Red commanders on the Alley of Mig

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American military historical The literature on the conflict in Korea created the following picture of events that became widely known: a few American F-86 pilots were opposed by hordes of MiGs, and there were 15 Soviet planes for every Saber shot down. Like any propaganda, it usually had a very distant relation to the truth. It is known that the Soviet aircraft often reigned supreme in the air above the MiG Alley. The ratio of their wins to losses was 2-3 to 1 with numerical superiority aviation The United States, whose pilots, realizing who they had to deal with, deservedly awarded their Soviet colleagues the nickname "honcho", meaning "commander" in their original (Japanese). The following article describes the arrival of the "red commanders" in Korea.

The emergence of the latest-technology MiGs in the Korean sky produced the effect of a bombshell in the corridors of the highest command of the US Air Force. The “high ranks” rightly feared, firstly, to lose their superiority over the entire Korean territory and, secondly, to be thrown into the sea due to the mass arrival of Chinese troops to North Korea from Manchuria. The most modern combat aircraft owned by the Americans were instantly transferred to the combat zone: F-86 Saber fighters (4 th Fighter Wing) and Thunderjet F-84 (27 th escort wing). During the first fights that took place on 17, 22 and 24 on December 1950, the sides lost three (USSR) and two (USA) fighters: the fact that the Communists lost their initial advantage in the air was obvious.

During January-February, 1951, the activity of “Sabrov” in the territory of the “Alley of MiGs” (conditional name implying the territory between the Yalu River, the Yellow Sea and the imaginary line passing between the cities of Pyongyang and Wonsan) was zero. American air bases near Seoul were captured by Chinese troops. The erroneous statement of the Soviet pilots about eleven victories over F-86 led to the fact that the Soviet command misinterpreted the absence of enemy aircraft in the air (as if the enemy silently admitted defeat) and made a mistake by withdrawing both units from the front (29-th Guards Fighter Aviation the regiment (GIAP) and the 177 th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP) of the 50 Fighter Aviation Division (IAD). So, the Soviet aviation in its fight against the Seibras in the battlefield was now represented only by a newcomer and 28 th and 72 th GIAP 151 th IAD.

It is reliably known that these regiments brilliantly intercepted eighteen B-29 four-engine bomber (98-th Bomber wing, which went without cover, and inflicted serious damage to nine of them (three aircraft crashed on the territory of the Daegu airbase, making an emergency landing); however, in subsequent battles (12 and 17 in March) Soviet pilots suffered a fiasco, trying to intercept the Shuting Star F-80, a model that was by no means the latest advancement in military technology. In the first battle, two MiGs collided with each other, press riding the same F-80.In the second battle, the only victory of the Soviet side was a ram MiG of Lieutenant Vasily Dubrovin F-80С, also piloted by Lieutenant Howard Landry (both pilots died). After such events it is not surprising that at the end of March after the invasion of F -86 The Soviet side did not count three of its aircraft - the Americans themselves did not suffer a single loss.

There are several reasons for this mediocre debut: the thing was mainly the lack of experience of the young pilots from the regiments mentioned. However, there is also the fact of post-war cuts in defense spending: the Soviet air regiments stationed in the Far East carried out only the minimum number of training sorties. An important factor affecting, as we will see later, and more experienced aviation units, was the order to communicate by radio exclusively in Korean or Chinese; You can easily imagine the consequences that this team had, especially during the air battle itself.

Bad start

At that time, two new regiments were deployed to the Chinese airfields (Anshan and Lyaoshu): the 176-th GIAP and the 196-IAP 324-IAD. In these units served the best Soviet pilots of the time, in addition, under the command of Colonel I.N. Kozhedub - ace "number one" of the Great Patriotic War, three times Hero of the Soviet Union (the highest Soviet military award). However, the combat debut of the new arrivals left, to put it mildly, much to be desired: April, the Sabers shot down the 3 MiG (3 regiment); even the victory over Captain Ivan, piloted by Major Ronald Shirlow, won by captain Ivan Yablokov was a very poor consolation. The American pilot, in turn, managed to land successfully near the village of Fenian, despite the fact that the fuel tanks of his plane were pierced. Both the pilot and his aircraft were captured. However, the aircraft was destroyed during the Thunderjet F-176 raid. By the way, the US Air Force is still officially attributing this loss to "malfunctions in the fuel system", while Yablokov’s photo-pistol leaves no doubt about the reason for this "failure" - 84mm projectile shells (!). The next day, Lieutenant Fedor Akimovich Shebanov managed to take a partial revenge, knocking down the second in a row F-23. The Americans still do not recognize the losses they suffered on that day, but the victory of Shebanov is indisputable, because A group of Soviet technicians under the leadership of Major V.P. Zhuchenko managed to detect the wreckage of the crashed Saber exactly at the location indicated by the young pilot.

The reason for such insignificant achievements was still in the same order, which forbade the pilots to conduct negotiations in Russian during the battle. But this time, the cup of patience was overflowing and the commanders of both regiments (Evgeny Pepelyaev and A. S. Koshel) appeared before the commander-in-chief of the Soviet air forces in Manchuria - Lieutenant-General Ivan Belov - and categorically refused to send their subordinates to battle until the moment Belov will not cancel this order. Belov, who was on the verge of deciding to remove both daredevils from office, had to surrender when their protest was supported by Colonel Kozhedub, who, in addition, wanted to send a letter justifying the absurdity of the order to Stalin. His intervention played a major role in resolving this issue, and Belov canceled the order the next day.

Change in the usual course of events

Immediately after this, fortune finally smiled at the Soviet pilots. 7 April 1951 was a group of X-NUMX B-16 bombers (29-nd BK), accompanied by 307 thunders "Thunderjet" (48-th combat escort wing (BCN)) and 27-F-16C (intended the destruction of the Chinese air defense), attacked bridges over Yalu Jiang in Huizu just a few kilometers from the main Soviet airfield, located in Andung. 80 MiGs of the 30-th GIAP have risen to their interception. Despite the numerical superiority of the Americans (at the expense of escort aircraft), several MiGs easily managed to break through the defense of the F-176, after which one of the bombers was shot down by captain Ivan Suchkov. His combat comrade, Lieutenant Boris Alexandrovich Obraztsov, in turn, was shot down by one of the F-84, and the pilot John Thompson piloting him was killed. In accordance with the data of the USAF this aircraft fell victim to the Chinese air defense.

April 10 became an outstanding day for pilots of the 196-IAP: during the battle, Lieutenant Shebanov attacked F-86 N49-1093 and inflicted him so serious damage that even though the pilot (who had remained unknown) managed to get to Kimpo, the aircraft - as completely unrepairable - was written off. An hour later, Captain Alexander Fedorovich Vasko (veteran of the Great Patriotic War) and his slave Anatoly Gogolev "cleared the sky" from two more F-80Cs piloted by Robert Lemke (captured) and Edward Alpernom (died), respectively. And, finally, some time later, Captain Viktor Alexandrovich Nazarkin riddled the third "Shooting Star", driven by Douglas Matson, crashed just two and a half kilometers from his base in Taegu (the pilot was killed). On that day, the Soviet side did not suffer any losses.

The case for a test of power fell to the pilots and 12 April 1951 of the year. On that day, American aviation dealt a large-scale strike against railway and conventional bridges crossing the Yalu Jiang in the Uiju region. The plaque involved 48 B-29A (from 19-th, 98-th and 307-th BK), followed 18-Tew "Saber" (4-th Fighter Wing), 34-mja F-84E (27-th BCS ) and, in addition, also 24-me F-80С, whose task included the destruction of air defense. Against this aerial group, consisting of 124 aircraft, the Soviet side was able to put only 44 MiG-17 from the 176 and 196 regiments (not 75, as American sources of the time assured). Thus, the numerical ratio of American and Soviet aircraft in the air was almost 3 to 1, respectively. However, Koshel and Pepelyaev were well aware that, nevertheless, there was an advantage on their side: acting as escort aircraft, LA USA (mainly Saber) proceeded at a speed not exceeding the speed of the slow B-29 - 700 km / h, and at an altitude of 7000 meters. Knowing this, they gave their pilots relevant instructions: wait at the height of 10000 meters for American aircraft to appear and, when they appeared, at the speed of 900 km / h dive from different directions to them - whether they were bombers or their accompanying ones (the Sabers did not have neither maneuverability, nor the ability to gain altitude and stop MiGs). Thus, in 9: 37 in the morning, with the advent of American planes in the air, a real phantasmagoria began: Soviet pilots intercepted the fifth wave of bombers, whose escort group was actually unable to prevent it in any way. In less than 10 minutes (from 9: 37 to 9: 44), ten B-29A and three F-80С either fell into the sea, flamed, or retreated, having received such serious damage that they had to make an emergency landing in the South Korea (while the base In-29 was located on the island of Okinawa in Japan).


One of the "Superfortress" (B-29А N42-65369, 93-I bomber squadron, attacked by Milaushkin, was forced to make an emergency landing in Caden; the plane crashed, and the subsequent fire destroyed it completely. The victim Kramarenko actually was not F -84, and F-80C N49-1842 (35-th squadron of fighters bomber 8-th Bomber wing), designed to destroy air defense.

Both Kramarenko and Milaushkin were from 176 of the GIAP, who, without suffering a single loss, collected the richest crop in the air that day: 7 from 10 В-29 and 3 Ф-80С. At the expense of the 196-IAP, there are three remaining bomber and one lost MiG, shot down, most likely, by Captain James Jabara, who piloted the Saber. The results of that battle were exaggerated by both sides. The Americans did everything possible to reduce the scale of their defeat - for this purpose they attributed to themselves several more fictional victories: the 4 of the MiG - allegedly shot down by the F-86 pilots, and 6 - the B-29 victims who fell (only that one MiG). The Soviet side, intoxicated with the taste of victory, announced the destruction of 12-ti B-29, 4-x F-80 and 2-x F-86. The destruction of a dozen "Superfortress" and three "Shooting Star" and, at the same time, only the only loss on its part, undoubtedly, is a landmark achievement, especially considering both the professionalism of the enemy and his numerical superiority. Since that day, the Americans began to pay tribute to their opponents - and the Soviet pilots were nicknamed "commanders."

It must be said that the Americans were not mistaken: the number of US aircraft that were damaged or shot down by the Soviet side in April was 25, of which there are only 4 F-86, while the number of MiGs shot down during this period is only 8 . It is obvious that since that time, air combat has acquired for Soviet pilots the character of an exam that was not passed in time; it should be noted that in the future they had to, in spite of everything, his worthy surrender.

Battle of the Titans I

After the massacre of such proportions, B-29 stopped raiding the Alley territory for a full month and a half. For the remainder of April and most of May there were, in general, a very small number of fights in the air. This respite ended abruptly: 20 of May 1951 of the year was fought between 28 “Saber” (from 334 and 336 of BEI) and 30 of MiGs from 196 of IAP (by no means 50), as later claimed by American sources).

During the battle, despite the unsuccessful attempt to reset the fuel tank, Captain James Jabara decided not to leave the formation. During his first attack, Jabara suddenly appeared behind the MiG of Captain Nazarkin and, despite the latter’s desperate attempts to evade, he flashed his plane with several bursts of machine guns from XNUMHmm, thus forcing the Soviet pilot to leave his MiG. Driven by the hunter's instinct, Jabara went on the attack on the second MiG, which he also managed to incite. When the outcome of the duel was already almost obvious, the American had to experience the greatest disappointment in his life:

Captain James J. Jabara: “Suddenly I heard a sound that seemed to emit some kind of popcorn machine that worked in the cabin itself. In the air whirlpool I noticed two MiGs shooting at me, and both were in a good position! Camp [Camp is a slave the narrator. —An author's note] tried to approach me from the side, but was attacked by another pair of MiGs, so he became, to put it mildly, not up to me. Damn difficult situation! ... "

Jabara, who died in a car accident in 1966, was not destined to find out that the MiG attacking him was piloted by Vladimir Alfeyev, who, in turn, reported the following after the battle:

Lieutenant Vladimir Alfeyev: "... In the air battle of 20 in May 1951 in the period of time 15.06-15.50 (16: 06-16: 50) in the Tetsuzan area (now Chkholsan- Approx. Auth.) I shot down one enemy aircraft of type F -86. After 4-s queues from the 600-300 distance under the 0 / 4 perspective, the enemy's plane, which was with one outboard tank, began to fall, poorly managed ... "

Jabara was on the verge of complete defeat; he was saved only by the fact that two other F-86s came to his aid, one of whom piloted Rudolf Holi:

Captain James J. Jabara: “Two F-86s stretched out their help to me, who left the battle and hurried to the rescue. My God, what beauties they seemed to me then !!! One of the MiGs saw that one of the F-86s was already on the way to us, he retreated, but the second one continued to shoot at me. However, he came to the attention of Holly, the pilot of one of these F-86, who were going to help, who opened fire on him ... "

Lieutenant Vladimir Alfeyev: "... At the time of the attack, I was attacked by an airplane, an enemy of the F-86, which was being fired by my wingman, Senior Lieutenant Shebanov, and I went out of the attack to the right upwards and did not observe the exact place."

In fact, F-86 (N49-1318) Dzhabary did not crash - the pilot managed to skillfully reach the airfield of Suwon. As the pilot’s personal technician testifies, landing, the Saber looked so damaged by heavy 37mm and 23mm projectiles that he didn’t even have an idea to try to repair it - so the plane was immediately written off.

This is only the first on that day victory of the Soviet pilots; the other F-86 were shot down by Russian MiGs, one of which was piloted by the commander of the 196-IAP, Colonel Yevgeny Georgievich Pepelyaev. Downed by him "Saber" was the first in the list of his 19-ti air victories:

Colonel Evgeny Pepelyaev: "... on May 20 in the 15.08-15.58 time period in aerial combat with the group, F-86 I fired at an F-86 aircraft from the 500-600 range. During the shooting, I saw shell strikes and their breaks on the wings and the plane, after which the plane from the left bank made a right-wing coup. "

The deadly 37mm projectiles fired by Pepelyaev fell not only into the right wing of the F-86 (N49-1080), piloted by Captain Milton Nelson, but also into ammunition, which caused the explosion and the consequential consequences, very sad for the "Saybra".

By some miracle, Nelson managed to reach on the ill-fated plane to the Yellow Sea, where he catapulted. On that day, his fate was shared by Captain Max Weill, whose “Saber” was overtaken by projectiles of MiG-15, piloted by Nikolai Konstantinovich Kirisov. Weill also reached Suwon, but his plane was written off almost immediately after landing. These incidents, as well as the intervention of the commander of the 4 th fighter group, Colonel Glenn Eaglestone, caused the M-12,7 cartridges to cease to be used in the US 23mm. They were replaced by others - less explosive in the event of an enemy projectile.

Ironically, at the time this fight was proclaimed a significant air victory for the US Air Force, as a result of which the Sabers allegedly shot down three MiGs without sustaining a single loss, while in reality the fight ended with the 3 score: 1 in favor of the Soviet pilots. In addition, two, instead of one, victories were mistakenly attributed to Captain Jabara, and it was stipulated that these were the fifth and sixth victories of the pilot; at the same time, he was also proclaimed "the ace number one of the Korean War" (in fact, only four of his victories are confirmed in Soviet documents). It should be noted that both Alfeyev and Jabara are now recognized aces, on account of which are 7 and 15 air victories, respectively. Thus, it was the first Battle of the Titans - the aces of two opposing sides and, undoubtedly, it was a victory for the Soviet side.

Imbalance of power

Both before and after 1992, American historians have always emphasized that in April-May 1951 was deployed around Manchuria around 200 Chinese MiGs (at that time, the mention of this country did not imply the participation of the Soviet Union in the conflict), against which they could only put up 48 F-86: the balance of power in favor of the Chinese was, they said, more than 4 to 1. This information is false: at that time, only the mentioned Soviet 176 and 196 GIAP, which had only 62 MiG-15, were located in Manchuria. Given the figures given, elementary mathematical calculations represent the ratio of 4 (USSR) to 3 (USA). Actually, taking into account the number of other models of UN aircraft (F-84, F-80 and F-51 fighters, B-29 and B-26 bombers), and continuing the calculations, it turns out that the Soviet side was opposed, at least 700 LA. This changes the original ratio from 4 to 1 to almost 11 to 1, and ... in favor of the Americans themselves! This state of affairs gave rise to the bitter comment of Colonel Kozhedub: "We were only two regiments, and against us — all imperialism!"

"Commanders" becomes more

Kozhedub's request for reinforcements reached Stalin, and at the end of May, the 303 Division arrived at the rear Chinese airfields, which, unlike the Kozhedub division, had three regiments: the 17 and 523-IAP, and the 18-th GIAP. It is also very important that many of the newly arrived pilots were veterans of the Second World War (for example, on the account of the commander Lobov Georgy Ageevich were 19 downed fascist aircraft), and also the fact that the other pilots were real masters of flight business - in their skill pilots The US Air Force was soon to be convinced by its own experience.

Then the commander-in-chief of the UN forces, General Ridgeway, gave the order to launch a bombing campaign known as "Strangle" (Suppression). Its goal was to paralyze the Chinese and North Korean supply lines by hitting the main North Korean bridges, railway tracks and intersections of the main roads. It goes without saying that by the time of the appearance of American bombers and fighter bombers on the Alley, the elite of Soviet aviation had prepared for them a warm welcome.

1 June 1951, ten MiG-15 18 GIAPs, headed by Captain Antonov, soared up into the air. Their task was to intercept four B-29 and cover them in the same number of F-86, marching on the railway bridge in Kvaksan. Lieutenant Yevgeny Mikhailovich Stelmakh, who closed the group, was the only Soviet pilot to see the bombers in sight, whom he attacked after leaving the formation. At the same time, he tried to notify his comrades about it, but, apparently, his radio worked intermittently, because all MiGs continued to return home. Evgeni Stelmakh opened fire from three of his MiG-15bis guns at one of the “Super forts” (N44-86327) and the flames engulfed the plane, which entered its last, uncontrolled peak. Stelmakh also managed to cause serious damage to another B-29 (N44-86335), which was forced to make an emergency landing at Daegu, after which it was written off due to its absolute unsuitability. Apparently believing that they would cover him, the Soviet pilot was suddenly attacked by cover fighters. EM Stelmach was shot down by Captain Richard Ransbottom, who was piloting the Saber F-XNUMHA. Within a few minutes, the Soviet pilot was forced to eject. The worst thing is that this happened over the territory controlled by the UN, and right after landing on the Soviet pilot, a real hunt took place. The pilot managed to avoid captivity for several hours, but soon there were only a few rounds left in his pistol. Realizing that if he is captured, then it will become known about the participation of the Soviet Union in the conflict, Stelmach committed suicide by shooting himself in the heart. As a result, the body of the pilot, whose self-sacrifice was noted at home by posthumous assignment of the title Hero of the Soviet Union, was returned to the Chinese.

Somewhat later on the same day, a battle took place between the MiG-15, which belonged to the same subunit, and F-51D, which accompanied the seaplanes that evacuated the members of the bomber crew shot down by Stelmach. As a result, one of the American aircraft fell victim to Lieutenant Lev Kirillovich Schukin's MiG-15:

Lieutenant L.K. Schukin: "We walked from the sun, and the" mustangs "were perfectly watched. I gave the command to the second pair to stay at the top, and he swooped. It was my first attack. And I opened fire a little early: past. The second time I had to press once - great speed There is no height anymore. The handle on myself - I get out of attack, Lead of the second pair Lesha Sventitsky went up to the American and slashed so that - the Mustang started all the way up, began to turn towards the sea. I went to the second attack - half-turned he was one hundred meters away from three points. He fell straight down and sc I was rummaging through the waves. That's all. And I “made” the second slave instantly — I went to the tail and took it off.

Schukin's victim was the F-51 N44-74614 (67-th BEB 18-th BKB), piloted by Harry Moore, who, judging by the fact that the Soviet pilot did not see him leaving his plane, died. The second F-51D (N44-14930, 2-I South African Squadron) was shot down by one of Shchukin's comrades-in-arms, captain Alexey Kaluzhny.

Soon, these four victories were followed by new ones: F-86, shot down by 2 June by captain Sergey Makarovich Kramarenko (176-th GIAP) (a curious fact: the USAF confirmed the death of this plane "as a result of the accident" three days later; the tendency to announce military casualties as casualties as a result of the accident will be particularly apparent at the end of the war), as well as the second victory that occurred on June 6, when Lieutenant Schukin shot down F-80С N49-737 three kilometers north-west of Sonchhon. This time, the American pilot managed to eject; he was later evacuated. All this was without loss for the Soviet side. However, the queue was a new, more significant achievements.

Battle of the Titans II

17 June 1951 of the very early morning became a “black” day for American aviation - at 2: North Korean biplane Polikarpov Po-00 “visited” an air base in Suvona, dropped a bomb that fell into F-2, which seriously damaged four other “Saybr” ", as well as the injured of a lesser severity, four more (all Saabs were from 86-th BEI). It was the first night attack - the so-called "Bed Check Charlie", the Chinese retaliation against the "Strangle", which lasted the entire remainder of the war, caused the enemy noticeable losses and caused a strong headache for the UN commanders.

In 8: 50 of the same day 16-F-86 335-th BEI took the fight with a similar number of MiG-15 from 18-th GIAP; Considering that Shchukin shot down one of the enemy aircraft, the results of the battle were disappointing for the Americans.

Lieutenant L. K. Schukin: “We were raised that day with the task of cutting off the“ sajbras ”from the main group, which was preparing to deliver a massive bombing attack. Our squadron had particular specificity - it fought only with fighters. Fight with bombers and Others should have been attackers. There was no particular desire to fight that day, they wanted to spin, not bringing to the shooting, but they did not shy away from the battle. And we accepted him. In that battle, the saber was more than us. come in, the "beaks" are already visible - plastic-covered antenna radiol I turned around - the “beak” was near, a sheaf of fire came towards me. I dive in abruptly, only having managed to shout to my slave Anatoly Ostapovsky: “Ostap, hold on!” [...] The American was stretching, stretching after me, and then not endured - "pecked" down. I lay the plane on my back - after him - and covered me with all the guns. I saw a large sheeting flying off from the plane and a white train stretching. "

It should be noted that Schukin was lucky: considering that the F-86 was superior to the MiG-15 in a dive, the American - if he were a little more insistent - could easily have caused the Soviet pilot a lot of trouble, which, however, did not happen. Such a successful outcome gave Shchukin a huge advantage and, being a real hunter in essence, the Soviet pilot used the opportunity and counterattacked him. Later, he watched as his victim (F-86 N49-1335) fell, enveloped in flames, in the Yellow Sea near Sonchon, where he crashed. However, a few minutes later, the fortune turned away from him - in the words of the pilot himself:

Lieutenant L.K. Schukin: “In a terrible whirlwind, Ostapovsky pulled away from me, and I went home alone. Suddenly I heard - a blow to the plane, as if a pebble, and then a hail of bullets. A lantern smashed into smithereens, on the dashboard - blood, the control stick does not obey - - it stuck. The splinter cut the face, the wound was such that I, I apologize for the details, got my finger through my nose to the tongue. I catapulted, opened the parachute. When I was hanging, they shot at me - four “seibras” made two runs of ... "

The man who took Schukin by surprise was Captain Samuel Pesakret. The Soviet pilot had to spend about a month in the hospital, so he returned to service only at the end of August. Thus, the first clash of the parties that day ended in a draw. However, this was nothing more than an "Aperitif to the main dish".

Approximately at 11: 25, a 6-t MiG-15 (176-th GIAP) headed by Sergey Kramarenko and 12-t F-86 (336-th BEI) met in the sky over Sensen; given the numerical superiority of the enemy (2 to 1), the Soviet pilots, without any doubt, swooped down and attacked the American fighters. In the confusion of the first seconds of the battle, both the Soviet pilots and the pilots of "Uncle Sam" dispersed, and Captain Kramarenko suddenly discovered that in addition to being left without his wingmen, he was also attacked by three Saber. As the pilot himself recalls:

Captain S.M. Kramarenko: "But back to the dive. I knew that the Saber was heavier and therefore diving better than the MiG. Therefore, it was impossible to dive for a long time. I was caught up and shot. But then I saw right in front of me cumulus clouds. I just had to send my plane to one of them. Jumping into the cloud, I abruptly turned my plane to the left by 90 degrees and after coming out of the cloud I took the plane out of a dive and began to turn to the right, because I assumed that the presenter Sabrov "thinks that the MiG will dive in a straight line without once the gate will fly straight. So it turned out. Down below me, I saw this troika, which was searching in vain for me downstairs. Without losing a second, I rushed at them from above. Roles changed, now I attacked.
But they noticed me and immediately split: the leader with the left wing began to turn with a decrease to the left, and the right wing led began to turn to climb to the right. Apparently, this maneuver was worked out by them in advance. His purpose was clear to me: it was a trap. [...]
True, there were three of them, but that didn’t bother me at the time; I believed in myself and in my MiG. But I urgently needed to decide: who to attack. If the bottom pair, then the right wing from above immediately attacks and knocks me down. Therefore, I chose it. He was closer to me and walked in the right turn with a climb. I dived, quickly went into his tail, aimed, and from a distance of approximately 600 meters opened fire. To hesitate and get closer it was impossible: the pair of Sabre had been behind. Shells covered "Saber". Apparently, one projectile hit the turbine, because the blue smoke came from the plane. Saber rolled over and went down, then went into a dive. "

The commander of the 336 th BEI, Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Hinton (the one who exactly six months earlier shot down the first MiG recorded on the Saber account), had the honor to observe this attack:

Lt. Col. Bruce Hinton: “17 of June [1951] turned out to be a sunny day. [...] Me and my partner walked at a height of about 25000 feet [9000 meters] over the territory of the“ MiG Alley ”. There were a lot of them on both sides, and I soon saw a lonely MiG maneuver. Suddenly he left the battlefield and headed north.I began to approach, reducing the distance to about 1500 feet [500 meters]. Having taken his tail in my sight, I was ready to destroy it.
At that very moment, when I started to press the trigger, between me and MiG, whose fate hung in the balance, the Saber appeared, going at an angle of 90 degrees relative to me and ... it was not the only one! ... Behind Approximately 500 feet [165 meters] - went MiG, with a red nose and stripes on the fuselage. It was Casey Jones, who shot a cannon at Sabr! [...] While both aircraft were passing in front of me, I could see both the MiG who had fired, and the shells falling into the Saber, as well as fire and sparks that marked the places of impact on his fuselage. F-86 fragments flew in the air, some of them reaching impressive sizes. Our basic rule was that not a single MiG cost such a sacrifice as an F-86 pilot. “Saber” is already full of fire and in order to try to save him from death, I sacrificed my indisputable victory. I had no idea who piloted the Saber, but it was obvious that he had very big problems.
I turned as fast as I could and headed towards them. When I finished turning around, both were about 1000 feet [300 meters] lower. The MiG, having overtaken its victim, quickly gained altitude, changing the direction of the turn, and was already returning to complete the job. “Saber” was barely moving, it seemed that he was frozen in anticipation of the inevitable.

Captain S.M. Kramarenko: “It was impossible to look further for his fall - looking back, I saw that a couple of“ Sabrius ”were already in 500 meters behind. A little more, and both“ Saibra ”would open fire on me from 12 machine guns.
And here I, apparently, made a mistake. It was necessary to simply increase the angle of the set and go up, pulling them to a great height, where the MiG has an advantage over the "Saber". But I came to this conclusion much later. Then I again made a coup under the "Sabre" and at a dive, sending the plane into the cloud, made a right turn in it and, coming out of the cloud, began a left combat turn. But “Sabre” I saw not at the bottom, but behind the left.

Lt. Col. Bruce Hinton: "Suddenly, the MiG began to turn towards us. He noticed that I was approaching and started to walk in my forehead. He walked very close to me - only 50 feet [16.5 meters] [...] I wondered how we managed not to collide? In those seconds we both were going to use everything possible and impossible to achieve at least some advantage over each other. We were involved in the Lyuftberry circle, in which, I nevertheless achieved one small advantage, which, nevertheless, was lacking precisely in order to take a position advantageous for a shot. "

Captain S.M. Kramarenko: “The second time, my trick failed. The Sabras walked around the cloud and immediately followed me. At the expense of better maneuverability, they quickly caught up with me and immediately opened fire. The tracks reached for my plane. I had to leave the tracks again with a coup. “Sabers” are following me, they are catching up on a dive. Again, the ascending oblique loop. In the upper part of the loop “Sabra”, as more maneuverable ones, cut off the radius, catch up with me and open fire. by plane. A new coup, dive. All It repeats at first, but with each time, Sabra gets closer and closer to me and the tracks almost hit the plane. Apparently, the end is coming. "

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Hinton: “I performed a vertical yo-yo [roll and peak in the highest part of the Luftberry circle to reduce the turning radius — a maneuver that Captain Kramarenko watched] with a slight decrease in speed in order to increase the turning radius. This started to work, and I began to approach. The gravitational forces of the maneuver were outrageous - excessive for my partner, who later informed me that he almost lost consciousness.
At that moment I decided to give a turn at an angle of deflection. I then had a slight advantage - “Casey” walked across from me at an angle of approximately 60-70 degrees. Approaching the end of the circle, I looked at the edge of my wing, hoping that it would appear. When that happened, I squeezed everything out of the control stick in order to raise my nose and aim. When he passed against me, I pulled the trigger and gave a turn. Next time I did the same thing. This time, he was supposed to fly in a straight line through the line of fire of my six fifty-five [12,7mm machine guns / 50 caliber]. "

Captain S.M. Kramarenko: “Last time I throw the plane into a dive, but instead of abruptly switching to a set, I begin to slowly transfer the plane into a flat dive.“ Saber, ”not expecting this, turned out to be higher, but far behind ...”

Lt. Col. Bruce Hinton: "He quickly reacted to my second priority and suddenly dived towards Yalu Jiang, easily looking up from me."

Captain S.M. Kramarenko: "... and began to pursue me. What should I do? Upward is impossible." Saber "will quickly reduce the distance and open fire. I continue to decline at the maximum possible speed. At an altitude of approximately 7000 meters h) the "fight" began: the plane overturns, the rudders do not help. By releasing the air brakes I reduce the speed somewhat. The plane straightens, but the Sabras use my decrease in speed and approach quickly. But I was diving in the direction of the Yalu Jiang hydroelectric power station. This is a huge reservoir The dam in 1000 meters of altitude and the power station that supplied electricity to almost half of Korea and the whole of northeastern China. It was she who was the main object that we had to protect. In addition to us, she was protected by dozens of anti-aircraft guns that opened fire on anyone approaching in the shower I hoped that the anti-aircraft gunners would help me, repulse the Sabers who had been chasing me. But the anti-aircraft gunners executed the order for opening fire on any aircraft strictly, and a huge cloud of anti-aircraft shells appeared in front of me. The Sabras, having cut off the turnaround path, would have taken the distance of defeat and would have shot me down. Therefore, it seemed to me to be the best to die from my anti-aircraft guns, but not from the bullets of “Sabre”, and I sent the plane to the very center of the cloud. The plane jumped into the cloud and from the shells' explosions, I immediately began to throw from side to side, up and down. Holding the handle, I was numb. The impression was that the wings were about to fall off. But several tens of seconds passed, and the sun began to shine again. The plane jumped out of the black cloud. Behind the bottom lay a reservoir with a dam. Far away to the left were the departing Sabers who had lost me in this cloud and, apparently, who considered me dead. It was useless to chase them, the sea was close, and I didn’t want a new fight, because I was too exhausted by wild overloads. [...]
Above the airfield, I made a couple of laps, sat down and, having driven to the parking lot, I saw my followers. [...]
On the developed film were clearly visible falling into the "Saber". The ground crew reported his fall. "

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Hinton: “I stopped the pursuit of the MiG and, starting the search for the defeated F-86, I found him barely walking at 20000 feet [6700 meters]. The fire went out, but the fuselage had huge damage-stripes, the back of the plane was all riddled bullets and machine gun nest, which was on his left side, completely disappeared. Machine guns took over the bulk of the projectile power and saved, thus, the life of the pilot. I tried to contact him, but his radio was disabled by another projectile. Our speed was approaching to soon to the sound (70% of this): we squeezed out the 840 km / h, constantly losing altitude. I got attached to one side of it and finally caught the attention of the pilot, showing him to head towards the Yellow Sea and prepare for the ejection. I will never forget that in response, the pilot violently shook his head - “No!” I was sure that he was one of my new inexperienced lieutenants, but I could not understand his disobeying an order that could save his life. [...] I called the K-13 control point [air base in Kimpo] and informed them that I was driving a plane that had suffered serious damage. They had to clear the landing strip and fit fire engines to it. As far as I could tell, it should have been landing on the very belly, since MiG shattered and broke control of the landing lever.
Flying in the same ranks as close to the F-86 accident, I approached the airfield without leaving it. The plane slowly attached itself over the strip and finally touched the ground. The concussion was such that I saw the pilot's head jiggling from side to side as his plane rolled along the runway. In the end, "Saber" stopped at the end of the line, surrounded by a huge cloud of dust.
I landed and stopped at his side. The plane was already a real scrap metal. It was not only the turbine that was destroyed, power management was also distorted beyond recognition. The left side of the fuselage is a sieve, with several huge holes gaping around the cabin. Only after landing, it finally dawned on me that the pilot of this “Saber” was none other than my close friend Glenn Eaglestone. ”

Colonel Glenn Todd Eaglestone was at that time the commander of the 4-IG (combat connection of the 4-th Wing) - the owner of an impressive list of air victories (18) over the pilots of the Luftwaffe. Six months before being shot down by himself, he also shot down two MiGs (one of these victories is unconditionally confirmed by data from the Soviet archives). Lieutenant Colonel Hinton instantly realized that the pilot who shot down such an experienced pilot as his friend should be outstanding, and responded about him as follows:

Lt. Col. Bruce Hinton: "The pilot of this MiG was a master, a REAL MASTER. He waited, watching the battle between MiGs and Sabra from above; it was well known that this tactic was used by a single MiG pilot, whom we nicknamed" CASEY JONES ". Casey was an exceptional pilot, so he certainly wasn’t Chinese. His sequence of actions consisted of striking a lightning strike from a height, diving at any F-86 that had separated from the rest in the process of combat. vyus von Richthofen. "

Surely, Captain Kramarenko would feel flattered if he had heard from Hinton these words that pay tribute to his skill (by the authors of this article, the American did get to his addressee a year ago). In any case, the following is indisputable: Sergey Kramarenko, honored veteran of the Great Patriotic War, behind whom there were two victories over German planes, and the future ace, who will be counted a total of 13 victories over American planes, hit F-86 N49-1281, manned American pilot - Colonel Glenn Iglston, on whose account, in total, 20 victories in the Second World War and the Korean War. There is no doubt that this was the second Battle of the Titans, which ended in a new victory for the Soviet side.


The Sabers Killers

The next day, the story repeated: the battle between the 40 of the MiG-15 and the 32 of the F-86 again occurred over the Yalujiang River. Captain Serafim Pavlovich Subbotin led a group of eight MiGs when he discovered that he was in an excellent position for attack (height - 12000 meters, location - from the sun, which made it difficult for the enemy to detect). Then, in full swing, he led his group to the last, closing four, F-86. The explosion of an American aircraft in the air turned him into a target for a counterattack.

Captain S. P. Subbotin: “I noticed that two enemy aircraft got on my partner [Anatoly] Golovachev’s tail. But my plane was still the target of fire and they hooked me: the engine lost power, the cabin was filled with smoke ... and fuel I was barely able to see the dashboard and the floor. It became clear that if I did not leave the plane, I would never return home. With great difficulty, I left the fire and released the aerodynamic brakes. and at that very moment the plane shook heavily from behind. m, that this may be an explosion - has contributed a lot to the fact that I catapulted ... I had enough strength to successfully accomplish the jump - I just hit my forehead, landing.
The wreckage of two airplanes and the ejection seat were scattered around me ... Later we found the opened parachute of an American pilot, his pistol and documents. The poor fellow jumped out too late. It was a collision in the air. "

The plane colliding with Subbotin's MiG was F-86 N49-1307, but the dead pilot turned out to be Captain William Kron. Despite the fact that Subbotin always talked about the unintended nature of his collision with Sabr, official Soviet sources claimed the opposite: in accordance with them, he deliberately sent his plane to an American one. According to the results of this battle, Seraphim Subbotin received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. His plane was the only loss of the Soviet side that day, while the US Air Force claimed five downed MiGs (and the loss of the Crohn plane as a result of the collision was silent).

19 June 1951, four F-86 Saber (336-BEI), hailed by Lieutenant Colonel Francis Gabreski, attempted to attack the four MiGs suddenly, but during the hunt, the roles changed: American planes were attacked by four Four-way MiGs, 15bis, and they were attacked by another four MiGs, 17bis, and they were also attacked by four other MiGs-303bigs, which were replaced by MiGs, but the process was attacked by four MiGs. Sutyagin (XNUMX th IAP XNUMX th IAD):

Captain N.V. Sutyagin: "In the morning, 7.45 flew in to XDUMX as a cover for the Andundun Bridge as part of 10 crews. The battle formation consisted of a strike link, led by regimental commander Major Pulov, then a cover unit, commanded by captain Artemchenko, which was on the right above and Senior Lieutenant Perepyolkin was behind 1000 meters from the rear, I was walking in a cover with a leading lieutenant Shulev. At the time of the left turn in the Senssen area, I lagged behind the pair of Captain Artemchenko at a distance of 400-500 meters. NUMX-50 degrees to the left, I noticed that a pair of F-60 came to us in the “tail” of the lower left, from under the lead link. I gave the command to the slave: “Attack, cover” and with a left turn of arms, at the moment of which I released aerial brakes and removed the gas, followed by a half-turn followed by a pair of F-86. On the second "oblique loop" we with the slave were already in the tail of the Sabre, and in the upper position I gave two short turns on the slave Sabra. Queues passed: one with a short flight, the other with a flight. I then decided to come closer to the enemy. “Sabras” feeling the danger, went into a dive, hoping to get away from us at speed. Slave and I followed them. After exiting the dive, the pair F-86 made a lapel to the right, and then to the left with a climb. Due to this flap, the distance between us and the Sabers to 86-200 meters has decreased. Noticing this, the enemy made a coup. Releasing the brakes, we went for the F-300 at an angle of 86-70 degrees towards the sea, where our pursued ones tried to go. Having approached the distance 75-150 meters, I opened fire on the led "Sabra" and knocked him down. "


The victim of Sutyagin was Gabreski's partner, Lieutenant Robert Leyer, who died in the cab of his "Sabra" as a result of hitting projectiles; the plane itself crashed south of Yalu Jiang. The fruits of victory were also reaped by Sutyagin’s partner, Lieutenant Vasily Shulev, since He managed to riddle F-86А N49-1171, an unknown pilot of which managed to reach Kimpo, but the plane received such serious damage that it was scrapped. The loss of two airplanes in thirty seconds had such an effect on the morale of the remaining Sabers that they retreated, leaving the MiG Alley at the complete disposal of Soviet pilots. Leytenan Layer was to become the first of 21 victories of Captain Sutyagin, who would later become the Soviet "number one" war in Korea (thus surpassing the main "Korean" US ace - Joseph McConnell, who counted only 16 air victories).

In those days, it was not only American planes that were crushed to pieces: June 20, during a ground attack by South Koreans (from the coastal island of Simni-do), two squadrons of piston fighters F-51D Mustang (US 18-th wing) were intercepted by several planes Ilushin (IL-10) and Yak-9, piloted by inexperienced North Korean pilots. The presenter, Lieutenant James Harrison, shot down one Yak, and his followers (as they later stated), one IL-10 each. The situation for the North Korean pilots who had fallen into serious scandal was becoming very threatening, since from the aircraft carrier Princeton (821 th Fighter Squadron (IE)), the squadron F4U-4 Corsair was raised. However, with the sudden appearance of twelve MiG-15bis (176-th GIAP) - the feast was over. Half of them clashed with F4U and, in one eye, two Corsairs were victims of a new regiment - Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Vishnyakov and his follower Anatoly Golovachev; American planes were piloted respectively Royce Carrot (died) and John Moody (saved).

The leader of the remaining six MiGs, Konstantin Sheberstov, was smashed into pieces by one of the Mustangs (the pilot, Lee Harper, was killed). A few seconds later, his follower - Captain Gregory Ges - did the same with John Coleman's F-51D. The remaining fighters scattered in disarray. Ironically, at the time of the opening of the shooting, Ges was so close to the enemy aircraft that his MiG-15bis (N0715385) was seriously damaged by debris. Taking into account the current situation, he was given an order to eject from the ground, but the pilot stubbornly refused to leave such an expensive aircraft and, using only the steering wheel and the throttle control (engine control handle), was able to get to Andung, where he landed safely. Later, his plane was restored, and fragments of an American machine gun were found in the trim of the vehicle. For courage and the rescue of the aircraft, the pilot was presented to Colonel Kozhedub for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, which he received on October 10 of the year 1951.

22 June MiG-15 176-s GIAP frustrated the attack F-80 (accompanied by which went F-86) to the North Korean airfield Sintszyu. During this battle, the Soviet pilot Boris Obraztsov added a third to his scoring victories (F-86, piloted by Howard Miller; captured). It should be noted that in battle one of the American pilots, Charles Reister, managed to shoot down the plane of Lieutenant Anatoly Plitkin.
Two days later, it was the turn for F-80 to experience the skills of the “commanders”. Early in the morning (4: 25 Beijing time, 5: 25 - Seoul), the entire 523-IAP intercepted two squadrons F-80 "Shooting Star", which went unaccompanied by "Seybrov" and in just five minutes the pilots shot down four F -80C. One of these aircraft was shot down by Lieutenant Colonel Anatoly Karasev, and the remaining three by captains Stepan Bakhaev and Mikhail Ponomarev, as well as Lieutenant German Shatalov (it should be noted that the remaining six Russian pilots also recorded victories over American aircraft, while in fact except for the four mentioned, the enemy did not suffer any losses). Five hours later, five MiG-15 (176-th GIAP), headed by Sergey Vishnyakov, discovered a lonely F-80С, leading visual reconnaissance over Uiju. The meeting with him was the first victory of the deputy Vishnyakov - Lieutenant Nikolai Goncharov (the pilot of F-80C was captured).

At noon 26, the numbers 20-MiGbis-15 (17-ay IAP) intercepted a group of four B-29, followed by twelve F-86, four F-84 and the same number of F-80. The deadly duo Nikolai Sutyagin - Vasily Shulev quickly neutralized the “Sabre” escort, knocking each one down with F-86A (the Americans did not declare their losses in that battle; both of these victories were confirmed by fragments discovered by Chinese troops). In addition, Lieutenant G. T. Fokin inflicted serious damage to one SuperFressress. When the F-80 escort planes attempted to attack Fokin, the slave defending him was nearby - Lieutenant Yevgeny Agranovich, who instantly shot down F-80С (pilot Bob Loterback was killed). Unfortunately, Eugene's comrades could not come to his aid when he, in turn, was attacked by a pair of F-84Es. The Soviet pilot shared the fate of his recent victim. In general, the Soviet pilots finished the month with another victory: 28 June The 523-IAP intercepted the structure of the enemy's aircraft, consisting of Air Force aircraft and the US Navy. In just a few minutes, Lieutenant German Shatalov shot down one AD-4 (55 th assault squadron of the US Navy) and one of the escort, followed by, and his comrade lieutenant N.I. Razorvin inflicted serious damage on F-4D, driven by captain Charles Sumner.

Red commanders win

In general, during the month of June, the Soviet pilots MiG-15 shot down nine F-86A, six F-80C, five Mustangs, three Corsairs, two Superfortress and one Skyrider - all 27 that found confirmation of air victories against only six loss: win / loss ratio is 3 to 1. As a result, for the period from April to June, the "Commanders" disabled 59 LA of the USA (Table 1) and lost 19 MiGs (Table 2). It is also important that in less than two weeks Soviet pilots shot down eight F-86 - an indicator of losses, unthinkable for the US Air Force, whose officers instructed their pilots to engage in battle with MiGs only when circumstances were favorable. During July and August 1951 - only a few UN aircraft were sent to the Yalu River zone - a silent confirmation that the “Red Commanders” reigned supreme over their “Alley”.


D. Zampini expresses her gratitude:

Major General Sergei Kramarenko for providing a copy of his memoirs, “In the sky of two wars,” and his daughter Nadezhda Marinchuk, for their help in translating some episodes of this book into English.
Señoru Blas Vilalba - my Russian language teacher, who provided invaluable assistance in translating many other episodes [of the book].
My Russian friend Vladislav Arkhipov, who helped translate the memories of other Soviet veterans from Russian into English.
To my Cuban friend Ruben Urribarez, who provided me with invaluable information from his books and magazines (including for a large number of memories of Russian pilots MiG-15, who fought in Korea).
Stephen "Cooks" Sewell and Joe Brennan - US citizens, for providing information; to my American friend Tom Blurton, who provided me with an invaluable copy of the book "Participation of 4 Fighter Combat Wing in the Korean War", as well as directly to Colonel Bruce Hinton, who allowed me to publish the exact date, time and other information about the 17 air battle June 1951.

Table 1: Confirmed victories of the "Commanders" from April to June 1951

date

Subdivision

Aircraft

Pilot

weaponry

Victim

Pilot

Subdivision

3-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Ivan Yablokov

23 / 37mm

F-86A

Ronald Shirlow - captured

4 BKI, USAF

4-Apr-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Fedor Shebanov

23 / 37mm

F-86A

The remains found on the ground

4 BKI, USAF

7-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Boris Obratsov

23 / 37mm

F-80C

John Thomson (*) - died

80 BEB, USAF

7-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Ivan Suchkov

23 / 37mm

B-29A

BuNo 44-86268

371 EB, USAF

9-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Gregory Hes

23 / 37mm

B-26B

BuNo 44-34447 (**)

729 EB, USAF

10-Apr-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Fedor Shebanov

23 / 37mm

F-86A

BuNo 49-1093 (**)

335 BEI, USAF

10-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Alexander Vasko

23 / 37mm

F-80C

Robert Lemke (*) - captured

25 BEI, USAF

10-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Anatoly Gogolev

23 / 37mm

F-80C

Edward Alpern (*) - missing

25 BEI, USAF

10-Apr-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Victor Nazarkin

23 / 37mm

F-80C

Douglas Matson (*) - died

25 BEI, USAF

12-Apr-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Alexander Kochegarov

23 / 37mm

B-29A

BuNo 44-86370

93 EB, USAF

12-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Boris Obratsov

23 / 37mm

B-29A

BuNo 44-62252

371 EB, USAF

12-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Seraphim Subbotin

23 / 37mm

B-29A

?

19 KB, USAF

12-Apr-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Fedor Shebanov

23 / 37mm

B-29A

BuNo 44-87618

19 KB, USAF

12-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Sergey Kramarenko

23 / 37mm

F-80C

BuNo 49-1842 (*)

36 BEB, USAF

12-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Seraphim Subbotin

23 / 37mm

F-80C

Sherwood Avery (*)

7 BEB, USAF

12-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Ivan Lazutkin

23 / 37mm

F-80C

Hey.B. Swanson (*)

18 ABG, USAF

12-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Konstantin Sheberstov

23 / 37mm

B-29A

?

19 KB, USAF

12-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Gregory Hes

23 / 37mm

B-29A

BuNo 44-61835

30 EB, USAF

12-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Ivan Suchkov

23 / 37mm

B-29A

?

19 KB, USAF

12-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Pavel Milaushkin

23 / 37mm

B-29A

BuNo 44-65369

93 EB, USAF

12-Apr-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Anatoly Plitkin

23 / 37mm

B-29A

?

19 KB, USAF

12-Apr-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Victor Nazarkin

23 / 37mm

B-29A

BuNo 44-69682

93 EB, USAF

16-Apr-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Nikolay Shelomonov

23 / 37mm

F-84E

Thomas Helton (*) - missing

524 BES, USAF

22-Apr-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Peter Soskovets

23 / 37mm

F-84E

David Barnes (*) - captured

522 BES, USAF

22-Apr-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15

Fedor Shebanov

23 / 37mm

F-86A

BuNo 48-232

4 BKI, USAF

9-May-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Alfei Dostoevsky

23 / 37mm

F-86A

Ward Hitt (*)

335 BEI, USAF

9-May-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Nikolay Shelomonov

23 / 37mm

F-51D

Howard Arnold (*)

39 BEI, USAF

9-May-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Konstantin Sheberstov

23 / 37mm

F-80C

Jay I. Danevey (*) - died

80 BEB, USAF

9-May-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Gregory Hes

23 / 37mm

F-80C

? (*)

8 FKB, USAF

20-May-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Vladimir Alfeev

23 / 37mm

F-86A

James Jabara (**)

334 BEI, USAF

20-May-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Evgeny Pepelyaev

23 / 37mm

F-86A

Milton Nelson (*)

335 BEI, USAF

20-May-1951

196 IAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Nikolay Kirisov

23 / 37mm

F-86A

Max Whale (*)

335 BEI, USAF

1-Jun-1951

18 SIAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Evgeny Stelmakh

23 / 37mm

B-29A

BuNo 44-86327

343 EB, USAF

1-Jun-1951

18 SIAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Evgeny Stelmakh

23 / 37mm

B-29A

BuNo 44-86335 (**)

98 KB, USAF

1-Jun-1951

18 SIAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Lev Schukin

23 / 37mm

F-51D

Harry Moore - Missing

67 BEB, USAF

1-Jun-1951

18 SIAP, 303 IAD

Mig-xnumbis

Alexey Kalyuzhny

23 / 37mm

F-51D

Hector MacDonald (*) - captured

2 Squadron, (southern AFC)

2-Jun-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Sergey Kramarenko

23 / 37mm

F-86A

Thomas Hanson (*) - died

336 BEI, USAF

6-Jun-1951

18 SIAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Lev Schukin

23 / 37mm

F-80C

BuNo 49-737

16 BEI, USAF

17-Jun-1951

18 SIAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Lev Schukin

23 / 37mm

F-86A

BuNo 49-1335 (*)

335 BEI, USAF

17-Jun-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Sergey Kramarenko

23 / 37mm

F-86A

Glenn Eaglestone

4 BKI, USAF

18-Jun-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Seraphim Subbotin

clash

F-86A

William Kron - dead

334 BEI, USAF

19-Jun-1951

17 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Nikolay Sutyagin

23 / 37mm

F-86A

Robert Layer - Missing

336 BEI, USAF

19-Jun-1951

17 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Vasily Shulev

23 / 37mm

F-86A

BuNo 49-1171 (*)

4 BKI, USAF

20-Jun-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Sergey Vishnyakov

23 / 37mm

F4U-4

Royce Carrat - missing (*)

821 th IE, Navy

20-Jun-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Anatoly Golovachev

23 / 37mm

F4U-4

John Moody (*)

821 th IE, Navy

20-Jun-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Konstantin Sheberstov

23 / 37mm

F-51D

Lee Harper (*) - died

39 BEI, USAF

20-Jun-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Gregory Hes

23 / 37mm

F-51D

John Coleman - died

39 BEI, USAF

22-Jun-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Boris Obratsov

23 / 37mm

F-86A

Howard Miller jr. - captured

336 BEI, USAF

24-Jun-1951

523 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Stepan Bahaev

23 / 37mm

F-80C

Tolmage Wilson (**)

36 BEB, USAF

24-Jun-1951

523 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Anatoly Karasev

23 / 37mm

F-80C

Ernest Dunning - Captured

8 BEB, USAF

24-Jun-1951

523 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

German Shatalov

23 / 37mm

F-80C

Arthur Johnson (*) - Missing

36 BEB, USAF

24-Jun-1951

523 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Mikhail Ponomarev

23 / 37mm

F-80C

Will White (*) - died

36 BEB, USAF

24-Jun-1951

176 SIAP, 324 IAD

MiG-15bis

Nikolay Goncharov

23 / 37mm

F-80C

John Murray (*) - captured

35 BEB, USAF

26-Jun-1951

17 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Nikolay Sutyagin

23 / 37mm

F-86A

The remains found on the ground

4 BKI, USAF

26-Jun-1951

17 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Vasily Shulev

23 / 37mm

F-86A

The remains found on the ground

4 BKI, USAF

26-Jun-1951

17 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

Evgeny Agranovich

23 / 37mm

F-80C

Bob Launchbatch (*) - died

35 BEB, USAF

28-Jun-1951

523 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

German Shatalov

23 / 37mm

AD-4

Harley Harris Jr. (*) - died

55 Assault Squadron, Navy

28-Jun-1951

523 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

German Shatalov

23 / 37mm

F4U-4

Oliver Drouge (*)

884, Navy

28-Jun-1951

523 IAP, 303 IAD

MiG-15bis

N.I. Razorvin

23 / 37mm

F-51D

Charles Sumner (*)

39 BEB, USAF


(*) = loss confirmed by the US Air Force, however, not attributable to the actions of the MiG-15
(**) = LA, written off due to excessive damage.


Table 2: Soviet MiG-15 losses between April and June of the year 1951


date

Subdivision

Aircraft

Pilot

weaponry

Victim

Downed aircraft pilot

Subdivision

3-Apr-1951

334 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

James jabara

12.7 mm

MiG-15

P.D. Nikitchenko

176 SIAP

3-Apr-1951

335 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

Benjamin Emmert

12.7 mm

MiG-15

Revtarovsk (**)

176 SIAP

3-Apr-1951

334 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

R. McLane / U. Yancy

12.7 mm

MiG-15

Anatoly Verdysh (**)

176 SIAP

7-Apr-1951

27 FEW

F-84E

?

12.7 mm

MiG-15

Nikolay Andryushenko

176 SIAP

9-Apr-1951

336 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

Arthur O'Connor

12.7 mm

MiG-15

Fedor Slabkin - died

176 SIAP

9-Apr-1951

336 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

Max welll

12.7 mm

MiG-15

V.F. Negodyaev (*)

176 SIAP

12-Apr-1951

334 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

James jabara

12.7 mm

MiG-15

Yakovlev (**)

196 IAP

22-Apr-1951

334 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

James jabara

12.7 mm

MiG-15

E.N.Samusin

196 IAP

24-Apr-1951

4 BKI

F-86A

Uilyam Khovd

12.7 mm

MiG-15

V. Murashov

176 SIAP

1-May-1951

336 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

Simpson evans

12.7 mm

Mi-15bis

Pavel Nikulin

176 SIAP

20-May-1951

334 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

James jabara

12.7 mm

Mi-15bis

Victor Nazarkin

196 IAP

31-May -1951

335 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

Bobby Smith

12.7 mm

Mi-15bis

Defectors, missing

Group NII

1-Jun-1951

336 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

Richard Ransbottom

12.7 mm

Mi-15bis

Evgeny Stelmakh

18 SIAP

17-Jun-1951

4 BKI

F-86A

Samuel pesacretta

12.7 mm

Mi-15bis

Lev Schukin

18 SIAP

18-Jun-1951

4 BKI

F-86A

Uylyam Kron- died

clash

Mi-15bis

Seraphim Subbotin

176 SIAP

20-Jun-1951

336 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

Rudolph Holly

12.7 mm

Mi-15bis

A.D.Skidan

18 SIAP

22-Jun-1951

336 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

Charles Reister

12.7 mm

Mi-15bis

Anatoly Plitkin

176 SIAP

25-Jun-1951

335 BEI, 4 BKI

F-86A

Milton Nelson

12.7 mm

Mi-15bis

ON. Ageev - died

18 SIAP

26-Jun-1951

182 BEB, 136 FKB

F-84E

A. Olifer / H. Underwood

12.7 mm

Mi-15bis

E.N. Agranovich - died

17 IAP


(*) = loss confirmed by the USSR, but attributable to engine failure.
Undoubtedly, Whale had every reason to bring down the MiG of the specified pilot ...
(**) = LA, written off due to excessive damage.


Illustrations:


Some of the winning pilots (176 th GIAP 324 th IAD) air combat, held 12 April 1951 year. In the top row, the sixth from the left is Gregory Hes, the tenth is Ivan Suchkov. In the bottom row, among others, the first from the left - Pavel Milaushkin, the second - Konstantin Sheberstov



Another photo of the pilots 176-th GIAP. In the bottom row, the second and third from the left are Grigori Ges and Sergey Vishnyakov (commander of the formation), respectively.



Photo of Nikolay Sutyagin (17-th IAP 303-IAD) in 1951 year, kindly provided by his son Yuri Nikolayevich Sutyagin



G.P. Chumachenko (29 th SIAP 50 th IAD). Preparation of the MiG-15 for combat missions.



Pilots 523-his IAP 303-IAD


Red commanders on the Alley of Mig

Glenn Todd Eaglestone examines the damage received by his F-86A BuNo 49-1281 aircraft in a battle with Sergey-Kramarenko MiG-15. 17 June 1951.



F-86 # 49-1281 by Glenn Eaglestone (Korea). 17 June 1951, this aircraft will actually be destroyed by ace Sergey Kramarenko



F-86A # 49-1089 Senior Lieutenant Hitts, landing on the fuselage. The aircraft received these injuries on 9 May 1951, in a battle with the MiG-15, Alfei Mikhailovich Dostoevsky



Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub - the great Soviet pilot, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, on account of which 62 victory (WWII). Brilliant commander 324-IAD in Korea



James Jabara (center) accepts congratulations from his comrades (20 May 1951) His victim was Viktor Nazarkin's plane, who had to be catapulted. However, in the same battle, his F-86? 49-1318 received incurable damage (pilot V.I. Alfeev, 196-IAP).



Hero of the Soviet Union Sergey Kramarenko (Moninsky Museum, 2003). Photo courtesy of Milos Sediv (Czech Republic)



MiG-15bis '721' - the aircraft piloted by Sergey Kramarenko, incl. and in the 17 battle on June 1951, the result of which was the downed Glenn Eagleston F-86 aircraft



MiG-15bis '768' Evgeny Pepelyaev (Commander of 196 IAP 324-IAD) on that very day (20.05.1951) when he shot down F-86А 49-1080, which was piloted by Milton Nelson



MiG-15bis. The appearance of these aircraft was a bitter surprise for the Air Force and the US Navy in Korea.



Milton Nelson (335 th BI). 20 May 1951, his plane will bring down Yevgeny Pepeliaev (commander of the 196-IAP). Later, at the expense of Nelson two more Russian MiGs will be added, incl. and the slave Pepeliaev - Ivan Larionov (11 died July 1951 of the year).



Bernard Moore demonstrates the damage he received from his F-86? 49-1227 18 on April 1951, in a battle with the MiG-15 by F. A. Shebanov. This time, Saber was to be restored.



Captain Sergey Kramarenko (176-th GIAP), who opened an account of his air victories in the sky of Korea 12 on April 1951, knocking down F-80С? 49-1842. 2 June 1951, he was also shot down by F-86A, manned by Thomas Henson, and a little later, on 17 June, he managed to inflict incurable damage to F-86Ace of World War II by Glenn Iglston. These are only the first three victories of Sergey Kramarenko, who will win a total of 13 air battles



Georgy Shatalov (left) and Vladimir Surovkin (right) (523-th IAP). 24 June 1951, Shatalov shot down F-80S, driven by Arthur Johnson, and AD-4 (pilot Harley Harris died). A few days later - June 28 - one more aircraft added to the list of his victories - F4U-4 (pilot - Oliver Drauj). 10 September 1951 Shatalov knock down F-86? 48-256 (pilot John Burke will be saved). 28 November 1951 Shatalov will die as a result of an air battle with American ace Winton Marshall.



Instructions on maintaining the combat readiness of MiG-15 aircraft. (China, 1950)



The victory of Colonel Evgeny Pepeliaev (MiG-15bis 1315325) over Captain Gill Garrett (F-86А 49-1319) October 6 1951. Garrett was able to land his plane on the fuselage on the North Korean coast; as a result, the Saber was transported to the USSR. (Illustration by Yuri Tepsurkaev.)



Max Weill (left) and Arthur O'Connor (right) (335-th BEI) congratulate each other on their victories in air combat 9 on April 1951. Weill shot down a VF aircraft. Rogue, and O'Connor - Fyodor Slabkina (died). However, 20 May 1951, Weill himself will be shot down by Nikolai Kirisov (196-IAP), and O'Connor will share his fate a little later - October October 6 (pilot - Konstantin Sheberstov)



F-86? 49-1313 pilot Max Weill. The aircraft received incurable damage 20.05.1951g. in aerial combat with Major N. K. Kirisov (196-th IAP).
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23 comments
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  1. Gennady1973
    +17
    9 September 2013 09: 13
    Cool article! I read in one breath, that’s where the truth is! Dates, license plates, names, surnames, all this is, I think there are no skeptics to doubt what has been stated.
    1. +2
      11 September 2013 15: 47
      The article itself is based on this material, you can shoot shaky series. A low bow to our pilots, heroes and good fellows. All the same, the school of WWII pilots is very good. Well, amers usually hang out facts as they like.
  2. +13
    9 September 2013 09: 29
    This is really an article for a MILITARY REVIEW. Neither add, nor diminish.
  3. +8
    9 September 2013 09: 45
    A song about those already distant times. About how the amer was shot down by the "Vietnamese" pilot Li-si-tsin.

  4. +9
    9 September 2013 09: 50
    After reading such an article, it seems that he himself was there, such experiences
  5. andru_007
    +6
    9 September 2013 09: 57
    Comprehensive article. The author showed simply excellent knowledge of the material!
  6. +4
    9 September 2013 10: 02
    We can when we want and when they don’t interfere
  7. MAG
    +6
    9 September 2013 10: 19
    The most important and interesting is the memories of our and American pilots.
  8. +9
    9 September 2013 10: 19
    A lot has been written about the MiG-15 in Korea, but this is the most informative article of all that I read! I would like to know about the combat use in Korea of ​​the then-modern bomber Il-28 and attack aircraft Il-10.
    It is a pity that in Soviet times this information was concealed, while the Americans "flood" how they shot down Russians (700-800 MiGs against 70-80 Sabers). We ought to make films and TV shows about our pilots in Korea.
    1. +1
      11 September 2013 15: 44
      and it’s true that it would not hurt to make films. To do such things with the numerical superiority of the enemy is worth a lot. Glory to our speakers.
    2. +7
      14 September 2013 12: 57
      The topic of using Il-28 in that war seems to be still closed.
    3. +1
      2 November 2013 23: 19
      IL-28 was not used in combat in Korea. The IL-10 was used as an attack aircraft, but it turned out to be less effective than the American Hellcat and Corsair. You can read it in I. Seidov's book "Red Devils" in the sky of Korea. Moscow, EKSMO, 2007.
      1. +4
        3 November 2013 02: 39
        You are mistaken, it was used mainly for reconnaissance flights from the territory of the PRC.
  9. +9
    9 September 2013 10: 29
    Wow! Good article! P ... am, on "trays" (sirloin)! USSR Air Force-Forever!
  10. +5
    9 September 2013 10: 47
    The article is not bad, but not fully developed, which only costs:
    Against this aerial group consisting of 124 airplanes, the Soviet side was able to put only 44 MiG-17 from 176 and 196 regiments
    .
    Where did the MiG-1951 come from at the start of 17?
  11. Larus
    +4
    9 September 2013 12: 41
    And when the amers did not engage in harboring their true losses ..... According to Discovery, they often talk about their exploits, they just drove the ace on the ace and the ace)
    1. +4
      9 September 2013 13: 43
      yeah. Already look sickening to these discoveries with their same historical channels.
  12. takojnikuzheest
    +1
    9 September 2013 13: 13
    The article is quite informative and interesting. But she lacks some kind of general conclusion. Totals. For example, judging by the tables given in the article, in the direct confrontation between the Mig-15 and F-86, the victory went to the latter. The advantage over the shot down is small of course, but nevertheless it is.
  13. +2
    9 September 2013 13: 30
    Interestingly, did Kozhedub himself fly in Korea?
    1. +3
      9 September 2013 18: 47
      Quote: LM66
      and Kozhedub himself flew to Korea?

      There was a strict command order to ban Kozhedub, as a divisive officer, from engaging in fights personally. So, officially, no. And there ... who knows. Warrior, pilot ace, 30 years old, with great experience ...
    2. +2
      9 September 2013 18: 48
      He flew and shot down, Stalin himself recalled him.
  14. +4
    9 September 2013 15: 04
    I recommend - "Thunderstorm" Sabers "" Yuri Sutyagin.
  15. +3
    9 September 2013 19: 15
    Very objective research, very much! Even the Jewish comrades will not blather!
  16. 0
    11 September 2013 15: 57
    Yes, poor Jews need to be kept quiet now, although I respect them, there are a lot of sensible people. And our pilots were surprised, they inflicted a lot of damage on the enemy. In fact, they wiped their nose off with the American Air Force. I don’t think about the advantage of MiG15, I suppose it's about piloting and training the flight crew instructors with rich combat experience. And this is especially pleasing. We must write books and make films, because the memory of Our Asses must live and people should know about our Heroes.
  17. phantom359
    0
    13 September 2013 23: 10
    Good elaborate article. There are a lot of pluses. Although Tepsurkaev rolls a barrel at Igor Seidov, I do not see any flaws in his work.

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