SOURCE: Dan's History,
http://www.danshistory.com/aircover.shtml

SA-2 Surface to Air Missile on Launcher

At the start of the conflict most planners thought that some triple A (Flak) was all they were going to have to deal with. But as the fighting intensified sophisticated surface-to-air missiles appeared in ever increasing numbers. With the help of Soviet and Chinese technicians they were being used with deadly effect as part of an intergrated air defense network. Soon U.S. pilots were flying into the most heavily defended airspace since World War II Berlin.

The M38/39 37mm automatic gun formed the backbone of anti-aircraft artillery forces in the North. This weapon lacked radar control capability but used a highly effective optical lead computing gunsight. With an effective range of 3 km planes flying as high as 3,000ft could be hit.

On July 23, 1965, the U.S. lost its first plane to a Soviet-built SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile.) SAM sites were first detected in North Vietnam on April 5, 1965. The next month a U.S. Navy plane was lost to a SAM and the U.S. began a series of special missions named "Iron Hand" against the rapidly expanding missile sites. Most were near the Hanoi-Haiphong area, but Washington had exempted these from air attack. However, sites in other areas were fair game. By the end of the 1965 a total of 56 SAM sites had been located by U.S. reconnaissance aircraft.

The central component of this array of hardware was the Fan Song (NATO code name) radar, which guided first-generation Soviet SA-2 Guideline SAMs to their airborne targets. With a 195-kg (430lb) high-explosive warhead, a slant range of about 30 miles and a speed in excess of Mach 3, the SA-2 proved to be accurate and difficult to evade. To its detriment, however, its liquid-fueled sustainer rocket motor left a long tongue of fire and a visible smoke trail easily detected by pilots.

MiG-17 and MiG-21 Soviet Fighter Aircraft

MiG-17 Fresco

MiG-21 Fishbed

Early in the war encounters between Migs and U.S. jets were rare but they increased steadily as the conflict grew larger. The two main fighters North Vietnam used were the Mig-17 and the supersonic Mig-21. The Mig-19 also served in small numbers but was virtually identical to the Mig-17. Both planes are primitive by western standards but possess superb maneuverability and multiple heavy cannon. The Mig-21 is significantly more advanced having better radar and heat-seeking air-to-air missiles as well as cannon.

Anti Aicraft Artilery (AAA)

Guns ranged from peasants with rifles to automatic weapons like heavy machine guns to heavy AAA. The anti-aircraft guns in ’66 were mostly 37/57mm fired in barrage sectors and 85mm fired optically or with FireCan radar guidance. Intel reported guns as big as 100 and 130mm but there was no way to distinguish in flight from the 85s.