F-86 Sabre Aces of the 4th Fighter Wing PDF
Preview F-86 Sabre Aces of the 4th Fighter Wing
O S P R E Y A I R C R A F T O F T H E A C E S ® • 7 2 F-86 Sabre Aces of the 4th Fighter Wing Warren Thompson © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com SERIES EDITOR: TONY HOLMES OS P RE Y A IRC R AF T OF T HE AC E S • 7 2 F-86 Sabre Aces of the 4th Fighter Wing Warren Thompson O SPREY PUBLISHING © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 6 CHAPTER ONE THE NEED FOR SPEED 7 CHAPTER TWO MEETING THE MiG CHALLENGE 18 CHAPTER THREE COCKPIT TIME WITH THE ACES 49 CHAPTER FOUR MiG MONITORING 66 APPENDICES 82 COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY 92 INDEX 96 5 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com N INTRODUCTION O I T C U D O R T N AstheColdWarheatedupwiththecommunistblockadeofBerlininJune1948,thetoppriorityforthe I armedforcesoftheUnitedStateswashomelanddefence.Atthattime,thefirstproductionexamplesof theF-86ASabrewerejustrollingoffNorthAmerican’sInglewood,California,assemblyline.Thebest fighterofitsgeneration,theSabrewasthenstilleightmonthsawayfromenteringfrontlineservice.Andonce F-86As began to reach USAF fighter groups, they had one simple mission to perform – to defend North AmericafromattackbySovietlong-rangebombers. Asadirectresultofthispolicy,nofightergroupsoutsideofthecontinentalUnitedStateshadreceivedthe superiorSabrebythetimeNorthKoreanT-34-85tanksrolledsouthacrossthe38thParallelandheadedfor Seoulon25June1950.DespitethisactofaggressionhavingcaughttheUSmilitary,anditsSouthKorean,allies bysurprise,theUSAFinparticularwasconfidentthatitcouldsecureaerialsupremacyoverthebattlefieldwith itsLockheedF-80ShootingStars,whichwerebasedinnearbyJapan.Afterall,theNorthKoreanPeople’sAir Force(NKPAF)wasequippedexclusivelywithWorldWar2-vintagepiston-enginedaircraftsuppliedbythe SovietUnion. Forthefirstfivemonthsofthewar,theF-80sdidindeeddominateNorthKoreanskies,prevailingoverthe handfulofNKPAFYak-9/11s,La-7sandIl-10sthatwereencountered.However,thefirstsignthattheLockheed fighter’sundisputeddominancewassoontocometoanendcameduringtheafternoonof1November1950. TwoF-51Mustangpilotsofthe18thFighter-BomberGroup(FBG)spottedapairofswept-wingfightersnear theYaluRiver.Oneweeklater,1LtRussellJBrownoftheF-80C-equipped16thFighterSquadron/51stFighter Wingclaimedtheworld’sfirstjet-versus-jetvictorywhenhedownedoneofsixsilverswept-wingMiG-15sthat hadjumpedaflightofF-51Ds. DespitethisfirstsuccessfortheShootingStar,itquicklybecameobviousthattheMiG-15wasafarsuperior fighterthatboastedahigherspeedandgreaterceilingthanthestraight-wingF-80C.Althoughthisengagement provedthattheShootingStarcouldcopefornow,increasingnumbersofMiG-15swouldsoonchallengetheair superioritythatUnitedNations’forceshadenjoyedsincetheconflicthadcommenced.Eagertopreventthis fromhappening,theFarEastAirForce(FEAF),whichcontrolledallUSAFassetsin-theatre,madeanurgent requesttotheAirForceHighCommandthatitimmediatelybesentF-86Sabres.Within72hoursofthefirst all-jetdogfighthavingtakenplace,ordershadbeencutthatwouldseetheUSAF’ssecondSabrefightergroupsent toKorea. Furthermore,StrategicAirCommand’sbestfighterescortwing(equippedwithF-84EThunderjets)would alsobecommittedtocombattohelprelievesomeofthepressurebeingexertedontheF-80unitsthatwere flyingcloseairsupport,interdictionandfighterescortmissions. TheF-86unitflaggedfordeploymenttothewarzonewasthe4thFW,whichhadbeenonlythesecondwing toreceiveSabresinMarch1949.WithinhoursofbeingtoldthatitwasKorea-bound,theunithaddespatched 49jetstoNavalAirStation(NAS)NorthIsland,inSanDiego,and26aircrafttoSanFrancisco,wheretheF-86s werequicklyloadedontoanaircraftcarrierandcivilian-ownedfasttankersasdeckcargo,destinedforJapan.By mid-December,aircraft,servicingequipmentandpersonnelwerein-theatre,thejetssubsequentlybeingflown toKimpoAirBase,nearSeoul. Forthenext31months,the4thFWwouldplayacentralpartinthestruggleforaerialsupremacyoverNorth Korea.MuchofthisfightingwouldtakeplaceinthecondensedairspaceinthenorthwesterncorneroftheKorean Peninsulaknownas‘MiGAlley’.Indeed,USAFstatisticspublishedsoonafterthewarhadendedstatedthat90 percentofallMiG-15sengagedsouthoftheYaluRiverwereencounteredin‘MiGAlley’. AsthedeedsoftheSabrepilotsresonatedeastacrossthePacific,theUSmediabegantopickuponthe‘jetace race’thatwasbeingfoughtoutoverNorthKorea.ThereportingoftheSabrepilots’exploitsstruckachordwith thegeneralpublicthathadnotbeenseeninAmericasincethedaysofGenClaireLChennault’s‘FlyingTigers’ inChinaadecadeearlier.Muchofthefightingwasbeingdonebythe4thFW,andsome23ofthe39Sabreaces 6 toemergefromtheKoreanWarhailedfromthewing.Thisvolumechroniclestheirstory. © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com THE NEED T H E N E E D FOR SPEED F O R S P E E D Whenthe4thFWreceiveditsorderstoheadtoKoreaon11 November1950,thewingfounditselfhavingtogatherup aircraft, personnel and equipment spread across three differentlocations.The4thhadbeenoperatingjetsfromthreeeastcoast airfields–itsheadquartersandthe334thFSwerebasedatNewCastle CountyAirport,Delaware,the335thFScalledAndrewsAFB,Virginia, home,andthe336thFSwasflyingoutofDoverAFB,alsoinDelaware. ThewinghadspreaditsunitsbetweenthesebasesinAugust1950. Manned primarily by combat veterans from World War 2, and boastinganenviablewartimerecordfromitsservicewiththeEighthAir ForceintheUK,the4thFWhadalreadyachievedafew‘firsts’withjet fighters. It was the first active jet fighter unit to operate from the east coast,followingitsswitchfromF-51DstoF-80CsinMarch1947,andin May1949,justtwomonthsafterreceivingitsfirstF-86As,the4thwon firstplaceinthejetclassattheUSAFGunneryMeetinLasVegas.In November1950,thewingwouldaddtothislistbybecomingthefirst unittodeployforcombatwiththeSabre. OperatedbytheMilitarySea Whenthe4thFWreceivedwordfromUSAFChiefofStaffGenHoyt TransportationServiceasa SVandenbergthatitwastoprepareforimmediatemovementtotheFar dedicatedaircrafttransportvessel, East,thewinghadlessthanaweektoprepareitself.On15November theformerWorldWar2escort carrierUSSCapeEsperance wingpersonnelandthe334thand335thFSsflewintoNASNorthIsland (CVE-88)carriedF-86Asfortwoof inpreparationforthefasttriptoJapanaboardtheaircraftcarrierUSS the4thFW’sthreesquadronsfrom CapeEsperance(CVE-88).Withthevessel’sflightdeckfullofSabres,the CaliforniatoJapaninNovember- December1950.Ittookthecarrier 336thFSwasforcedtoflytoMcClellandAFB,nearSanFrancisco,and 13daystomakethevoyageacross haveitsjetsbargedtoOakland,wheretheywereloadedaboardfourfast thePacificfromSanDiegoto tankersasdeckcargo.Thecommercialvesselsdepartedshortlybeforethe Kisarazu(JohnHenderson) 7 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com E N O R E T P A H C The4thFW’sSabresareseensitting carrier, and the ships were at sea for approximately 15 days prior to onthecrowdedflightdeckofCape arrivingattheirfinaldestinationofYokosuka,justsouthofTokyo. Esperancesoonafterthevessel’s JohnHendersonwasNorthAmerican’sseniortechnicalrepresentative arrivalattheYokosukanavyyard. sentwiththe4thFWtoJapan,andhecommentedontheearlytechnical NotethetrioofF6F-5Hellcatsinthe leftforeground(NorthAmerican) maladiesthatbesetthewingonceitreachedtheFarEast; ‘The4thexperiencedsomeseriousproblemsoncetheSabreswereoff- NorthAmericanprovidedexpert helpinthefieldwiththeirsmall loadedinJapan.Thesaltsprayfromtheheavyseasthatwereencountered armyofTechnicalRepresentatives, duringthePacificcrossinghadcausedwidespreadcorrosionbetweenthe whohelpedkeeptheSabresinthe dissimilarmetalsoftheF-86’sairfoils.Allaircraftexposedtotheelements airthroughouttheirtenureinthe onthecarrier’sflightdeckandaboardthetankershadbeenaffected.Fuel KoreanWar.Theindividualinthe blackbaseballcapisJohn contaminationfromsoftenedfuelquantitytransmittercorkfloatsinthe Henderson,whotravelledtothewar wingcellsthemselvesalsocausedproblems.Treatingthecorrosionalone zonewiththe4thFWaspartofthe delayedthewingbyaweekinreachingKorea. teamsupportingtheF-86A.Tohis ‘Althoughthetechnicalproblemsweresoonovercome,thewingwas leftisfuture51stFW‘techrep’ JamesRModdrell(JohnHenderson) stillstrugglingtofindavailablespaceforitsSabresatthesmallbasesin South Korea. All usable airfields were already jam packed with fighter-bombers(F-80sandF-51s), and the heavy transport aircraft were beating up the PSP (pierced- steel planking) runways. The only air base in South Korea that could serve the needs of the Sabres was Kimpo.Andonly32jets(ofthe75 onstrengthwiththewing),known asDetachmentA,couldinitiallybe operatedfromKoreaduetotheaus- tere facilities on-site. Our primary baseofoperationswouldtemporar- ilyremaininJapanatJohnsonAB. ‘TheDecembermovefromJohn- 8 sonABtoKimpoABwasessentially © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com carried out by the 336th FS in the T H main. This was primarily because E theunit’sjetshadarrivedinJapana N E fewdaysearlierthanCapeEsperance, ED which had been slowed by a drive F O shaft problem as it crossed the R S Pacific. This meant that the 336th P E hadalreadyrestoredanumberofits E D jetstoflyingstatusatJohnsonAB, andwasorganisingitselfforcombat, whenitstwosistersquadronsfinally arrived.Seven336thjetswereduly flown to Kimpo on 15 December, the lead aircraft being piloted by group CO, and World War 2 ace, Col John C Meyer. Additional aircraft were flown in following an F-86A-548-297ofthe334thFShas improvementintheweatheruntilDetachmentAfinallyreacheditsfull itsenginewarmedupontheKimpo ABflightlineonChristmasDay strength of 32 Sabres. We now had aircraft and pilots from all three morningafterabitterlycoldnight squadronsreadytoflycombatmissions. outintheopen.Notetheleftover ‘Due to the cold temperatures we encountered in Korea, the 125 snowfromapreviousstorm. maintenance personnel in Korea experienced great difficulties when it Amongsttheinitialbatchof SabressenttoKorea,48-297was came to servicing and rearming the jets. There was an assortment of eventuallywrittenoffon11July systemsfailuresduringthoseearlydaysofcombatoperations,including 1951whenitspilotfailedtorecover droptankproblems,stickingaileronboostcontrolvalves,laggingengines thejetfromaspinduringatraining inflight,turbine(wheel)bladetiperosion,reducedcanopyvisibilityand flightfromJohnsonAB (JohnHenderson) an assortment of hydraulic leaks. There were also several cases of frost bittenfingersforthegroundcrewworkingoutintheopen,anditwasso Weatherconditionswerealways coldthatabucketofwaterwouldfreezejusteightfeetfromthetentstove aproblemattheforwardoperating thatwasgoingfullblast!’ basessuchasTaeguandSuwon. Despitewrestlingwithextremeweatherconditions,andtheimpactit ThePSPrunwaysandtaxiways atbothsiteswassoonleftinpoor hadontheirjets,thepersonnelofDetachmentAremainedfocusedon conditionduetothedozensof theirprimarymission–maintainingairsuperiorityoverNorthKorea,no heavytransportaircraftthat matter what the cost. The Sabre pilots also flew a handful of fighter- shuttledthroughtheairfieldsona dailybasis.These4thFWpilotsare bomber escort and weather reconnaissance missions over northwest tryingtomakeitouttotheflightline Korea.The4thFWsoongotusedtothisdailycombatroutinein-theatre inearly1951duringalatewinter fromKimpo,whichremainedunchanged,barashortperiodofbasing thaw(JackWingo) fromSuwonandTaeguABsduring theearlymonthsof1951. INTO COMBAT Recordsstatethatthe4thFW’sini- tialtemporarydutytotheFarEast sawatotalof131officersand413 enlistedmenmakethemove.These figures included pilots and support personnel.Theresponsibilityplaced onthemwasconsiderable,forthey were about to enter an uncertain arenainwhichtheenemy’scapabili- ties were relatively unknown. Indeed, as they settled into their 9 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com E N O R E T P A H C temporary bases in Japan, the question on every pilot’s mind was just TheairbasesinJapanwereinfar howtoughwouldthenewMiG-15be,andwhatwereitscharacteristics, betterconditionthanthoseinSouth Korea,asthisphotographofthe especiallyitsstrengthsandweaknesses? 334thFS’sF-86A-549-1193at Intelligence sources were of little help. All they had to go on were JohnsonABinearly1951proves. camera-gunpicturesandsketchydescriptionsprovidedbyF-51andF-80 Thisairfieldwasusedasamajor pilots who had usually viewed the aircraft from afar. One thing was stagingareaforthe4thFWprior toitsunitsheadingtoKoreafor knownforcertainthough.TheMiG-15couldclimbfasterthananything combat(JohnHenderson) seenbefore–anominousportentofitscapabilities,especiallywhenflown byanexperiencedpilot.Andanotherthing–theMiGswouldbeflying Ahigh-scoringMustangacewith just a short distance from their Manchurian bases, leaving them with the352ndFGinWorldWar2,Col JohnCMeyer,seenhereontheleft, plenty of fuel for a fight. The F-86s, on the other hand, would have wenttoKoreawiththe4thFWasits travelledabout200milesbythetimetheyarrivedover‘MiGAlley’.They groupcommander.Thisphotograph wouldbelowonfuel,forevenwhenfittedwithtwo120-gallonexternal wastakenatSuwonABinMarch 1951,Meyerdiscussingtacticswith droptanks,theSabre’scombatradiuswasonlyabout500miles. someofhispilotspriortoflyingyet On15December4thFWCOColJohnCMeyerledadetachmentof anothermission.Heclaimedtwo F-86AsfromJohnsontoKimpo.Wingrecordsstatethatat1550hrsthat MiG-15kills(AlBeaty) same day, seven Sabres flown by pilotsofDetachmentAleftKimpo for the North Korea-Manchuria border. Although this flight was performedprimarilyfororientation andfamiliarisationpurposes,itrep- resented the Sabre’s first venture overenemy-heldterritory.Themis- sion passed without event, as no MiGs were sighted, and another patrol scheduled for the following day was cancelled due to bad weather. The first clash was post- poned,butnotforlong. On 17 December 336th FS CO LtColBruceNHintonledaflight of F-86s on a combat air patrol alongtheYaluRiver.Itdidnottake longforthemtoarousetheenemy’s attention,andtheflight’sNo2man warned of four bogies flying in a southeasterly direction toward the 10 Sabres. The No 3 pilot called that © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com they were swept-wing jets. Hinton T H subsequentlydescribedthathistoric E firstencounter; N E ‘The No 2 pilot in our flight ED observed four bogies coming from F O Sinuiju, and our No 3 confirmed R S the sighting as swept-wing types. P E Theywereatapproximately18,000 E D ftandwewereupat25,000ft.We proceeded to turn into the enemy aircraft, diving all the way. The MiGswereinbattleformation,and theyimmediatelywentintoaclimb- ing right trail. We continued our turn,andwebegantooutturnthem whilepullingaboutfiveGs.Atthattimetheenemyformationseemedto 336thFSpilots‘chewthefat’whilst loseintegrityastheyobserveduscomingin,andtheylevelledoutona enjoyingacigarettebreakatSuwon ABintheearlyspringof1951.They headingparallelwiththeYaluRiver. willsoonheadtotheirjetsandtake- ‘Ipickedouttheirleadelementtoattack,andwhenIwasatadistance offonacombatairpatrolover‘MiG ofabout4000fttheirexternaltankscameoff.Checkingmyairspeed, Alley’.Onthefarleftissquadron Imovedintothe“sixo’clock”positionoftheMiGelement.Atthattime, commanderLtColBruceHinton, whoclaimedthe4thFW’sfirst Inoticedthatwewereredlinedat0.95Mach.MyMachmeterwasquite MiG-15killon15December1950 awaypasttheredline,anditwasthefastestIhadeverflownanF-86. (JohnHenderson) ‘Our Nos 3 and 4 broke off and began pursuing the other MiG element. I picked the closest one, which was their No 2, and put my Thiswasoneoftheearly scoreboardskeptbythe335thFSat pipper squarely on where its main fuel tank should have been and Suwon.Theredstarsareconfirmed continuedtoclose.Myradiotransmitterhadgoneout,butIcouldhear kills,whilsttheothersaredamaged theotherpilotsinmyflighttalkingontheradio,andasIgottowithin orprobablevictories.JamesJabara, firingrangeIstoppedhearinganytransmissions.WhenIhadclosedto whowasthe4th’sfirstSabreace, hashisnameonthislist,despitethe within 1500 ft of the MiG I opened fire with a short burst. I noted factthathewasactuallyassigned numerous strikes with my API (armour-piercing incendiary) rounds. tothe334thFS.Thisisexplainedby Theyfoundtheirmark,andIspottedfluid/smokeleakingfromseveral thefactthatthe335thFSwasthe holesintheMiG’swing–thiswaseitherfuelleakingfrominternaltanks parentunitatSuwoninthespring of1951,andpilotsfromthe334th orsmokefrommyburningAPIrounds. and336thFSswouldrotatethrough ‘ItwasatthispointthatIrealisedIdidnothavemywingmanwithme, thebasefromJohnsonAB andhadprobablylosthimwhenwemadethebreak,asnoonewasableto (RichardMerian) hearmyradiotransmission. ‘Allofasudden,thepilotofmy MiG popped his speed brakes and then retracted them immediately, whichincreasedmyrateofclosure, soIputmypipperonhistailpipeto getathisengine.Myreasoningwas thatthecoldairandnon-volatilejet fuelmightinhibitburningorexplo- sionofhisfueltanks.BeforeIcould squeezeoffanotherburst,mySabre beganviolentlytwistingandbounc- ingintheMiG’sjetwash,soIslid offtotheinsideslightly,clearingthe turbulence.Atthispoint,myrange 11 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
The list of books you might like
