Nguyễn Văn Bảy
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Nguyễn Văn Bảy (1936 – September 22, 2019), was a Vietnamese jet
fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...
for the
Vietnam People's Air Force The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF; ), officially the Air Defence - Air Force Service (ADAF Service; ) or the Vietnam Air Force (), is the Aerial warfare, aerial, Anti-aircraft warfare, air and Space warfare, space defence service branch of ...
(
North Vietnamese North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
) during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Piloting a
MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 an ...
F while assigned to the 923rd Fighter Regiment, Bay claimed 7 aerial combat victories while engaged against aircraft of the
USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
and USN: 2 F-8s, 1
F-4B The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bowers ...
, 1 A-4C and 1 F-105D. Of the 7 claimed victories, 5 are acknowledged by American documents. Of 16 VPAF (
North Vietnamese North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...
) aces during Vietnam War, only Bay, Luu Huy Chao, and Le Hai solely flew
MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 an ...
s. He authored the famous saying "In Vietnam, you meet heroes wherever you go".


Background

Nguyen Van Bay was born in 1937 in a place nowadays
Sa Đéc Sa Đéc is a Provincial city (Vietnam), Provincial city in Đồng Tháp Province in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam. It is a river port and agricultural and industrial trading center. The Sa Đéc economic zone consists of Châu Thành D ...
City, Đồng Tháp Province. He was the seventh of 11 children. At the age of 16, Bay went North to join the army to fight against the French during the
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...
(aka the
French Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Repub ...
). When the war ended in 1954,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
was temporarily divided into two states along the 17th Parallel;
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...
and
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
. Bay chose to stay in the North, at which time he lost all contact with his family. In 1962, Bay volunteered for flight training and was among the first pilot trainees sent to train in the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. As he told it, he "''went from the bicycle to the airplane with no stop in between''." He learned to drive a car only long after he began flight training. Bay and the other trainees started with
Yak-18 The Yakovlev Yak-18 (; NATO reporting name Max) is a tandem two-seat military primary trainer aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union. Originally powered by one 119 kW (160 hp) Shvetsov M-11FR-1 radial piston engine, it entered se ...
s, then moved on to
MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...
s, finally graduating to the
MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 an ...
s. Similar to U.S. pilots, the North Vietnamese usually flew 200 hours in training before going into combat. Bay's training took four years, successfully completing his training in January 1966.


Vietnam People's Air force

Bay began his combat aviation career with the 910th Air Training Regiment in Vietnam in 1959, and started
MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 an ...
training in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in the early 1960s. Bay returned to Vietnam for combat duty with the 921st Fighter Regiment, but scored his first aerial victory with the 923rd Fighter Regiment in April 1966 during the early part of the U.S.-involved Vietnam War; Bay was awarded the coveted Hero of the Vietnamese People's Armed Forces medal on 1 January 1967.Toperczer, 2015, pp. 232. Note: The following aerial engagements do not match with the number of aircraft he shot down, according to the United States Air Force. The aircraft he shot down as claimed by the
USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
are 2 F-8s, 1 F-4B, 1 A-4C and 1
F-105 The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War. It ...
D. In addition, the following engagements suggest that he shot down 8 aircraft even though he is credited with 7. Nevertheless, the following aerial-combat victories listed, at the very least, include all the kills acknowledged and credited to Nguyễn Văn Bảy by the VPAF:


October 6, 1965

Bay had his first engagement when he was attacked by an F-4 Phantom. The F-4 fired an
AIM-7 The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile) is an American medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and various other air forces and navies. Sp ...
D missile that detonated off his left wing. His MiG-17 then pitched down and started vibrating. Bay managed to land safely at
Noi Bai Nội Bài International Airport in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is the country’s second largest and busiest international airport for passenger traffic, after Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. It is currently the mai ...
airfield, just north of
Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
. He later stated, "I felt like a light boxer who confidently walked up to the ring and tried to knock out the super heavy boxers. It was not a single fight but dozens of
dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...
s. We were outnumbered four or five to one. Our thoughts were on survival, nothing more."


April 26, 1966

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
F-4C Phantom IIs participated in a strike along Route 10 at Bac Son- Binh Gia, and a flight of four MiG-17s that included pilot Nguyen Van Bay were directed by North Vietnamese ground control intercept radar (GCI) to fly at 2,500 meters and 15 km south of Bac Son-Binh Gia; due to the constant shifting of direction of flight by the U.S. aircraft, the MiG-17 pilots decided engaged the American raiders head-on, and in the ensuing melee, Luu Huy Chao claimed a Phantom shot-down, while Nguyen Van Bay scored hits on another Phantom, damaging it for certain, but couldn't confirm it as a kill.Toperczer, 2015, pp. 45.


April 29, 1966

On 29 April 1966, North Vietnamese GCI directed the 923rd Fighter Regiment MiGs into two separate battles against USAF and USN aircraft. A pilot of one flight of MiG-17s from the 923rd regiment, Bui Dinh Kinh claimed the downing of a USAF
A-1E Skyraider The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly designated AD before the 1962 unification of Navy and Air Force designations) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s, which served during the Korean War and Vietnam ...
piloted by Col. Leo "Sid" Boston; although some sources may have misidentified the loss as a USN A-4E Skyhawk piloted by ''navy Captain'' (same rank as ''air force Colonel'') L.S. Boston. In the other interception flight of the 923rd regiment MiG-17s that day, Nguyen Van Bay intercepted USAF F-105s and F-4s, shooting down the F-105D Thunderchief piloted by Lt. Donald W. Bruch of the 333rd TFS, just north of
Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
, although the US-side claims this loss was due to
AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...
; Lt. Bruch according to witnesses, was not seen to eject from his stricken aircraft, and was declared
KIA Kia Corporation (, formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry (京城精密工業) and Kia Motors Corporation) is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second larges ...
on 4 May 1966.


June 21, 1966

Bay and three other MiG-17s were sent to engage an RF-8A (reconnaissance variant) and its escorting F-8s. Despite two Migs being destroyed by the F-8s, Bay managed to down one F-8 piloted by Cole Black. While Bay and the other MiG-17s were engaging the F-8s, the lead Mig-17, piloted by Phan Thanh Trung, shot down the RF-8A.


June 29, 1966

Bay and three other MiG-17s were sent to engage F-105s heading for the fuel depots in
Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
. With the help of fellow pilot Phan Van Tuc, catching the lead F-105 off-guard, Bay shot it down. The F-105D that was downed in this engagement between Nguyen and Phan, was piloted by Capt. M.N. Jones, who then spent 2,420 days at the prison camp often referred to as the "''
Hanoi Hilton Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the capital and second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red and Black Rivers). As a municipality, Hanoi consists of 12 urban districts, 17 rural d ...
''", although as typical of American sources, the counter-claim is that Jones was shot down due to "fire from rockets and anti-aircraft cannons". According to another source, Bay shot down ace pilot James H. Kasler.


September 5, 1966

Le Thanh Chon, the senior control officer at Gia Lam airfield, vectored Bay and his wing-man Vo Van Man to an unknown target in the South. As they headed south, Bay observed a flight of A-4 Skyhawks flying away from a smoking bridge. To his front, he observed two F-8 Crusaders approaching the A-4s from the right of where he was heading. Bay and his wingman jettisoned their drop tanks in preparation for battle. The F-8s took position behind the A-4s to escort them from the bridge. Chon, watching the events on radar ordered Bay to fly forward, Bay was then given permission to engage, at which time he attacked the trailing F-8, adjusting his fire on the tracers. As his rounds struck near the canopy of the F-8, the plane began coming apart, Crusader pieces filled the air as Bay's MiG started to fly through them. Avoiding the danger, he pulled away, at the same time observing the pilot ejecting from his aircraft. The engagement lasted approximately 45 seconds, and when he landed, Plexiglas from the F-8 was found in his engine intake. The American F-8 pilot was captured shortly after ejecting, and turned out to be Wilfred K. Abbott, serving in the squadron VF-111, carrier .


September 16, 1966

In the early afternoon at Gia Lam airfield, Bay was flying in the number three position in a flight of four, when they were directed to engage US aircraft. Bay was the first to observe a flight of F-4s, and asked his flight leader, Ho Van Quy, for permission to attack, but Quy doubted they could catch up to the faster F-4s. Then Bay spotted an opportunity, the Phantoms began to make a climbing turn. Bay and his flight commenced to cut off the F-4s, he rolled in behind the F-4C piloted by Major John "Robbie" Robertson and his backseater
Hubert Buchanan Hubert E. Buchanan (born April 24, 1941) is a former United States Air Force captain and fighter pilot in the Vietnam War who was shot down, captured, and spent 2,362 days as a prisoner of war in Hanoi and surrounding areas. He was one of the firs ...
(USAF # 63–7643, 555th TFS). As he closed the range he opened fire with his cannons. The F-4 pulled hard and then eased its turn. Bay adjusted and fired again, this time observing one of the F-4's wheels flying off of its wing. Buchanan ejected and was captured as POW, while Robertson is believed to have died in the wreck of their F-4 Phantom.


September 21, 1966

On this date, Bay was flying the lead of a four-ship flight, when he was directed to a target 10 miles ahead by ground control. After a few minutes, Bay spotted two F-105s at around 10,000 to 13,000 feet. Bay banked in pursuit, knowing that F-105s normally traveled in packs of four, he looked around for the other pair. Not able to locate the other F-105s, Bay gave his wing-man, Do Huy Hoang, permission to attack. Hoang flew wide to the left,Nguyen Van Bay and the Aces from the North
(July 3, 2008)
and lined up behind the second F-105. Hoang waited for the "Thuds" to turn, but instead they rolled into a shallow bank. Bay's flight had flown into an ambush. Flying low to avoid radar behind the first F-105s were First Lieutenant Karl Richter and Captain Ralph J. Beardsley. Richter jettisoned his rocket pods and lined up behind Hoang. Richter fired his M61 Gatling gun on Hoang. The airplane rolled on its own to wings level. Hoang lit the afterburner on his MiG and tried to regain control as his jet rolled to the right. Hoang's left wing was in tatters from Richter's Gatling Gun. Hoang checked his engine instruments and thought he was going to be fine, but then the plane began to come apart. Hoang had to eject. Bay, now alone, and with his fuel becoming low, found himself dodging multiple missiles from US aircraft;however, they began to depart North Vietnam's air space. At this time, Bay spotted Vo Van and followed him back to base.


January 21, 1967

On this day at 14:45 hours, GCI directed a flight of four 923 regiment MiG-17s: Ho Van Quy, Phan Thanh Tai, Nguyen Van Bay and Vo Van Man. Just minutes after takeoff, Nguyen Van Bay made visual contact with an incoming flight of 20 F-105s and 4 F-4 Phantoms from 10 km away. At this point in time, the U.S. Thunderchiefs and Phantom crews also made visual contact with the VPAF MiGs, and were forced to jettison their bomb loads; the F-4s attacked the MiGs first, without success Ho Van Quy quickly approached a flight of F-105 with an advantageous shooting position at only 500–600 meters from his target F-105, but failed to score a hit. However, Nguyen Van Bay was able to shoot down the F-105D piloted by Capt. W.R. Wyatt (s/n 62-4278, of the 469th TFS/388th TFW) and claiming his 6th aerial victory, however, after Capt. Wyatt was rescued, US-side claimed the Thunderchief was shot-down by AAA.


April 24, 1967

Bay, assigned as flight leader, was scrambled from Kien An airfield. His flight was to intercept a United States Navy air raid at the
Haiphong Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of , consisting of 8 urban districts, 6 rural districts and 1 municipal city (sub-city). Two o ...
docks. Bay closed in on an unsuspecting F-8 Crusader piloted by Lt. Cdr. E.J. Tucker, and shot it down. Tucker ejected but later he died in North Vietnamese captivity. The escorting F-4s then counterattacked Bay's flight. The F-4s fired several Sidewinders at Bay, but with his wing-man's warning, he was able to dodge them all. Bay was then able to maneuver himself into a good shooting position against the crew of the USN F-4B (BuNo 153000) from
VF-114 Fighter Squadron 114 (VF-114) was a fighter squadron of the United States Navy that was active from 1945 through 1993. Nicknamed the "Aardvarks", it was based out of Naval Air Station Miramar, California. The squadron flew combat missions duri ...
, USS ''Kitty Hawk'' (CVA-63) piloted by Lcdr. Charles E. Southwick along with RIO Ens. James W. Laing (call sign ''Linfield 210'') and claimed his seventh victory, however, Lcdr. C.E. Southwick and his RIO Ens. J.W. Laing believed that they had been "shot down by AAA" according to some sources, while "running out of fuel" according to others (the
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
n squadron ''Doan Z'' claimed an "F-4 shot-down", however the only other loss from U.S. carrier aircraft that day was an A-6A ''Intruder'' (BuNo 152589) of VF-85, also from the USS ''Kitty Hawk'', of which the U.S. claims to have been shot-down by AAA; both Lt(jg) L.I. Williams and Lt(jg) M.D. Christian became captured POWs). While both Lcdr. Southwick and Ens. Laing safely ejected out at sea and were rescued on that 24 April 1967 day, they were again shot-down on 14 May 1967, possibly by either MiG-17 ace fighter pilot Vo Van Man, or Nguyen The Hon, both of whom were also shot-down (and KIA) on this day; both U.S. pilot Lcdr. Southwick and RIO Ens. Laing became captured POWs.


April 25, 1967

Bay and his flight were able to bring down two American A-4 Skyhawks. One A-4 was shot down by Bay himself while the other was shot down by his wing-man. Bay was awarded the Hero's Medal of the Vietnamese People's Army for his outstanding skill and bravery in combat, and for his superb leadership of his flight.


April 29, 1967

In the afternoon of this day, Nguyen Van Bay was among a flight of MiG-17s flying out of Hoa Lac on a heading of 120-degrees over to Hoa Binh, where he made visual contact of F-4 Phantoms from 8 km out, and engaging them in three-minutes time from the initial visual identification; he would quickly shoot-down one of the four USAF F-4Cs from the 389th TFS, piloted by Lt. L.H. Torkleson (POW) along with his WSO G.J. Pollin (KIA); the US-side claims the loss of this Phantom due to AAA.


Early 1972

It is a common misconception that this ''Nguyen Van Bay'' was the pilot who attacked the USS Oklahoma City on April 19, 1972. Rather, it was a different ''Nguyen Van Bay'', or ''Bay B'', who was downed and killed in Thanh Hoa province on May 6 the same year. In 1971 ''Bay B'' and his fellow pilot ''Le Xuan Di'' were trained in anti-ship warfare by a Cuban advisor. On April 19, 1972, the two men from the 923rd Fighter Regiment flew their MiG-17s, each armed with two 250 kg bombs, towards the open sea in what was known as the
Battle of Đồng Hới The Battle of Đồng Hới was a clash between United States Navy warships and Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17, MiG-17F fighter bombers and shore batteries on 19 April 1972, during the Vietnam War. This was the second ...
''Le Xuan Di'' headed his aircraft for the US
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
, whilst ''Nguyen Van Bay'' struck for the US Navy
light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
, which had been shelling targets in
Vinh Vinh () is the capital of Nghệ An province and an economic and cultural center of North-Central Vietnam. A key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, the city is situated in the Southeast of ...
City. ''Bay's'' two bombs caused only slight damage to the ''Oklahoma City'', as they may have been "near misses", while ''Di'' was able to score a direct hit on the destroyer ''Higbee'''s aft 5" (127 mm) gun turret with one of his two 250 kg bombs. This was the first successful air strike made by an enemy jet fighter bomber on a US Navy warship while actively engaged in combat. The , providing escort for the damaged warship, reportedly destroyed an enemy MiG interceptor. Following the initial attack, the USS ''Sterett'' deployed her
RIM-2 Terrier The Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), among the earliest SAMs to equip United States Navy ships. It underwent significant upgrades while in service, starting with beam-riding guidance with a r ...
missiles and destroyed an SS-N-2 "Styx" surface to surface missile in mid flight. The missiles were thought to have been launched from North Vietnamese patrol boats.


Grounding and Post-War Retirement

Bay's victories made headlines in North Vietnam and fame soon followed. He dined regularly with
Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...
and reportedly, was amongst his favorites. Bay was grounded sporadically, and then permanently. As is often the practice in many countries, high ranking "
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...
s" are often grounded during a continuing war, to utilize their attained status to inspire future generations. After the war, he retired to a life of farming and gardening.


Association with the Number 7

Nguyen Van Bay flew the MiG-17, an aircraft that was considered outdated at the time due to its lack of radar and missiles, and its maximum speed of only Mach 0.9. Despite these limitations, through effective tactics, he achieved significant success. Between 1966 and 1967, he flew 94 sorties, engaged in 13 aerial battles, and shot down seven American aircraft, making him the most successful MiG-17 pilot of the Vietnam War. Remarkably, he was never shot down. After 1967, in accordance with a policy to preserve experienced pilots, Bay was reassigned to a training role, where he mentored and passed on his combat experience to new generations of Vietnamese pilots. He often remarked on his frequent encounters with the number seven, noting: "I am the seventh child, joined the army at 17, studied for seven days, skipped seven grades, shot down seven American planes with the MiG-17 seven times, and was awarded the Hero of the People's Armed Forces title in 1967."


Death

On September 16, 2019, Bay suffered a stroke while gardening at his home in Lai Vung District. He was initially treated at Sa Dec General Hospital (Dong Thap) before being transferred to Military Hospital 175 in Ho Chi Minh City. He passed away on September 22, 2019, at 9:00 p.m. at the age of 83. His funeral was attended by thousands, including Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee
Nguyen Thien Nhan Nguyễn (阮) (sometimes abbreviated as Ng̃) is the most common surname of the Vietnamese people. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as ''Nguyen''. By some estimates 30 to 39 percent of Vietnamese peopl ...
, along with numerous officials and military leaders. In the condolence book, Nguyen Thien Nhan wrote: ''"Deeply mourning Hero of the People's Armed Forces Colonel Nguyen Van Bay, former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force, a 55-year Party member, an officer and patriot who dedicated his life to the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, and a shining example of revolutionary morality for future generations."'' Bay was laid to rest in his hometown in Hau Thanh Hamlet, Tan Duong Commune, Lai Vung District,
Dong Thap Dong or DONG may refer to: Places * Dong Lake, or East Lake, a lake in China * Dong, Arunachal Pradesh, a village in India * Dong (administrative division) (동 or 洞), a neighborhood division in Korea Person names Surnames *Dǒng (surname) ...
Province.


Legacy

More than ten years before his passing, a street in
Nha Trang Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh District. The city had ...
City, Khanh Hoa Province, was named after him.


See also

*
List of Vietnam War flying aces The claimed flying aces of the Vietnam War, pilots who shot down five or more enemy aircraft, include 19 Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) pilots, (six MiG-17 and 13 MiG-21 pilots), and five Americans. United States' aces All the American aces ...
*
Vietnam People's Air Force The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF; ), officially the Air Defence - Air Force Service (ADAF Service; ) or the Vietnam Air Force (), is the Aerial warfare, aerial, Anti-aircraft warfare, air and Space warfare, space defence service branch of ...


References


Bibliography

*


Further reading

*


External links


Vietnamese Aces
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Van Bay 1936 births 2019 deaths North Vietnamese Vietnam War flying aces People from Đồng Tháp province