Black Tuesday over Namsi : B-29s vs MiGs ; the forgotten air battle of the Korean War, 23 October 1951

346 Pages·2012·9.36 MB·English

by  Earl J McGill Lt Col USAF (Ret.)

Helion & Company Limited
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Originally published by Heritage Books 2008
This revised and expanded edition published by Helion & Company 2012
eBook Published 2012

Designed and typeset by Bookcraft Limited, Stroud, Gloucestershire Cover
designed by Bookcraft Limited, Stroud, Gloucestershire Printed by Gutenberg
Press Limited, Tarxien, Malta

Text © Earl J. McGill, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.) 2008, 2011
Images © as individually credited.

ISBN 978-1-907677-21-2
eISBN 978-1-908916-08-2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Front cover: This photo captures the feeling of flying a combat mission, a sense
of loneliness in the company of others as they drive on toward the target, not
knowing what awaits. (Courtesy of Glen Morris) Rear cover: Earlier daylight
combat mission photo of #44-86295, Baker Lead, commanded by Lt. William
Reeter on Black Tuesday. (Courtesy of Alan Reeter) For details of other military
history titles published by Helion & Company Limited contact the above
address, or visit our website: http://www.helion.co.uk.
We always welcome receiving book proposals from prospective authors.
Dedicated to all b-29 flight and ground personnel who
served in the forgotten war

of an event that too many refer to as “The Forgotten War” find here remembered
a story of great and common men, of bounty and sacrifice, of life and death, of
America, Korea and a freedom so costly won. Find here a story to tell to your
children so that they too may know and understand how high to carry the torch.
John N. Duquette, Lt. Col. USA (ret.) Every Man a Tiger Website
History is opaque. You see what comes out, not the script that produces events
… There is a fundamental incompleteness in your grasp of such events, since
you do not see what’s inside the box, how the mechanisms work … the
generator of historical events is different from the events themselves, much as
the minds of the gods cannot be read just by witnessing their deeds.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Black Swan
Contents

List of Illustrations, Maps and Diagrams
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction

1. The Mission
2. The Korean Air War
3. The Combatants
Secret Soviet Involvement
America’s “Retreads”
4. The Machinery of War
Radio and Radar
SHORAN
Anti-aircraft Artillery (AAA)
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
5. Prelude to Disaster
6. Target: Namsi Airfield
7. Black Tuesday, October 23, 1951
8. Aftermath
9. Analysis, Conclusions and Reflections

Appendix I American B29 Crew Rosters
Appendix II Casualty Lists
Appendix II Soviet Crew Rosters
Appendix IV Biographical Sketches of Selected Combatants

Notes and References
Bibliography
eBooks Published by Helion & Company
List of Illustrations,
Maps and Diagrams

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I know you are with me”. Late
evening during the walk-around lull before take-off
Route to Target
B-29 # 44-27347, Baker Three on Black Tuesday, being preflighted before a
mission
Rolland Miller, left gunner on Able Lead
Nick Kourafas, Able Lead bombardier
Paul Stainbrook (l) and Dewell Turner (r)
Baker Three enlisted crew members in 307BW tent area
Photo of Able Lead Crew taken before Capt. Clarence Fogler took over as
aircraft commander
Baker Lead crew receives a last minute briefing from the aircraft commander,
Lt. William Reeter, before starting engines
Able Three crew officers get-together before going overseas
Able Two crew, commanded by Capt. James Lewis (front, left), shortly after
Black Tuesday mission. Note cannon hole in vertical fin
Fred Meier’s Diary, 21–23 October 1951
Fred Meier’s Diary, 23 October 1951, pages 2 & 3
Fred Meier’s Diary, 23–28 October 195
At the start of the Korean War #42-65272 was one of 22 operational B-29s
assigned to the Far East’s 19th Bombardment Group
Kadena AFB, c. 1951
Records indicate that the first B-29 bombing raid of the Korean War was carried
out by The Outlaw, Lucky Dog, Atomic Tom and Double Whammy.
Atomic Tom was the only one of the four to survive the war
Double Whammy
Lucky Dog
Although nose art was absent from 307BW B-29s, other units such as the 19BG
encouraged the practice
A 19BG B-29, fired up and ready to go
In spite of massive aerial bombardment on 2 September 1950, American forces
were on the verge of defeat in an area that became known as the Pusan Perimeter
After destroying most of the strategic targets in North Korea, two of the B-29
groups, the 22nd and 92nd, returned to the US during October and November