Thanh Hóa Bridge The Thanh Hóa Bridge ( Vietnamese : Cầu Hàm Rồng , Hàm Rồng Bridge ) , spanning the Song Ma river , is situated northeast of Thanh Hóa ( ) , the capital of Thanh Hóa Province in Vietnam . The Vietnamese gave it the nickname Hàm Rồng ( " Dragon ' s jaw " ) . In 1965 during the Vietnam War , it was the objective of many attacks by US Air Force and US Navy aircraft which would fail to destroy the bridge until 1972 . In their first air combat , a small force of seemingly mismatched MiG - 17 s inflicted significant losses on much larger and more advanced American F - 105 Thunderchief and F - 8 Crusader fighters at a cost of 3 of their own , with an F - 100 Super Sabre claiming the first probable American kill of the conflict . This would lead to significant changes in American tactics , training and fighter design , and a return to dogfighting in air combat doctrine . Eventually , in 1972 , the bridge was destroyed by A - 7 Corsair bombers using laser - guided bomb s and conventional bombs . The bridge . Originally built by the French during the colonial era in Vietnam , the Thanh Hóa bridge was sabotaged by the Viet Minh in 1945 . From 1957 , the Vietnamese started rebuilding it . It was a grey metallic construction , resting on a central concrete pier , and on concrete abutments at each extremity . Completed in 1964 , and inaugurated by Ho Chi Minh himself , the final bridge was long , wide , and about above the river . Allowing the passage of both road and rail traffic , it was a vital link between different regions of North Vietnam , and when the war started , became a strategic passage for supplies and reinforcements sent to the Viet Cong fighting in South Vietnam . Operation Rolling Thunder . With the beginning of Operation Rolling Thunder ( the bombing campaign against strategic targets in North Vietnam ) , the decision was made in March 1965 to interdict the North Vietnamese rail system , including the Thanh Hóa bridge . The Vietnamese , realizing the importance of the bridge , had set up an impressive air defense network , five air defense regiments being stationed in the area . First raid , first dogfight . The first — and largest — strike package to be sent against the bridge was codenamed 9 - Alpha . Led by Korean War ace Colonel Robinson Risner , it comprised 79 aircraft , including 46 F - 105 Thunderchiefs as the main strike force . Other types were 21 F - 100 Super Sabres as AAA suppressors to attack ground - based guns , fourteen F - 100s acting as MiG CAP ( combat air patrol ) and two RF - 101C Voodoos to do damage assessment , plus ten KC - 135 tanker aircraft . The F - 100s were based in South Vietnam , while the others were based across Thailand . Flights of four F - 105s from Royal Thai Air Force Base ( RTAFB ) Korat and RTAFB Takhli would be air refueled over the Mekong River , then cross Laos to just south of the bridge . The bombers would continue east until over the Gulf of Tonkin . Launched on April 3 , 1965 , the attack saw all strike aircraft deliver their payload . Sixteen of the F - 105s carried a pair of Bullpup missile s , one under each outer wing pylon . This was an early combat use of early " smart " precision guided missiles that were guided by radio and joystick , requiring two passes to launch each of two missiles per plane before the evolution of laser - guided bombs which eventually felled the bridge late in the war . Capt . Bill Meyerholt observed as the missile streaked toward the bridge and made a good hit ; when smoke cleared , there was no visible damage to the bridge . The warheads merely charred the massive structure . Crews grimly joked that Bullpups on the Dragon ' s Jaw were as effective as shooting BB pellets at a Sherman tank . The other F - 105s each carried three tons of explosives in the form of eight bombs , more than B - 17s had delivered over targets like Berlin . The first wave of bombs drifted due to a strong southwest wind . The last flight , led by Cpt . Carlyle S . " Smitty " Harris , scored hits on the roadway and superstructure . After 32 Bullpups and 1200 bombs had decorated the bridge with numerous hits , charring every part , the bridge did not fall , though traffic was stopped for a few hours . This was the only result of the raid , which had cost two aircraft — one F - 100 ( Lt . George C . Smith flying flak suppression ) and one RF - 101 — shot down . Risner ' s Thunderchief was crippled by ground fire but , despite smoke in the cockpit , Risner continued to direct the strike before flying safely back to Da Nang . To meet the raid , the VPAF had sent out two flights of four MiG - 17PF s from Noi Bai airbase at 09 : 47 . The original plan was for the first flight to act as a decoy . The second flight never reached the strike force , as flight leader Pham Ngoc Lan spotted F - 8E Crusaders from the covering the operation . The metal - finished MiG - 17PF , which would later be finished in a " snake " camouflage , was an all - weather interceptor version of the MiG - 17 first flown in 1951 . Armed with three 23mm cannons but no missiles , it was a faster upgraded MiG - 15 fitted with an afterburning engine , and a radar - ranging gunsight reverse - engineered from the F - 86A ( as well as a new , more sharply swept wing to increase its critical Mach number , therefore top speed ) . The VPAF had nevertheless demonstrated the ability to engage modern US fighters , and afterwards recognized April 3 as Air Force Day . On the American side , the failure to drop any spans led to a new attack scheduled for the next day ; it was expected by VPAF commanders . This time , eighty planes were engaged , including 48 F - 105s , carrying only bombs , as the inadequacy of the Bullpup had been fully demonstrated . MiG - 17s jump USAF F - 105s . During 4 April 1965 engagement , a tiny force of eight MiG - 17s ( half flying as decoys ) from the 921st " Sao Do " ( Red Star ) Fighter Regiment ( FR ) was again given the daunting task of confronting a massive armada of modern American supersonic fighter - bombers . The 46 F - 105 Thunderchiefs tasked as fast attack bombers were escorted by a flight of 21 F - 100 Super Sabres daylight fighters from the 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron ( TFS ) , four Sidewinder - armed for MiGCAP , and seventeen armed with 2 . 75 - inch HVAR to suppress AAA batteries . Each flight was given a call sign . These included " Steel " , " Iron " , " Copper " , " Moon " , " Carbon " , " Zinc " , " Argon " , " Graphite " , " Esso " , " Mobil " , " Shell " , and " Petrol " . " Cadillac " flight conducted Bomb Damage Assessment , while the search and rescue included A - 1 Skyraider s , call sign " Sandy " , and HH - 3 Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopters , call sign " Jolly Green . " The VPAF made ground - based AAA sites the first line of defence , with fighters attacking after ground gunners ceased fire . After taking off at about 10 : 20 , the MiGs would break into decoy and attack flights . The leader was second - in - command Nguyen Van Tien , while Dao Ngo Ngu handled the ground control command . The Americans started with recon flights over Thanh Hóa . Then the attacking jets flew in flights of four . One flight would attack at a time while others circled awaiting their turn . Although , on paper , the F - 105 was double supersonic ( Mach 2 + ) , when loaded with ordnance under its small wings , it was subsonic and unready to tangle with any fighters that might get past the escorts . Covering the north , in the direction of Hanoi ' s airfields , escorting F - 100s sixty miles north of the Song Chu estuary where the river meets the sea , were to warn of enemy aircraft . and if possible to intercept , while four others orbited south of the estuary . The MiG attack came instead from the south , with part angling off toward the west , perhaps to draw away escorts as a decoy . As the MIGCAP F - 100s flew south , they spotted MiG - 17s flying in from the sea toward the F - 105s , and urgently radioed the warning : " Break off ! " But their warnings weren ' t heeded due to garbled transmission . The strike aircraft flew on like sitting duck s , unaware of the incoming threat . While North Vietnam had full radar coverage and ground control of their pilots , the short - range , forward - scanning radars in the F - 100s didn ' t spot the MiGs in a part of the sky where they were not expected . The USAF would later use EC - 121 s and develop the E - 3 AWACS to provide full 360 degree radar coverage for strike packages . Coming from clouds above , the MiG - 17s tore past the escorts and dove onto the bomb laden Thunderchiefs , Vietnamese flight leader Trần Hanh spotted four F - 105Ds at 10 : 30 starting to drop their bombs , ordering his wingman , Pham Giay , to cover his attack . He fired at 400 meters , observing one F - 105 , piloted by Major Frank E . Bennett ( 355th TFW , KIA ) fall in flames into the Gulf of Tonkin . The flight leader attempted to recover at Da Nang but had his controls freeze up within sight of the base . Ejecting , he was killed when his parachute failed to open before he struck the water and he drowned . As the F - 105s turned to attack the MiGs , the MiGs split into two groups on the north and south sides of the bridge . Supported by Tran Nguyen Nam , Le Minh Huan downed another F - 105D , callsign Zinc 2 piloted by Capt . J . A . Magnusson . He radioed that he was heading for the Gulf if he could maintain control of his aircraft . Magnusson finally bailed out twenty miles away over the Gulf of Tonkin near the island of Hon Me , and was eventually listed as missing and then killed after a 48 - hour search . The USAF confirmed the two F - 105 losses during that engagement . The remaining fourth plane found himself in the sights of another MiG - 17 who he could not shake . In desperation , he tried a snap roll which slowed his plane so that the MiG - 17 over - shot him , as his captain had recommended . Finding himself on the MiG ' s tail , he was too surprised to attempt to shoot down the MiG with his gun . The fortunate survivor was briefed the day before about this maneuver by a captain from Nellis , the legendary John Boyd who would be a significant voice in the design of America ' s future dogfighters . After the quick success of downing two American fighters , the outnumbered North Vietnamese defenders faced a sky full of the remaining F - 100s and F - 105s now fully alerted to their presence and turning their attention to the MiGs . Tranh Hanh ordered his flight to split into two groups . He and wingman Pham Giay stayed south of the bridge , while Le Minh Huan and Tran Nguyen Nam flew to the north . Three F - 100s from the MiGCAP , piloted by LTC Emmett L . Hays , CPT Keith B . Connolly , and CPT Donald W . Kilgus , all from the 416th TFS , engaged the MiG - 17s . As the F - 100s closed in , they hesitated to fire missiles which might hit their F - 105s . The lead F - 100 got a locking tone as he fired an IR guided Sidewinder air - to - air missile once he had a clear shot , but it passed above its target , while Connolly and Kilgus engaged with 20mm cannon . Kilgus recognized what was Pham Giay ' s MiG just after it appeared out of the haze . He dropped his wing tanks and turned into the target that had just turned a ninety degree corner to face him . He shook off Tranh Hanh ' s second MiG which appeared as Giay overshot and missed him . Closing in from behind Giay , Kilgus closed in and pulled up his nose so that the four M39 20mm guns would bear on the target . Lighting his afterburner and using his height advantage , he accelerated and dived after the MiG at 450 knots . Kilgus recognized the Vietnamese pilot was pulling him into a game of chicken as both jets hurtled down toward the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin and the lighter MiG should have been able pull out of a dangerous dive more quickly . Now headed nearly straight down , Kilgus armed his guns and took aim at the spot projected on the glass of his A4 radar - ranging gunsight . While worrying about the rapidly falling altitude , he opened fire at 7 , 100 feet , observing puffs and sparks coming off Giay ' s vertical tail fin before losing visual contact as he pulled up , just barely clearing the water . Historian Don McCarthy later concluded he was certain Kilgus brought down the MiG - 17 . Aviation writer Larry Davis also records his that Kilgus ' wing man also reported a kill , but it was denied by higher headquarters at 7th Air Force . Although not immediately reported that day , only Kilgus claimed and was credited with a probable kill . Based upon the report , the F - 100s had obtained the first US aerial combat victories during the Vietnam War . If confirmed , Kilgus would have made the be the only air - to - air MiG kill by an F - 100 during the conflict . , while it was assumed the other MiGs escaped . MiG - 17 flight leader and sole survivor Tran Hanh was credited with his confirmed F - 105 . His own plane narrowly escaped through hard maneuvering , but he lost contact with ground control . Low on fuel , he opted to land at the nearby Ke Tam valley , but was detained by the locals until he produced his VPAF badge . Hanh says that he saw his wingman , Le Minh Huan and Tran Nguyen Nam also shot down by F - 105s . Hanh probably confused the escorting F - 100s for F - 105s . As only one American pilot even claimed a probable kill , his other comrades may have instead collided or been hit by their own AA fire . Nevertheless , in exchange for their significant sacrifice , the North Vietnamese MiG - 17s had scored their first confirmed aerial victories in jet - to - jet combat against supersonic fighters . North Vietnamese AAA gunners on the ground were credited with downing a " Sandy " A - 1H Skyraider , killing Capt . Walter Draeger , and also initially credited with the F - 105 of Capt . Carlyle " Smitty " Harris , who survived and became one of the earliest American prisoners of war . Later on 15 April 1965 , a communist publication interviewed a MiG pilot who had actually shot down Capt . Harris ' F - 105 rather than ground fire . Harris was classified MIA , but had been actually imprisoned in Hanoi until 1973 , when fellow POWs credited Capt . Harris with introducing the " tap code " into the prison system . In North Vietnam , MiG - 17 flight leader Tran Hanh became a national hero . What in retrospect might seem to be tactical draw after losing all of their defending fighters and three pilots , and viewed by anti - war activists as aggression against civilian targets , the action was celebrated as a " glorious victory over US aircraft to ensure the flow of war supplies to the south " . For their part , anti - aircraft gunners received the Victory Order and the Military Exploit Order . On the 45th anniversary of the battle in 2010 , Vietnam celebrated the downing of 47 US aircraft over the two days of the 454 sorties over two days that dropped 350 bombs on and around the bridge , calling it " the symbol of the Vietnamese people ' s will to defend their country . . . the Great Spring Victory to liberate the South and reunify the country . " American lessons . The raid had been carried out with great precision , but despite having been hit by more than 300 bombs , the Thanh Hóa bridge still stood . As minor damage caused the circulation to be interrupted for a few days , it was seen as a modest success cost that had cost the US Air Force three F - 105s . But U . S . Air Force chief of staff General John P . McConnell , was " hopping mad " to hear that two of America ' s most advanced F - 105 Thunderchiefs had been shot down by slow , elderly left - over MIGs of the tiny 36 - jet North Vietnamese air force . The subsonic MiG - 17s had been in service for over twelve years since 1953 , and were barely improved over the original MiG - 15 s that sparred with F - 86 Sabre s in dogfights during the Korean War . By contrast , the F - 105 , which was on the drawing boards as the MiG entered service , was two generations ahead ( and the escorting F - 100s one generation ahead ) . The F - 105 was the USAF ' s most advanced Mach 2 class fighter bomber , with sophisticated navigation and radar systems which could be armed with Sidewinder missiles and a bombload comparable to World War II bombers . But at slower speeds , the older MiG could outmaneuver any of its adversaries , and at a time when air - to - air missiles were highly unlikely to actually destroy their targets , the cannons of the MiG were much more reliable , and deadly against F - 105s , which at the time were vulnerable to hits on systems such as hydraulics . The losses to MiGs resulted in the subsequent replacement of the F - 100 Super Sabre escorts with F - 4 Phantom s . The incident would start a series of events that would lead to a reassessment of fighters better suited to close - in dogfighting . While the F - 105 would finish off its service with a slightly better than even kill - to - loss ratio over MiGs , the large plane had been designed primarily to deliver bombs at low level rather than shoot down other fighters . Its replacement was the even larger Phantom , which had been designed without any guns to fire missiles at stand - off ranges rather than tangle in turning dogfights . This experience would re - introduce the requirement that future fighters would need to be able to mix with MiGs on more equal terms and not just shoot missiles from a distance . This would lead to training programs such as Top Gun . The expensive swing - wing F - 111B , which could not dogfight , was dropped in favor of the VFAX , which evolved into the F - 14 Tomcat . The USAF would develop its own purpose - built FX supersonic air superiority fighter as the F - 15 Eagle along with smaller teen - series fighters . The new fighters that came on line during the 1970s would dominate American airpower for the remainder of the 20th century and inspire similar Soviet designs . US Navy attacks . With the establishment of the Route Package system , the Thanh Hóa area was allocated to the US Navy . Between 1965 and 1968 , until US President Lyndon B . Johnson temporarily called off air raids against North Vietnam , the bridge was a regular objective for navy Alpha strike s . Different types of aircraft were engaged including A - 3 Skywarrior s , A - 4 Skyhawk s , A - 6 Intruder s , F - 4 Phantoms and F - 8 Crusader s . Several types of weapons were launched at the bridge including AGM - 62 Walleye missiles , but none had the precision and power to destroy it permanently . Several times , traffic over the bridge was interrupted , but every time , the North Vietnamese dutifully repaired the damage . Operation Carolina Moon . In May 1966 , an innovative attack , Operation Carolina Moon , was planned by the US Air Force . A new weapon was to be used : a large magnetic mine , that implemented a new energy mass - focusing concept . The plan was to float the mines down the river , till they reached the bridge , where the magnetic sensors would set off the charges , hopefully wrecking it permanently . The only aircraft with a large enough hold to carry these weapons was the slow - flying C - 130 Hercules transport , so the operation was due to take place at night , to reduce its vulnerability . On the night of May 30 , a first Hercules dropped 5 mines . A North Vietnamese prisoner later revealed that 4 of the 5 mines had in fact exploded under the bridge , but not caused any significant damage . However at the time the Americans did not know this , as after - mission reconnaissance had showed the bridge still standing , and a second raid was planned , with a different crew , for the following night . This second attempt turned to disaster : the Hercules was hit during its low - level run and crashed , killing the entire crew . An F - 4 engaged in a diversionary attack nearby was also brought down and its crew lost . The final blow . Between 1968 and 1972 , bombing of North Vietnam was discontinued , enabling the North Vietnamese to repair their infrastructures , including the Thanh Hóa bridge . With the communist invasion of South Vietnam in 1972 , a new bombing campaign was instituted : Operation Linebacker . On 27 April , twelve Phantoms of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing , based at Ubon , Thailand attacked the Thanh Hóa Bridge . Eight of their number carried laser - guided bombs . The raid was carried out without a hitch , and when the dust of the explosions had cleared it became apparent that the bridge had been dislodged from its western abutment , dropping one half into the river . To complete its destruction , a second attack was scheduled for the thirteenth of May when fourteen Phantoms were engaged , with LGBs of up to aimed at the central pillar supporting the bridge . Once again the attack was successful and the " Dragon ' s jaw " was rendered completely unusable . The US command , however , was not satisfied , and ordered a final attack on the sixth of October . This time , four U . S . Navy A - 7 s from VA - 82 , aboard , successfully delivered 8 , 000 lbs of high explosives with two planes carrying two Walleyes , while two other carried also 2 , 000 lbs in Mk 84 GP bombs . In a simultaneous attack , the centre piling on the bridge ' s west side was hit and broke the span in half . After this , the Thanh Hóa Bridge was considered permanently destroyed and removed from the target list . Aftermath and losses . The North Vietnamese made various claims as to how many planes they shot down , but the US only recognizes the loss of eleven aircraft during attacks against the bridge . However , the concentration of air defense assets also took its toll on passing aircraft and in total an estimated 104 American pilots were shot down over a area around the bridge during the war . The bridge would be restored in 1973 . 873 air sorties were expended against the bridge and it was hit by hundreds of bombs and missiles before finally being destroyed . It became something of a symbol of resistance for the North Vietnamese , and various legends of invincibility were attached to it . For the US planners it became an obsession , and many raids were planned against it despite their unpopularity with the pilots . A cynical rewording of the song the " Red River Valley " was sung by fighter pilots , referring to this dangerous target . In his 1976 essay collection , " Mauve Gloves & Madmen , Clutter and Vine " , Tom Wolfe recounted a rueful story that circulated among Navy pilots who flew sorties against the Thanh Hóa Bridge . In their telling , the Earth consisted of two hemispheres , spring - loaded and held together opposite the hinge by the bridge . When it was destroyed , the story went , the two hemispheres would fly apart , flinging humanity into space . While the first employment of the Bullpup in 1965 proved a disappointment , the ultimate destruction of the bridge finally proved the promise and effectiveness of precision - guided munition s , opening the way to a new era of aerial warfare . The 1965 strikes were the first employment of modern strike packages which were combined and launched against that specific target , leading up to an evolution of air warfare to 1972 which was employed very effectively with minimal losses in Operation Desert Storm . The shock of losing modern fighters in dogfights in 1965 was a landmark which led to a major shift in fighter design , away from interceptors firing missiles to agile designs capable in short - range air combat .