A New Era in Aerial Warfare Began During the Korean War

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By June 27, Lockheed F-80C Shooting Stars–the first operational jet fighters in the USAF–of the 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing had also arrived to help cover the continuing evacuation of civilians before the Communist offensive. Two C-54s and 11 Douglas C-47s were flying from Itazuke to Kimpo and Suwon airfields near Seoul and 11 F-82Gs of both the 68th and the 339th squadrons were providing escort, with the F-80Cs flying top cover for the Twin Mustangs at high altitude.

Suddenly, a Yak-9 attacked a formation of five F-82s from the 68th, trying to pick off the Number 4 aircraft, crew by 1st Lt. Charles "Chalky" Moran and radar observer (R-O) Fred Larkins. Although the North Korean’s attack was somewhat more determined than that of the day before, it did no more good, as 10 aroused Twin Mustangs pounced on him. Understandably unnerved, the communist pilot broke off his attack and tied to escape the hail of lead that he had brought upon himself while a mixed bag of two more Yak-9s, an La-7 and a Yak-11 trainer joined the melee in an attempt to help their comrade out. According to one of his squadron mates, Lieutenant Keith Bobo, it was the Yaks’ intended victim, Moran, who finally got in the decisive burst of six .50-caliber machine guns that shot down his attacker. A few minutes later, the F-82 team of 1st Lt. William G."Skeeter" Hudson and R-O Carl Fraser downed the Yak-11. The 339th had also joined the dogfight, and Major James W. Little of that unit shot down the La-7, while Lieutenant Walt Hayhurst came away with credit for a "damaged probable." It might be noted that Major Little typified the disparity in training that made the principal difference in evaluating the performance of the FEAF versus the NKAF. What for the North Korean airmen was their first war was Little’s second; flying P-51 Mustangs in the 75th Fighter Squadron, 23rd Fighter Group, 14th Air Force, during World War II, he had already accounted for six Japanese aircraft over China. Most of the American Squadrons had the benefit of the cadre of veterans with similar experience.

After the victorious Twin Mustangs returned, official Air Force credit for the first American aerial victory of the Korean conflict was given to Hudson. Keith Bobo later explained that apparent injustice: "Moran failed to come back from a night mission a few weeks later and since Hudson survived, the decisions seems to have been made to give credit to the living. The media was partly responsible for the confusion, too, since reporters were trying to interview everyone at the same time at the end of the mission and it got printed, I think, incorrectly.

An hour later, eight Il-10s tried to slip in and hit the transport aircraft on the ground, only to find four F-80Cs of the 35th Fighter Bomber Squadron waiting to streak down on them. In minutes, four of the Il-10s were shot down–one each to Captain Ray Schillereff and Lieutenant Robert Dewald, while Lieutenant Robert E. Wayne scored a double kill. The remaining four turned for home and survived only because the Shooting Star pilots had no orders authorizing pursuit–only defense of the evacuation. The F-80 jockeys had the satisfaction of chalking up a second "first" for the day: the first aerial victories for the American jets.

On June 29, the first arrivals of a soon-to-be sizable contingent of F-51D Mustangs made their first contribution to the struggle. The aircraft had been delivered to ROKAF, but their pilots were American, Prior to delivery, the Mustangs became embroiled in engagements with North Korean aircraft, during which 1st Lt. Harry T. Sandlin and 2nd Lt. Orrin R. Fox of the 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron shot down an La-7 and two Yak-9s, respectively, while 1st Lt. Richard J. Burns of the 35th Fighter-Bomber Squadron accounted for an Il-10.

For all intents and purposes, the aerial combats of June 27 had decided who controlled the sky over Korea. The FEAF had established a moral ascendency that would go virtually unchallenged for the next four months. Although the Yak-9U and Yak-9P were roughly comparable in performance to their main piston-engine FEAF adversaries, the F-51 Mustang and F-82 Twin Mustang, they were clearly outclassed by the American jet fighters, which could fly 200 mph faster. More important was the disparity in training and experience. If the North Korean pilots’ tentative aggressiveness betrayed an unpromising degree of uncertainty as to their abilities, their attitude in the months to come suggested that their self-confidence had been effectively shattered.

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Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Airborne Operations, Historical Conflicts, Korean War

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