thedrifter
05-03-03, 07:41 AM
Air War, Korea—
The Changing of the Guard
By Maj Allan C. Bevilacqua, USMC (Ret)
÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷
"Sure, an F2H will outrun a MiG, if you don't mind putting the nose down and popping a few rivets."
—MSgt Ed Chestnut, photo pilot, VMJ-1
÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷
On 5 Aug. 1950, Major Kenneth L. Reusser became the first Marine aviator, and for that matter the first Marine, to be decorated for gallantry during the Korean War.
Flying from the aircraft carrier USS Sicily (CVE-118), Maj Reusser led a four-plane flight of Vought F4U Corsairs from Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF) 214, the "Black Sheep," in a low-level attack. They savaged a North Korean truck park and tank repair facility in the occupied port city of Inchon.
With his aircraft heavily damaged by ground fire, he returned to Sicily for repairs and rearmament, then made his way back to Inchon. In the face of fierce ground fire, he destroyed an oil storage facility. With his bombs and rockets expended, Maj Reusser next attacked a camouflaged oil tanker at anchor in the harbor, raking it with 20 mm gunfire until the ship exploded, almost blowing him out of the air. For his actions Reusser was awarded the naval service's second highest award for gallantry, the Navy Cross.
On 11 July 1953, Maj John F. Bolt of VMF-115 became the final Marine aviator to be awarded the Navy Cross during the war in Korea. On attached duty with the U.S. Air Force's 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, Bolt was leading his four-plane flight of North American F-86 Sabrejets back from a raid against the vital North Korean installation of Sinuiju at the mouth of the Yalu River in the far northwest of Korea.
Sighting a flight of four Russian-built, and maybe Russian-piloted, MiG-15 jet fighters, Bolt immediately swung into the attack. It took him only five minutes to send two of the MiGs spinning to the ground in flames. They were his fifth and sixth kills in less than two months, making him the Marine Corps' first jet ace. Until the arrival of the F-86, the MiG-15 could outperform any fighter in Korea. Bolt emphatically let the enemy know a new top dog was in town.
Taken together, the actions of Reusser and Bolt illustrated the changing of the guard that was taking place in Marine Corps aviation. One era was ending, and another was beginning. The piston engine, propeller-driven airplane was passing from the scene, and the jet-powered airplane was taking its place on the stage.
The change wasn't sudden or dramatic. As is usually the case, the two eras overlapped. The venerable F4U Corsair, with its distinctive inverted gull-wing shape, so familiar to Marines in the war against Japan, continued to serve with distinction throughout the Korean War. So, too, did the Douglas AD1 Skyraider, a single-engine workhorse capable of carrying an ordnance load equal to a World War II B-17 bomber and seemingly able to remain on station over a target forever.
Even as the propeller-driven Corsairs and Skyraiders were carrying out combat missions of the type that had begun more than two decades earlier, new faces were making their appearances. The rugged and powerful Grumman F9F Panther was asserting itself as the premier Navy-Marine fighter of the Korean War. Assuming a vital role in aerial photographic reconnaissance was the sleek McDonnell F2H Banshee, while the Douglas F3D Sky Knight was wasting no time in letting communist pilots know that it owned the night.
This trio of newcomers was quick to make its mark. From its arrival in Korea in December 1950 with the Marine Corps' first jet squadron, VMF-311, the F9F Panther lost no time in establishing itself as a first-line combat aircraft. The latest in a long line of powerful products that generations of Navy and Marine aviators affectionately called the "Grumman Iron Works," the F9F was built to take and dish out punishment. A stable, flyable aerial platform, the F9F soon won a reputation as a "pilot's airplane," one that was "made to fly."
Prior to the arrival of F9F squadrons, there had been widespread concern over the ability of jet aircraft to accurately deliver ordnance against targets on the ground. The much greater speed of jets, it was feared, would make it extremely difficult for a pilot to put bombs on a target with only seconds to line up and make corrections.
The F9F soon proved these fears to be groundless. The time-tested and -proven Marine Corps system of air-ground control was found to be no less effective with jet aircraft than it had been with propeller-driven planes. The stability of the F9F ensured pilots a solid approach to the target and a steady platform from which to deliver ordnance. Designed as an air-supremacy fighter, the F9F turned out to be highly effective in a close air support role. Marines on the ground could look with equal confidence on close air support from Panthers, Corsairs or Skyraiders.
Any doubts as to the accuracy of aerial-delivered ordnance by jet aircraft were put permanently to rest in June 1952 by a series of joint Navy, Marine and Air Force strikes against North Korea's electric power system. Taking part in these raids, Panther jets from VMF-115 and VMF-311 helped blast a series of hydroelectric plants into rubble, blacking out all of North Korea for weeks.
When Chinese and Soviet technicians were rushed in to get things working again, the raids were repeated, and once more North Korea was plunged into darkness. Colonel Robert E. Galer, the commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12 and a Medal of Honor winner from WW II, summed it up this way: "The capability of jet strike aircraft for extremely accurate bombing, an item of open discussion prior to this time, was never questioned in the First Marine Aircraft Wing after this mission."
Along the main line of resistance (MLR), this accuracy was extended into the night with the arrival of the MPQ-14 radar, which made night bombing a matter of precision rather than luck. Marines on the MLR throughout the Korean War could count on close air support around the clock and in almost all kinds of weather. Marines on the ground in 1952 might have been surprised to learn that one of their fellow Marines flying an F9F in support of them was none other than the commanding general of 1stMAW, Major General Christian F. "Frank" Schilt, the Marine Corps' first general officer to qualify in jets.
The slender McDonnell F2H was designed as a carrier fighter for the Navy. For Marine Corps aviation it was, in the words of one enlisted Marine pilot who flew it, "a natural photo bird," one that could outperform any photo plane in Korea. Maj Robert R. Read took his newly formed Marine Reconnaissance Squadron (VMJ) 1 to K-3 Airfield at Pohang in February 1952. It didn't take long for the squadron's 14 twin-jet F2H-2P Banshees to become the mainstay of the aerial photography effort in Korea.
Flying in support of both the First Marine Division and the Fifth Air Force (FAF), the 550-mph, single-seat jet was described as being "the first important development in aerial photography in the Korean War." Only weeks after its introduction, the Banshee was providing one-third of the day photo requirements of the FAF. This was despite constituting only one-quarter of the total available assets and being based at an airfield more than 150 miles farther from most targets than any other aerial photo unit in Korea.
Master Sergeant Louie Guesman, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the VMJ-1 photography laboratory, said that the Banshee "could take one helluva lot of pictures." This was more than just colorful talk. During its time in Korea, VMJ-1 turned out almost 800,000 feet of film, equal to a photo strip wrapped 6 1/2 times around the Earth at the equator. Banshees from VMJ-1 accounted for one-third of all friendly photo missions in Korea and at times flew half of all such missions for the FAF.
The importance attached to the F2H Banshee by FAF may be seen from some of the missions assigned and the protection afforded. These missions ranged from the MLR to the far northern regions of Korea along the MiG-guarded Yalu River. Strong FAF fighter cover accompanied each mission. On one mission flown against the vital Suiho Reservoir hydroelectric power complex deep in North Korea, a pair of VMJ-1 Banshees was escorted by two entire squadrons of Air Force F-86 fighters. The Banshee was an asset of the first order.
The Douglas F3D Sky Knight was, in many ways, obsolete the day it rolled off the production line. Designed as an all-weather fighter, the two-seat, twin-jet F3D with the distinctive wide body that earned it the enduring nickname of "Willie the Whale" was outclassed by other jet fighters almost before it entered the Marine Corps' inventory. In Korea, thanks to its airborne intercept radar equipment, the F3D turned out to be a natural night fighter, a mission that was born of necessity.
That necessity was the Boeing B-29 Super Fortress. Flying from bases on Okinawa, the big four-engine heavy bombers began flying deep interdiction missions over North Korea almost as soon as the firing of the first shots of the war. Initial successes were dampened and then seriously curtailed with the arrival of Soviet antiaircraft and fighter units, a participation that never was acknowledged officially by either side.
Firing from positions just across the Yalu River separating Korea from Manchuria, antiaircraft batteries subjected the B-29s to heavy concentrations of fire. Flying from bases in untouchable Manchuria, MiG fighters made the area so hazardous that the border region soon became known as "MiG Alley." Bomber losses mounted, and day bombing was abandoned in favor of night bombing. The MiGs continued to tear at the bomber formations.
continued...........
The Changing of the Guard
By Maj Allan C. Bevilacqua, USMC (Ret)
÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷
"Sure, an F2H will outrun a MiG, if you don't mind putting the nose down and popping a few rivets."
—MSgt Ed Chestnut, photo pilot, VMJ-1
÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷
On 5 Aug. 1950, Major Kenneth L. Reusser became the first Marine aviator, and for that matter the first Marine, to be decorated for gallantry during the Korean War.
Flying from the aircraft carrier USS Sicily (CVE-118), Maj Reusser led a four-plane flight of Vought F4U Corsairs from Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF) 214, the "Black Sheep," in a low-level attack. They savaged a North Korean truck park and tank repair facility in the occupied port city of Inchon.
With his aircraft heavily damaged by ground fire, he returned to Sicily for repairs and rearmament, then made his way back to Inchon. In the face of fierce ground fire, he destroyed an oil storage facility. With his bombs and rockets expended, Maj Reusser next attacked a camouflaged oil tanker at anchor in the harbor, raking it with 20 mm gunfire until the ship exploded, almost blowing him out of the air. For his actions Reusser was awarded the naval service's second highest award for gallantry, the Navy Cross.
On 11 July 1953, Maj John F. Bolt of VMF-115 became the final Marine aviator to be awarded the Navy Cross during the war in Korea. On attached duty with the U.S. Air Force's 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, Bolt was leading his four-plane flight of North American F-86 Sabrejets back from a raid against the vital North Korean installation of Sinuiju at the mouth of the Yalu River in the far northwest of Korea.
Sighting a flight of four Russian-built, and maybe Russian-piloted, MiG-15 jet fighters, Bolt immediately swung into the attack. It took him only five minutes to send two of the MiGs spinning to the ground in flames. They were his fifth and sixth kills in less than two months, making him the Marine Corps' first jet ace. Until the arrival of the F-86, the MiG-15 could outperform any fighter in Korea. Bolt emphatically let the enemy know a new top dog was in town.
Taken together, the actions of Reusser and Bolt illustrated the changing of the guard that was taking place in Marine Corps aviation. One era was ending, and another was beginning. The piston engine, propeller-driven airplane was passing from the scene, and the jet-powered airplane was taking its place on the stage.
The change wasn't sudden or dramatic. As is usually the case, the two eras overlapped. The venerable F4U Corsair, with its distinctive inverted gull-wing shape, so familiar to Marines in the war against Japan, continued to serve with distinction throughout the Korean War. So, too, did the Douglas AD1 Skyraider, a single-engine workhorse capable of carrying an ordnance load equal to a World War II B-17 bomber and seemingly able to remain on station over a target forever.
Even as the propeller-driven Corsairs and Skyraiders were carrying out combat missions of the type that had begun more than two decades earlier, new faces were making their appearances. The rugged and powerful Grumman F9F Panther was asserting itself as the premier Navy-Marine fighter of the Korean War. Assuming a vital role in aerial photographic reconnaissance was the sleek McDonnell F2H Banshee, while the Douglas F3D Sky Knight was wasting no time in letting communist pilots know that it owned the night.
This trio of newcomers was quick to make its mark. From its arrival in Korea in December 1950 with the Marine Corps' first jet squadron, VMF-311, the F9F Panther lost no time in establishing itself as a first-line combat aircraft. The latest in a long line of powerful products that generations of Navy and Marine aviators affectionately called the "Grumman Iron Works," the F9F was built to take and dish out punishment. A stable, flyable aerial platform, the F9F soon won a reputation as a "pilot's airplane," one that was "made to fly."
Prior to the arrival of F9F squadrons, there had been widespread concern over the ability of jet aircraft to accurately deliver ordnance against targets on the ground. The much greater speed of jets, it was feared, would make it extremely difficult for a pilot to put bombs on a target with only seconds to line up and make corrections.
The F9F soon proved these fears to be groundless. The time-tested and -proven Marine Corps system of air-ground control was found to be no less effective with jet aircraft than it had been with propeller-driven planes. The stability of the F9F ensured pilots a solid approach to the target and a steady platform from which to deliver ordnance. Designed as an air-supremacy fighter, the F9F turned out to be highly effective in a close air support role. Marines on the ground could look with equal confidence on close air support from Panthers, Corsairs or Skyraiders.
Any doubts as to the accuracy of aerial-delivered ordnance by jet aircraft were put permanently to rest in June 1952 by a series of joint Navy, Marine and Air Force strikes against North Korea's electric power system. Taking part in these raids, Panther jets from VMF-115 and VMF-311 helped blast a series of hydroelectric plants into rubble, blacking out all of North Korea for weeks.
When Chinese and Soviet technicians were rushed in to get things working again, the raids were repeated, and once more North Korea was plunged into darkness. Colonel Robert E. Galer, the commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12 and a Medal of Honor winner from WW II, summed it up this way: "The capability of jet strike aircraft for extremely accurate bombing, an item of open discussion prior to this time, was never questioned in the First Marine Aircraft Wing after this mission."
Along the main line of resistance (MLR), this accuracy was extended into the night with the arrival of the MPQ-14 radar, which made night bombing a matter of precision rather than luck. Marines on the MLR throughout the Korean War could count on close air support around the clock and in almost all kinds of weather. Marines on the ground in 1952 might have been surprised to learn that one of their fellow Marines flying an F9F in support of them was none other than the commanding general of 1stMAW, Major General Christian F. "Frank" Schilt, the Marine Corps' first general officer to qualify in jets.
The slender McDonnell F2H was designed as a carrier fighter for the Navy. For Marine Corps aviation it was, in the words of one enlisted Marine pilot who flew it, "a natural photo bird," one that could outperform any photo plane in Korea. Maj Robert R. Read took his newly formed Marine Reconnaissance Squadron (VMJ) 1 to K-3 Airfield at Pohang in February 1952. It didn't take long for the squadron's 14 twin-jet F2H-2P Banshees to become the mainstay of the aerial photography effort in Korea.
Flying in support of both the First Marine Division and the Fifth Air Force (FAF), the 550-mph, single-seat jet was described as being "the first important development in aerial photography in the Korean War." Only weeks after its introduction, the Banshee was providing one-third of the day photo requirements of the FAF. This was despite constituting only one-quarter of the total available assets and being based at an airfield more than 150 miles farther from most targets than any other aerial photo unit in Korea.
Master Sergeant Louie Guesman, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the VMJ-1 photography laboratory, said that the Banshee "could take one helluva lot of pictures." This was more than just colorful talk. During its time in Korea, VMJ-1 turned out almost 800,000 feet of film, equal to a photo strip wrapped 6 1/2 times around the Earth at the equator. Banshees from VMJ-1 accounted for one-third of all friendly photo missions in Korea and at times flew half of all such missions for the FAF.
The importance attached to the F2H Banshee by FAF may be seen from some of the missions assigned and the protection afforded. These missions ranged from the MLR to the far northern regions of Korea along the MiG-guarded Yalu River. Strong FAF fighter cover accompanied each mission. On one mission flown against the vital Suiho Reservoir hydroelectric power complex deep in North Korea, a pair of VMJ-1 Banshees was escorted by two entire squadrons of Air Force F-86 fighters. The Banshee was an asset of the first order.
The Douglas F3D Sky Knight was, in many ways, obsolete the day it rolled off the production line. Designed as an all-weather fighter, the two-seat, twin-jet F3D with the distinctive wide body that earned it the enduring nickname of "Willie the Whale" was outclassed by other jet fighters almost before it entered the Marine Corps' inventory. In Korea, thanks to its airborne intercept radar equipment, the F3D turned out to be a natural night fighter, a mission that was born of necessity.
That necessity was the Boeing B-29 Super Fortress. Flying from bases on Okinawa, the big four-engine heavy bombers began flying deep interdiction missions over North Korea almost as soon as the firing of the first shots of the war. Initial successes were dampened and then seriously curtailed with the arrival of Soviet antiaircraft and fighter units, a participation that never was acknowledged officially by either side.
Firing from positions just across the Yalu River separating Korea from Manchuria, antiaircraft batteries subjected the B-29s to heavy concentrations of fire. Flying from bases in untouchable Manchuria, MiG fighters made the area so hazardous that the border region soon became known as "MiG Alley." Bomber losses mounted, and day bombing was abandoned in favor of night bombing. The MiGs continued to tear at the bomber formations.
continued...........