A live-fire practice of the air defence forces

PANO – The Air Defence and Air Force Service, on April 1st, celebrated the 60th anniversary of the traditional day of the Ati-aircraft Artillery in the presence of Lieutenant-General Vo Van Tuan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and Major-General Nguyen Trong Nghia, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics.

Over the 60 years of construction and development, the Anti-aircraft Artillery force has overcome many difficulties and challenges to fulfil the assigned tasks, contributing to the glorious tradition of the Vietnam People’s Army.

To meet the requirements of revolutionary tasks in the new stage of development, the Air Defence and Air Force Service as a whole has been focusing on promoting training quality, professionalism and combat readiness capacity so as to effectively manage and exploit the latest weapons and military technology to meet requirements of new tasks.

The same day, Division 367 of the Air Defence and Air Force Service held the same celebration.

The Anti-aircraft Regiment 367, the forerunner of present Division 367, was established during the resistance war against the French colonialists. It had shot down 55 enemy aircraft during the Dien Bien Phu Campaign.

In the anti-US resistance war, Division 367 downed 687 aircraft of the US Air Force, including 12 B-52 fighter bombers in the Dien Bien Phu in the Air Campaign.

Since the restoration of peace, Division 367 has been in charge of protecting the airspace, waters and islands in the Southern part of the country. Bringing into full play their heroic traditions, the unit’s soldiers have surmounted numerous difficulties to build strong party committee and strong unit. Annually, 100 per cent of its soldiers meet expected requirements of the annual training courses.

For all these achievements, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Chairman Le Hoang Quan presented the City’s Flag to Division 367 and the City’s Insignias and Certificates of Merit to other collectives and individuals.

Translated by Pham Huy