air Force , VPAF ) in 1961 and underwent his initial training at Cat Bi Airbase in Haiphong . He subsequently spent four years undergoing pilot training in the Soviet Union at the Batajsk and Krasnodov Soviet Air Force bases . Of the 120 trainees who were dispatched in Nguyens ’ s draft to the Soviet Union , he was one of the seven who graduated as a MiG - 17 pilot . After a brief spell back in North Vietnam serving with the 921st Sao Do ( Red Star ) Fighter Regiment , he returned to the Soviet Union and underwent conversion training to the MiG - 21 in a two - seat Mig - 21U , before returning to the 921st Fighter Regiment in June 1965 . He began operational flying in December 1965 . On 2 January 1967 , he was among a group of pilots who fell into the trap set up by F - 4 Phantom II s of the United States Air Force s 8th Tactical Fighter Wing ( Operation Bolo ) . The American fighters flew to Hanoi using the same flight patterns and radio callsigns as F - 105 Thunderchief fighter - bomber formations . As a result , the North Vietnamese fliers encountered interceptors armed with air - to - air missile s instead of fighter - bombers loaded with bombs . Coc was among the five Vietnamese pilots shot down , with all ejecting safely . Flying a MIG - 21PF , he normally served as a wingman . He scored all his victories using the heat - seeking R - 3S Atoll missile . In 1969 , he was awarded a Huy Hiew medal for each of his nine claimed kills . The end of the American Operation Rolling Thunder bombing campaign on October 31 , 1968 removed him from the opportunity for further air combat . In that year , he was transferred from operational duties so that his valuable combat experience could be put to use in training new pilots . Among the pilots he trained was Nguyen Duc Soat , who obtained five kills in 1972 . After the war , he remained with the Vietnamese National Air Force , retiring with the rank of Chief Inspector in 2002 after a period of health decline . Air combat victories . Nine air - to - air combat kills of United States aircraft were credited to him during the Vietnam War . Of these , seven have currently been acknowledged by the United States Air Force . While sometimes U . S . forces may have attributed aircraft losses to surface - to - air missile s , since it was considered " less embarrassing " , in fact there was often doubt about cause of the loss . Coc also claimed an F - 4 Phantom and F - 105 Thunderchief in November and 17 December 1967 but there are no corresponding American losses . The following kills , while flying the MiG - 21 , have been credited to " Van Coc " by the VPAF ( aka NVAF ) : Later , Ngu and Coc arrived over the skies of Do Luong , north - east of Vinh , and they made three circuits over the area when they were told that enemy aircraft were detected coming from the sea , and they were real U . S . fighters . The U . S . flight detected were a formation of five F - 4B Phantom II from Fighter Squadron 92 ( VF - 92 ) , , led by Lieutenant Commander Ejnar S . Christensen . Over North Vietnamese airspace , a U . S . Navy EKA - 3A electronic warfare aircraft tried to jam North Vietnamese communications but it failed , so Nhu ’ s flight of MiG - 21 fighters were able to be guided towards their target by ground controllers unhindered . While trying to engage the VPAF MiGs , the F - 4B formation became separated due to confusion in radar control . In the ensuing dogfight , two AIM - 7 missiles were fired by the U . S . Navy fighters but both rounds missed . Ngu then noticed two F - 4B Phantoms about to starboard , but he could not get into a suitable firing position . Coc was right behind Ngu at the time , but he wanted to disengage from the fight as his aircraft was running low on fuel . However , Coc quickly changed his mind after he spotted an F - 4B ahead of him at an altitude of . Coc immediately gave chase to the F - 4B , which were flying out to sea , and successfully scored a hit after he fired two R - 3S Atoll missiles from an altitude of . The F - 4B Phantom II burst into flames and crashed into the sea at 6 : 44 pm . The action gave the VPAF their first aerial victory over the airspace above the Military Zone IV of North Vietnam and gave Nguyen Van Coc his seventh aerial victory . The U . S . Navy confirmed that the downed F - 4B had been BuNo 151485 , callsign Silver Kite 210 , of VF - 92 launched from " Enterprise " . The pilot of BuNo 151485 , Lieutenant Commander Ejnar S . Christenson , and his Radar Intercept Officer , Lieutenant ( jg ) Worth A . Kramer were able to eject safely from their aircraft before impact , and were recovered a short time later .