Thursday 8 October 2020

Shenyang F-6, Vietnamese users

 

The Shenyang F-6 is the export denomination that the Chinese gave to their own version of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 supersonic fighter. 
During the 1960s, the North Vietnamese government was supplied with an unknown number of F-6s and FT-6 trainers by the Chinese to employ them against the American-backed South Vietnamese state.  
These fighters, when compared to the more modern MiG-21, which were active with the North Vietnam Democratic Republic Air Force (NVDRAF), were more successful than expected as the supersonic capabilities of the MiG-21 weren't as useful in combat as originally thought because aerial dogfights at the time were conducted almost entirely at sub-sonic speeds. 
The F-6 (and the MiG-19 too) was found to be more manoeuvrable than the MiG-21 and, although slower, its acceleration during dogfights was considered adequate. 
In fact, one unit of the NVDRAF was almost entirely equipped with the F-6, the 925th Fighter Regiment, from 1969 onwards. They served until late 1970s when they were replaced by more modern types.










Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenyang_J-6
2. Midland Publishing - Aerofax - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19. The Soviet Union's First Production Supersonic Fighter
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

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