A B-52 Once Shot Down a MiG Fighter Over Vietnam
Airman First Class Albert Moore became the last B-52 gunner to down an enemy aircraft with rear guns in any American war.
America’s war in Vietnam was a strategic failure. None of its main objectives for intervening were achieved, and the United States was left weaker as a result. But within that conflict, there were some bright spots. One of those was the outstanding performance of the iconic B-52 Stratofortress, the U.S. Air Force’s long-range strategic bomber that first flew during the Truman administration—and will continue flying at least until the plane reaches 100, if not beyond.
There have been multiple variants of these birds. Back in the Vietnam War, the B-52D was the main variant burning the skies over North Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
The Diamond Lil
A single B-52D, nicknamed the “Diamond Lil,” stands out. This was a bomber that ultimately flew more than 15,000 hours and conducted more than 200 combat missions before she was decommissioned and brought to the United States Air Force Academy for display at the North Entrance.
One the Diamond Lil’s crewmembers, the then-18 year old Airman First Class Albert Moore, remains a legend in the B-52 community today. That’s because, while participating in Operation Linebacker II in December 1972—during the derisively named “Christmas Bombings” ordered by President Richard M. Nixon—the massive bomber shot down a Vietnamese MiG-21.
The MiG-21 Threat to American Bombers
Diamond Lil’s target were the North Vietnamese railroad yards at Thai Nguyen. But the North Vietnamese had other ideas about what was going to happen the night of Christmas Eve over North Vietnam. Following the Soviet Union’s gift of around 200 MiG-21s to the North Vietnamese Air Force early in the war, the jets had plagued US warplanes and bombers over the skies of Indochina.
Indeed, even the American pilots of F-4 Phantom IIs, the best warplane in the Vietnam War, believed the MiG-21s were their greatest adversaries in the unfriendly skies. Of course, F-4s were built for air-to-air combat, and these warbirds made mincemeat of their MiG-21 rivals, shooting down upwards of 30 percent of North Vietnam’s fleet. Nevertheless, the MiG-21 was undoubtedly the best warplane in North Vietnam’s Soviet-provided arsenal.
What’s more, the North Vietnamese were brilliant adversaries, constantly adapting their fighting force against the American juggernaut. On the ground, the North Vietnamese and their Viet Cong allies embedded amongst the population of South Vietnam mastered the art of guerilla war. In the air, because of the superiority of the F-4 Phantom IIs, the North Vietnamese developed similar guerilla attacks against the Americans. Notably, they crafted the daring use of aerial hit-and-run tactics against U.S. warplanes.
One element of those tactics was the preference for attacking relatively vulnerable American bombers, rather than risking it all against the superior F-4s in dogfights.
Airman Moore Takes On a MiG-21 at Night
Bombers are not meant for air-to-combat. They’re ground pounders. But on the night of December 24, 1972, Airman First Class Moore had to take his B-52 and turn it into a fighter killer.
When a MiG-21 lined up to blast Moore’s B-52D out of the sky, the young airman, a tail gunner, sprang into action, opening fire with his air-cooled Browning AN-M3 .50 caliber machine gun. Unlike during WWII, where gunners had to be physically in the rear to shoot the rear guns, Moore was able to remotely control his rear guns from a safer location in the aircraft.
Airman First Class Moore, who a year before had been a senior in his local high school, now found himself high over the deadly skies of North Vietnam lighting up enemy positions below while doing his utmost to keep he and his brothers-in-arms on the plane alive to fight another day. And he did just that. The MiG-21 was obliterated, thanks to the fast actions of the young Moore. His plane became a legend, and now sits at the North Gates of the United States Air Force Academy in perfect condition.
Honoring Airman Moore Decades Later
Moore joined the ranks of legends in the B-52 community. Specifically, Moore became one of only two B-52 crewmembers in the entire Vietnam War who managed to shoot down an attacking MiG-21. Moore was the only B-52 gunner who managed to blast a MiG-21 with the B-52D’s potent rear guns.
What’s more, Airman Moore became the last B-52 gunner to down an enemy aircraft with rear guns in any American war. In the following decades, air-to-air combat incidents dwindled, and the Air Force ultimately removed the tail guns from all B-52s following a friendly fire accident during Desert Storm.
Albert Moore served in the Air Force from 1972-1975. He was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on the night of December 24, 1972. Sadly, this hero passed away at the age of 55 in 2009.
The Air Force Gunners Association, however, did not forget his service, and cemented his mythological status in the B-52 community by honoring him at the U.S. Air Force Academy on October 9, 2024, with a plaque placed at the display of the Diamond Lil at the Air Force Academy. Both Moore and the B-52D he flew on, Diamond Lil, will forever be remembered as one of the greatest bombers in American history.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a Senior Fellow at the Center for the National Interest, and a contributor at Popular Mechanics, consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
