Nguyen Toon
Encyclopedia
Nguyen Toon or "Colonel
Toon" or "Tomb" was a mythical
North Vietnamese fighter
pilot
and flying ace
who allegedly shot down 13 American
aircraft during the Vietnam War
. According to legend, he was killed in action on May 10, 1972, by the U.S. Navy F-4 Phantom crew of pilot Lt.
Randy "Duke" Cunningham and radar
operator Lt.(jg)
William "Irish" Driscoll
.
Toon/Tomb's name arose during the latter part of the war, being known to U.S. Navy (if not Air Force
) aviators. Photos of North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s, most notably being a MiG-17 with the bort number 3020 (the same Mig-17 which was confirmed shot down on May 10, 1972 by Cunningham and Driscoll), as well as a MiG-21 with bort number 4326, each bearing numerous red victory stars, occasionally have been identified as his aircraft. However, it was normal practice in the Vietnamese People's Air Force to add victory stars to an aircraft for all claims made while flying that aircraft regardless of the pilot assigned to fly it. The photo of 4326 was captioned in a Vietnamese official magazine as having been flown by at least nine airman, six of whom received the title "Hero of the People's Armed Forces". The most basic aspects of Toon/Tomb's life and career were never published, nor was his photo ever released. Apart from those mysterious facts, ethnologists have noted that neither Toon nor Tomb is a Vietnamese name.
It is more likely that something similar to Toon or Tomb was a radio
callsign, and a corrupted version of the story got out. Much of the information the U.S. obtained about the North Vietnamese air force came from "SigInt
" or signals intelligence, monitoring enemy radio transmissions. In the years after the war during the 1990s, American military officers visiting Vietnam have said that some of their Vietnamese hosts privately admitted to them that Colonel Toon/Tomb actually never existed and that he was a long-standing, successful propaganda fabrication.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Toon" or "Tomb" was a mythical
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
North Vietnamese fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
and flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
who allegedly shot down 13 American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
aircraft during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. According to legend, he was killed in action on May 10, 1972, by the U.S. Navy F-4 Phantom crew of pilot Lt.
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Randy "Duke" Cunningham and radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
operator Lt.(jg)
Lieutenant, Junior Grade
Lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, United States Merchant Marine USMM, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade...
William "Irish" Driscoll
William P. Driscoll
William "Willy Irish" Driscoll is a former United States Navy Flight Officer who received the Navy Cross during the Vietnam War for his role in an aerial dogfight with North Vietnamese MiGs...
.
Toon/Tomb's name arose during the latter part of the war, being known to U.S. Navy (if not Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
) aviators. Photos of North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s, most notably being a MiG-17 with the bort number 3020 (the same Mig-17 which was confirmed shot down on May 10, 1972 by Cunningham and Driscoll), as well as a MiG-21 with bort number 4326, each bearing numerous red victory stars, occasionally have been identified as his aircraft. However, it was normal practice in the Vietnamese People's Air Force to add victory stars to an aircraft for all claims made while flying that aircraft regardless of the pilot assigned to fly it. The photo of 4326 was captioned in a Vietnamese official magazine as having been flown by at least nine airman, six of whom received the title "Hero of the People's Armed Forces". The most basic aspects of Toon/Tomb's life and career were never published, nor was his photo ever released. Apart from those mysterious facts, ethnologists have noted that neither Toon nor Tomb is a Vietnamese name.
It is more likely that something similar to Toon or Tomb was a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
callsign, and a corrupted version of the story got out. Much of the information the U.S. obtained about the North Vietnamese air force came from "SigInt
SIGINT
Signals intelligence is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether between people , whether involving electronic signals not directly used in communication , or combinations of the two...
" or signals intelligence, monitoring enemy radio transmissions. In the years after the war during the 1990s, American military officers visiting Vietnam have said that some of their Vietnamese hosts privately admitted to them that Colonel Toon/Tomb actually never existed and that he was a long-standing, successful propaganda fabrication.
Further reading
- Toperczer, István, "MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War", Osprey Publishing Limited, Botley, Oxford, UK, 2001, ISBN 1-84176-162-1.