VNAF

This is an article for the former air force of the now defunct South Vietnam. For the air force of the current Vietnam, go here: Vietnamese Air Force

The VNAF (abbreviation for VietNam Air Force, Vietnamese is "Khong Quan Viet Nam") started off as a a few hand picked men that were chosen to fly along side French pilots during the State of Vietnam era. It eventually grew into the world's 4th largest air force at the height of it's power, in 1974. It is an often neglected chapter of the history of the Vietnam war as they operated in the shadow of the world's largest air war machine, and many members and their children now live in the United States as immigrant Americans.

In contrast with the North Vietnamese Air Force, most allied air operations in the Vietnam War were conducted by the US armed forces. The South Vietnamese forces operated at a fairly basic level compared to the US Forces, which carried the bombing campaigns in the north.

The United States in May 1956 had started to train and advise the South Vietnamese Air Force. VNAF was supplied with H-19 helicopters, and later H-34's. Initially they employed simple T-28 Trojan^[1] prop powered trainers which could carry a small bombload. The first jets were B-57 Canberra bombers arriving in 1965. In October of the same year the VNAF received its first modern UH-1 Huey turbine powered helicopters. Later, the US released more powerful light attack A-1 Skyraiders and jet light attack A-37 Dragonfly, and the lightweight F-5 Freedom Fighter that was unwanted by US forces. By the end of 1972, the VNAF operated 18 squadrons with 500 new helicopters, organized in eighteen squadrons, one of the largest helicopter fleets in the world.^[2] In 1972, President Thieu asked for, but did not receive the F-4 Phantom with its massive bombload and speed that was widely used for all roles by US air services. ^[3]

The VNAF lacked not just the Phantom, but the sophisticated AC-130 gunships, air tankers, heavy attack fighters such as the A-7 and A-6. They lacked any capability or training for offensive air operations against North Vietnam, and of course, they did not operate the B-52s which held a massive amount of bombs and was used by the US on many occasions in the war.

When the NVA started to install anti-aircraft missles near Khe Sanh, the VNAF lacked the radar jamming gear, and the navigational aids required to attack the missle sites^[4]. The VNAF primarily flew close support as communist forces did not fly aircraft over US-held territory, so they never had the opportunity to fight MiGs or "go downtown" in heavy fighter bombers. Consequently, the ARVN was at a significant disadvantage once the US air force left Vietnam due to the lack of the bombings and air support provided by the US. Many think that this is reason why the Communist offensive succeeded so rapidly when compared to other offensives, such as the ones in 1968 and 1972.

During the final 1975 offensive, it wasn't just a case of a massive collapse. The ARVN in Long Khanh were fighting to the death. A cooperative effort between the ARVN and the VNAF enabled ARVN troops there to hold on. CH-47 helicopters brought in 193 tons of artillery ammunition over two days. A-1 Skyraider prop fighters flew in and a C-130 Hercules transport drop massive 15,000-pound daisy cutter bombs on enemy positions. Flying against intense antiaircraft fire, they took a heavy toll of the NVA divisions around Xuan Loc. ^[5]

Phan Thị Kim Phúc, the girl burned by napalm from a VNAF "strike", whose story has been used for years on end as ammunition against Vietnam War veterans has been proven in fact, very untrue. The true facts of the real story is that the Vietnamese pilot had diverted to hit what he saw to be a threat to the soldiers he was sent to protect. Not only was it an all-Vietnamese operation, with the VNAF dropping the bombs in support of the South Vietnamese Army, but there were also South Vietnamese soldiers killed by the same bombs. Those soldiers, who died fighting to defend Kim's village from the invading Communists, asked and offered no forgiveness. For more information, also read *Debunking the "napalm girl" myth.

• A-1 Skyraider
• A-37 Dragonfly
• C-123 Provider
• UH-1 Huey
• O-1 Bird Dog
• Alouette III
• Beech D18
• B-57 Canberra
• C-130 Hercules
• H-19
• T-28 Trojan
• C-47 Skytrain
• AC-47 Skytrain AC-47 picture
• F8F Bearcat
• H-34
• U-17
• U-6
• T-41
• C-7 Caribou
• T-6 Texan trainer
• O-2 Skymaster FAC
• C-119
• F-5 Freedom Fighter
• CH-47 Chinook Medium lift helicopter
• RC-3 Seabee
• MD Flamant

Vietnamese Air Force (North Vietnam)

• The South Vietnamese Air Force 1951-1975] Pictures, stories