National Geographic: War Heroes of the Skies

Vietnam Dogfight (1x5)

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Lord Ashcroft KCMG looks back at the events of July 1966. With North Vietnam's squadron of MiG-21s hammering the US Air Force, the embattled men of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing needed a hero to whip them into shape. Enter Colonel Robin Olds, a WWII veteran airman, who charged in and commanded respect with his unbreakable courage. But devising a tactic to beat North Vietnam in the air would not come easily. Olds and his men eventually came up with an audacious plan: set a 20th Century Trojan Horse trap high up in the air. To do this they would need to masquerade their F4 Phantom fighter jets as THUD bombers to lure the North Vietnamese MiGs into open skies, then take them down in a ferocious dogfight. Dubbed Operation BOLO, the top-secret scheme was hugely complex – one false move could have proven deadly for them all. Olds won the confidence of top brass and got the green light. On January 2nd, 1967, the 8th Tactical, led by Olds, provoked a ferocious airborne battle and attempted to change the course of the Vietnam War.