Walter Todd

Air Defense of North Vietnam: 1965-1972 Walter Todd

The air defense of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War from 1965 until 1972 ranks as one of the few times in the 20th century that a country at war successfully defended the air space against an attacking country, England being the only other country to mount a successfully air defense in this century. This is even more remarkable when you consider the size and short history of the North Vietnamese Air Force and the fact its opponent maintained one of the most successful, technologically advanced and powerful air forces in the entire world. How was such a small and inexperienced air force able to defend itself against such a powerful adversary in a modern day duel of David and Goliath? Through excessive aid from the two large Communist block nations of the Soviet Union and Red China, the military limitations placed on the American air forces through the political-restraints of the U. S. government's leadership during the Cold War, and the do or die will of the North Vietnamese government and its people, this small air force outlasted the powerful United States air power, even though it never defeated the American air forces in a significant air engagement during the entire war.