How B-52 TAIL GUNNERS Managed To Shoot Down two MiG-21 Fighter jets during the Vietnam War

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During the Vietnam War USAF legendary Boeing B-52 Stratofortress extensively for the conventional bombing was able to become also a MiG killer by shooting down two MiG-21 fighters jets using machine guns mounted in the rear of the D variant of the Stratofortress

The MiG kills were both scored during Operation Linebacker II, the Christmas strategic air offensive against the industrial and logistical heart of North Vietnam

It was during this air campaign that two B-52D tail gunners belonging to the 307th Strategic Bomb Wing from U-Tapao RTAFB (Royal Thailand Air Force Base), Thailand, continued the long tradition of tail gunners from previous wars, downing two North Vietnamese Fishbeds.

These achievements were possible thanks to the four .50-caliber M3 machine guns mounted in the rear of the D variant of the Stratofortress, which they probably made of the B-52 the last strategic bomber to shoot down an enemy fighter.

Armed with 600 rounds and operated by the A-3A fire control system search and tracking radar, the guns were controlled either by a tail gunner or by remote control from the gunner’s position in the forward fuselage.

Here are Details of First Mig-21 Fill from Bill Yenne book B-52 Stratofortress: The Story of the BUFF from Drawing Board to the Skies over Afghanistan and Donald J. McCarthy, Jr. book MiG Killers A Chronology of U.S. Air Victories in Vietnam 1965-1973.

B-52 Stratofortress (BUFF) First Mig-21 fighter jet Kill

on Dec. 18, 1972, 129 bombers (42 B-52Ds from U-Tapao followed by other 87 BUFFs between B-52Ds and B-52Gs from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam) were launched to hit rail yards and logistical facilities in and around Hanoi, as well as the MiGs bases at Kep, Hoa Loc and Phuc Yen.

The bombers operated in three aircraft cells for reciprocal ECM (Electronic Counter Measures) protection.

Among the bombers, there was also the B-52D Tail No. 56-0676, callsign Brown III, with Ssgt. Samuel O. Turner as a tail gunner. During the bomb run to the target, many SAMs (Surface to Air Missiles) were fired and anti-aircraft fire of all calibres exploded near Brown III.

The B-52Ds reached their target, dropped their bombs and while they were heading home, several MiGs took off to intercept them.

One of the MiG-21s was preparing to launch its missiles against Brown III, but Turner was able to lock on to the approaching Fishbed and once it was in the firing range, he opened fire against it, hitting the rear of the MiG which exploded in a huge fireball.

This kill was the first for a bomber crew since the Korean War and it had been confirmed also by MSgt. Lewis E. Le Blanc who was a tail gunner on another B-52, as explained by Donald J. McCarthy, Jr. in his book MiG Killers A Chronology of U.S. Air Victories in Vietnam 1965-1973.

B-52 Stratofortress (BUFF) second Mig-21 fighter jet Kill

on Dec. 24, 1972, Christmas Eve, 30 BUFFs which took off from U-Tapao to hit rail yards at Thai Nguyen and Kep, 40 miles north and northeast of Hanoi and during the bomb run, the B-52s were attacked by the MiGs.

One of them was acquired on the radar scope by A1C Albert E. Moore, the tail gunner of the B-52D Tail No. 55-0083, Diamond Lil. He locked on to the Fishbed at 4,000 yards and began to fire against the blip on his radar scope until it disappeared.

This kill too was confirmed by another tail gunner, TSgt. Clarence W. Chute, who reported: “I went visual and saw the ‘bandit’ on fire and falling away. Several pieces of the aircraft exploded, and the fireball disappeared in the undercast.”

Today the B-52D tail number 55-0676 is preserved at the Fairchild AFB Heritage Park at Spokane where it can be seen sporting the classic MiG Killers emblem, in the form of a red star under the cockpit.

Also the B-52D tail number 55-00083 has been preserved and it can be seen on display at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado.