A MiG-15 to Freedom by No Kum-Sok

Author:No Kum-Sok
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McFarland

11. Battles in MiG Alley

Most of the F-86 Sabre pilots were seasoned World War II pilots and had at least a couple of years experience flying jet planes. The primary mission of Sabre pilots for months was to escort bombers; they flew protective cover for attack aircraft (F-51s, F-80s, and F-84s) and the bombers (B-26s and B-29s). Later, however, Sabres were sent to engage MiGs in MiG Alley to control the skies, even while the Manchurian sanctuary was in effect. We would fly high above the Sabres and swoop down for a firing run only when there were no other F-86 Sabres above us; then we would return to the safe haven of high altitude. Often, however, MiG pilots found trouble when they encountered Sabres before gaining the advantage of a higher altitude, and when this happened it was usually the fault of the high command and the Manchurian controllers.

The MiG-15’s ceiling advantage was diminished by the long contrail; it churned up at a high altitude. There were often 100 MiG-15s at a time with long contrails in the so-called MiG Alley, and they clouded the sky. It was a common sight for the Chinese and Korean people on both sides of the Yalu River to look up and watch the countless contrails advance in the sky. They could have identified the planes, MiG-15s and F-86s, by the length of the contrails. Even when a MiG pilot had the speed advantage allowed by the greater altitude, he usually found it difficult to shoot down an F-86 Sabre without the element of surprise in a dogfight. The obvious contrails, especially in the winter, usually eliminated the element of surprise.

The fighter scrambles at Uiju were inconclusive. During the next six weeks, we lost three of our 30 MiGs and shot down one South Korean F-5l Mustang and an American F-80 jet. The American bombing of Uiju took a greater toll on us. I slept with my clothes on every night, for at least half a dozen times B-29s droned overhead after dusk and plastered our field. One primary target was the hydroelectric dam at Sup’ung (Suiho) about 50 miles northeast of the mouth of the Yalu River. Whenever I heard the alert, I raced on foot for the mountains a mile away. My regiment had no training in night fighting, and I never flew at night, not even in training. One North Korean aviation battalion was training for night fighting, but it was not ready before the cease-fire.

Occasionally, the Russians in propeller-driven La-11 night fighters from Dandong air base went up to meet B-29s caught in the glare of searchlights. I saw La-11 and B-29 gunners exchanging fire in the night sky, but no planes, American or Russian, were shot down. The night skies were red with antiaircraft fire from guns manned by Russians around the base and everywhere else along the river, and cannon fragments whistled all around me in the distant mountains, but I never saw any aircraft hit at night by anything.

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