F-86 Sabre Aces of the 51st Fighter Wing

COMMENTARY

INTRODUCTION

The introduction of the North American F-86 Sabre into combat over Korea by the 4th Fighter Wing (FW) in November 1950 (see Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 72 - F-86 Sabre Aces of the 4th Fighter Wing for details) was considered a great success, even though the aircraft initially proved maintenance-intensive in the field. However, the increasing number of MiG-15s that had been moved into Manchuria by mid 1951 made the Far East Air Force (FEAF) and the Pentagon realise that air supremacy over the frontlines and critical United Nations (UN) air bases scattered across South Korea could be quickly lost.

Constant monitoring of communist airfields in Manchuria had kept UN commanders abreast of the serious threat posed by the ever-growing MiG-15 force along the North Korean border. And it was a single report produced by USAF intelligence in the autumn of 1951, backed by an anxious plea for help from the CO of the 4th FW, that finally saw the FEAF’s request for an additional Sabre wing in-theatre approved by the US government soon after the document had arrived in the Pentagon.

Reconnaissance aircraft had been keeping a close eye on the numerous satellite airfields around Antung (known as the Antung Complex), and photographs from a mission over the Yalu River confirmed that a new fighter aviation regiment had moved in to Takishan air base, bringing the total number of MiG-15s in Manchuria to 290. It was time to respond to the threat, and reinforcements would come not a minute too soon, as subsequent intelligence reports showed that the MiG-15 force ranged against the FEAF actually totalled 400+ jets, opposed by just 89 barely serviceable Sabres (based in South Korea and Japan).

The FEAF’s senior war planners asked for sufficient F-86s to equip an additional two wings with Sabres, but approval was received on 22 October 1951 for just 75 jets, which would be allocated to the 51st FW.

When the war started in late June 1950, the F-80 Shooting Star-equipped 51st was based on the Japanese island of Okinawa. Amongst the first USAF units to respond to the crisis in Korea, the wing was alerted for movement from its Naha base to Itazuke, in southern Japan, on 6 September 1950. Here, it would be attached to HQ Fifth Air Force. The 51st subsequently entered combat with only two squadrons (the 16th and the 25th FSs), as it was forced to leave one unit (the 26th FS) intact at Naha to carry on performing the wing’s pre-war FEAF mission of providing the air defence of Okinawa and the surrounding area.

In the spring of 1950 there were three wings of F-80s in Japan (the 8th, 35th and 49th Fighter-Bomber Wings) and one on Okinawa (the 51st). Three of these wings would bear the brunt of early air combat in the Korean War, which erupted on 25 June 1950 when North Korean T-34-85 tanks rumbled south across the 38th Parallel and headed directly for Seoul. The 35th FBW was left to perform its air defence of central Japan mission from Johnson AFB, near Tokyo.

The attrition rate with the older F-80s was very high, and the FEAF realised early on that there would not be an endless number of replacement aircraft to keep the units at full strength. This meant that surviving Shooting Stars would funnel into fewer and fewer squadrons, and eventually only one wing – the 8th FBW. With the 49th FBW converting onto the newer F-84 Thunderjet and continuing in its fighter-bomber role in the spring of 1951, the two squadrons of the 51st FW were selected for re-equipment with the new F-86Es that were destined for the FEAF in December of that same year.

F-86Es ENTER COMBAT

The E-model Sabres allocated to the 51st FW were improved versions of the world-beating F-86A. The latter had been in operational service with the USAF since the 1st FG’s 94th FS had received its Sabres in February 1949 at March AFB, in California. In February 1951 a superior version of the Sabre began reaching Air Force units in the USA in the form of the F-86E.

Like all good military aircraft manufacturers, North American Aviation was constantly analysing the comments and feedback it received from frontline pilots to find out what they needed to do to make the fighter even better. This information duly resulted in the production of the E-model Sabre, which boasted an ‘all-flying tailplane’ operated by fully hydraulic actuators to help cure handling woes that pilots reported plagued the F-86A at transonic speed ranges. The new actuators replaced mechanically-adjustable stabilisers that were responsible for trim control in the A-model, the new elevators and horizontal stabilisers now being controlled as one unit. To quote F-86 Sabre expert Ray Wagner;

‘The horizontal stabiliser was pivoted at its rear spar so that the leading edge was moved eight degrees up and down by normal control column action. The elevator was mechanically linked to the stabiliser and moved in a specific relationship to stabiliser movement.’

The end result of this modification was an F-86 that had responsive controls and great manoeuvrability even at transonic speeds.

One of the first service pilots to fly the new E-model in the spring of 1951 was Lt Joe Cannon of the 62nd FS/56th FW, and he would subsequently complete more than 40 missions in Korea as wingman to legendary ace, and future commanding officer of both the 4th and 51st FWs, Col Francis ‘Gabby’ Gabreski. He reflected on the chain of events that led up to the new F-86Es being loaded onto the aircraft carrier USS Cape Esperance and shipped to Korea to equip the 51st in the late autumn of 1951;

16th FS pilot Major Donald Adams climbs out of the cockpit of his F-86E after an encounter with MiG-15s high over the Yalu River during the afternoon of 27 May 1952. He had just claimed his last victory, taking his tally to 6.5 kills. Adams had joined the 51st FW from the 56th FG six months earlier, and had ‘made ace’ with a double MIG haul on 3 May. Having completed his combat tour on 13 June 1952, Adams returned to the US and joined the F-89-equipped 1st FW. He was subsequently killed in a flying accident in F-89C 51-5781 at Detroit airport on 30 August 1952 (T R White)

‘While I was flying with the 62nd FS at Chicago O’Hare, we had several future 4th/51st FW aces with us in the squadron – Iven Kincheloe, Don Adams (who taught me how to dogfight in the F-86A over Lake Michigan) and World War 2 ace Bill Whisner, as well as the 56th FW’s then CO, Gabby Gabreski. I can honestly tell you that there were several other pilots that were of the same calibre as these aces.

The first pilot to attain ace status whilst serving with the 51st FW was Maj Bill Whisner, seen here receiving last minute instructions from his crew chief. Having already claimed 15.5 kills with the 352nd FG during World War 2, Whisner scored two MiG-15 victories (and was credited with damaging a further four jets) whilst serving with the 4th FW’s 334th FS prior to joining the 51st FW’s 25th FS in November 1951. On the afternoon of 23 February 1952 Whisner bagged his fifth MiG, thus taking his tally in Korea to 5.5 victories, and making him the USAF’s seventh jet ace (Iven Kincheloe)

‘In early 1951, we began ferrying the new F-86Es from the factory in California back to Chicago. Lt Kincheloe and I flew a lot of sorties in both the A- and E-models at this time, and we used to argue with each other about which one of us had the most time in the jet in the Air Force.

‘It didn’t take long for all of us to realise just how much better the F-86E was in comparison with the F-86A. Its improved handling, thanks to its all-hydraulic controls, really came to the fore during our mock dogfights. For example, in the new model it was very easy to Split-S at 40,000 ft and pull out of a vertical dive while going through the speed of sound (Mach 1). This was done with ease through light back pressure on the control column, and we didn’t witness any of the violent rolling tendencies that afflicted the F-86A. This was due, in part, to the fact that we had an all-flying tail, where the entire horizontal tail moved with the stick control instead of just the elevator.

‘On the downside, flying formation with the E-model initially proved to be more difficult than it had been in the F-86A due to the sensitivity of the new control system. However, after a few hours of formation time, pilots quickly became comfortable when flying in close proximity to each other.

‘The more powerful J47-GE-13 turbojet engine in the F-86E, which produced an extra 600 lbs of thrust, was also a great asset in a dogfight, as was the A-1CM gunsight.’

Getting used to the new Sabre required a certain amount of flight time, and the highly qualified pilots then serving with Col Gabreski’s 56th FG quickly adapted to their new mounts. Many of them had World War 2 combat time in their log books, and their aggressive nature and wartime experience ensured that they would make a name for themselves when they were transferred into the 51st FW, along with the new F-86Es.

In late June 1951, the transportation of near-new F-86Es destined for the FEAF began, these aircraft being taken from the US-based 1st and 33rd FWs. The first batch to depart from Naval Air Station Alameda, California, were assigned to the hard-pressed 4th FW in an effort to bolster its strength, while the second shipment of 75 E-models departed from the same naval base aboard the aircraft carriers USS Cape Esperance and USS Sitkoh Bay on 1 and 9 November, respectively. The latter jets were ultimately destined for Suwon AB, in Korea, to replace the 51st FW’s war-weary F-80Cs.

Having completed strapping in, Maj Whisner prepares to fire up the engine in his F-86E at Suwon in early 1952. His crew chief is keeping a watchful eye on the gauges in the cockpit whilst the pilot runs through the engine ignition sequence (Bill Nowadnick)

The aircraft carrier USS Cape Esperance had been tasked with getting the first F-86As to the Far East in November 1950, and it was called on again 12 months later to transport the new F-86Es to the 51st FW. These Sabres, strapped and chained down to the carrier’s flightdeck, were protected against the elements by a thick coat of anti-corrosion compound (James Hardin)

It should also be mentioned here that the USAF subsequently purchased 60 licence-built F-86E-6s from Canadair to help relieve the over-taxed assembly lines at North American’s Inglewood, California, facility. These aircraft, destined for the 51st FW, were delivered to the Air Force between February and July 1952 and fitted with US equipment at the Fresno modification centre in California prior to being shipped to Korea.

Returning to July 1951, Col Gabreski and his ‘hand-picked’ pilots, pulled from the 56th FW, accompanied the F-86Es across the Pacific. Lt Cannon had vivid memories of the voyage;

‘We loaded all of the Sabres from our 62nd FS aboard the Cape Esperance for the fast trip over to Japan. We were hit by an enormous typhoon in the middle of the Pacific, and our carrier was so top heavy from the large number of Sabres chained to the flightdeck that we came close to capsizing. It was an unbelievable experience. The salt water all but destroyed the electrical systems of the aircraft that were top side, and this duly meant that we would experience a lot of in-flight emergencies with these jets once we started flying them over MiG Alley.’

Within weeks of the first F-86Es being issued to the 4th FW, pilots from the wing began encountering a newer and more dangerous version of the MiG fighter, which UN intelligence identified as the MiG-15bis. The new communist interceptor was fitted with the more powerful VK-1 turbojet engine which gave the MiG-15bis a top speed of 688 mph, compared with 652 mph for the RD-45F-powered MiG-15. Its existence in ever-growing numbers in Manchuria only compounded the problems faced by the 4th FW that already existed because of the numerical advantage the older versions had. The