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The fierce aerial battles that became synonymous with the 1972-73 Linebacker offensive over North Vietnam saw the USAF’s F-4 Phantom II crews claim 48 MiG-19s and MiG-21s destroyed.
Episode 3190 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the final MIG kill in Vietnam – ‘ a comedy of errors’. The featured story is titled: F-4 pilot who scored the final USAF Vietnam MiG Kill explains why scoring the kill was ‘a comedy of errors’. It appeared on the Aviation Geek Club website and was submitted by Dario Leone.
Leone reported that after Rolling Thunder ended, the USAF made only limited improvements to the F-4 Phantom II’s air-to-air capability. While missile reliability and rigid tactics still hampered effectiveness, the introduction of the gun-armed F-4E brought some success, with its 20mm cannon accounting for seven MiG kills. Electronic upgrades such as the APX-80 Combat Tree IFF interrogator also improved the employment of the AIM-7 Sparrow missile. Despite these changes, when air combat resumed over North Vietnam in early 1972, MiG kill totals remained modest. Most successes came from mass missile launches at individual targets, particularly by the 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, limiting the number of pilots achieving multiple victories.
According to historian Peter E. Davies, the final USAF MiG kill of the Vietnam War occurred after Operation Linebacker II had ended. On January 8, 1973, Capt Paul Howman and 1Lt Lawrence Kullman flew an early-morning MiGCAP mission south-west of Hanoi. What followed, Howman later described as a “comedy of errors,” included aborted launches, malfunctioning radar, and a centreline fuel tank that failed to jettison without his knowledge.
Guided by Red Crown radar controllers, Howman eventually visually acquired a MiG-21 and fired two AIM-7E-2 Sparrows. Both missiles struck the still-attached centreline tank on launch, narrowly avoiding catastrophe, yet continued toward the target. One detonated near the MiG, and the second struck its belly, destroying the aircraft in mid-air. The wreckage fell through cloud cover in view of other strike aircraft.
Afterward, confusion with his wingman and additional escort duties capped an unpredictable mission, which fittingly ended with Howman unknowingly landing on the wrong runway—closing the book on the USAF’s final Vietnam MiG kill.
Listen to Episode 3190 and discover more about the final MIG kill in Vietnam – ‘ a comedy of errors’.
