0413&:$0.#"5"*3$3"'5t F9F PANTHER UNITS OF THE KOREAN WAR Warren Thompson © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com SERIES EDITOR: TONY HOLMES OSPREY COMBAT AIRCRAFT 103 F9F PANTHER UNITS OF THE KOREAN WAR WARREN THOMPSON © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE US NAVY PANTHERS STRIKE EARLY 6 CHAPTER TWO THE WAR DRAGS ON 18 CHAPTER THREE MORE MISSIONS AND MORE MiGS 50 CHAPTER FOUR INTERDICTION, RESCAP, CAS AND MORE MiGS 60 CHAPTER FIVE MARINE PANTHERS ENTER THE WAR 72 APPENDICES 87 COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY 89 INDEX 95 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com US NAVY PANTHERS CHAPTER ONE STRIKE EARLY he United States’ brief period of post-World War 2 peace T and economic recovery was abruptly shattered on the morning of 25 June 1950 when troops from the communist state of North Korea crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded their neighbour to the south. American military power in the Far East had by then been reduced to a token force that was ill equipped to oppose the Soviet-backed North Korean military. The United States Air Force (USAF), which had been in the process of moving to an all-jet force in the region, responded immediately with what it had in Japan and Okinawa. The biggest problem for the USAF, however, was that its F-80 Shooting Star fighter-bombers lacked the range to hit North Korean targets, and their loiter time over enemy columns already in South Korea was severely restricted. This pointed to the need for the US Navy to bolster American air power in the region by deploying its aircraft carriers to the region. However, the only vessel in the Far East was more than a thousand miles from Korea. The USS Valley Forge (CV-45) was anchored in Hong Kong USS Valley Forge (CV-45) was the harbour, with its crew enjoying rest and recuperation ashore. Within first American carrier to enter the hours of the communist invasion of South Korea all personnel had been Korean War, with its two F9F-3 squadrons under the control of recalled to the carrier, which duly weighed anchor and steamed for Subic CVG-5. The Panther shown here was Bay, in the Philippines, in order to make the ship ready for combat. operated by VF-51. Many of the Following a hasty turnaround at Subic Bay, CV-45 arrived off the west squadron’s pilots would encounter coast of North Korea on 1 July. Here, it was joined by the British carrier North Korean propeller-driven aircraft during the first few weeks of the war, HMS Triumph within Task Force (TF) 77. Valley Forge was home to and the US Navy’s first aerial kills Carrier Air Group (CVG) 5, and its two squadrons (VF-51 and VF-52) were scored on 3 July 1950 by two of F9F-3s would be the first US Navy units to see combat in jet fighters. VF-51 pilots (Frank Jones) On the afternoon of 2 July CVG-5’s mission planners were tasked with mounting a major strike on the main airfields around the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. The operation was to be carried out the next morning, starting with a perfectly timed launch that would see the propeller- driven types (F4U-4B Corsairs and AD-2/4Q Skyraiders) taking off first, followed by the appreciably faster F9F-3 Panthers. North Korean fighters had been active over 6 Kimpo airfield a week earlier, and © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com US NAVY PANTHERS STRIKE EARLY PANTHERS US NAVY according to intelligence personnel in TF 77 it was likely that there would be many more over Pyongyang than there had been on 27 June, when USAF F-82 Twin Mustangs and F-80s had last encountered them. VF-51 would make Naval Aviation history on the morning of 3 July, as it became the first US Navy jet squadron to fly a combat mission. And during the course of that mission one of its pilots would claim the first aerial victory for a US Navy jet. TF 77’s intelligence personnel had indeed been right when they predicted that the North Korean People’s Air Force (NKPAF) would F9F-2Bs of VF-112 are readied on the probably be airborne at the time of the attack, as several Soviet-built flightdeck of Philippine Sea in Yak-9s were in the air over Pyongyang when the Panthers arrived in the September 1950. VF-112 spent eight months in combat on its first cruise target area. The enemy pilots had no idea what they were in for, however. (US Navy) In fact most of them had probably never seen a jet before! Two Yak-9s subsequently fell to the guns of VF-51 pilots. One of the successful Naval Aviators was Lt(jg) Leonard H Plog, who recalled; ‘I was one of several Panther pilots who took off from the Valley Forge at 0600 hrs. We were part of a large strike force that included two squadrons of F4U-4B Corsairs and a squadron of AD-4 Skyraiders. Our job was to keep any airborne enemy fighters away from the bombers. We arrived at the target before the strike force, and our main priority was to destroy any enemy aircraft parked on the airfield. Just as we commenced our strafing runs one of our pilots reported a Yak-9 taking off, and evidently a couple of others had also just gotten airborne. ‘My wingman and I broke off from our strafing run to go after the Yak that had just taken off. As I lined up behind it, out of the corner of my eye I saw another one coming straight at me. He evidently misjudged the speed of my Panther because he missed. Ens Eldon Brown saw a Yak coming in on another element of F9Fs. This consisted of our air group commander, Cdr Peter Lanham, and his wingman, Lt Bill Gortney. He closed on it quickly and blew the Yak apart with his 20 mm cannon. This allowed me to re-focus on my Yak. I lined him up and fired a burst. A split second later I saw his right wing disintegrate. Ens Brown and I had shot down two enemy prop-type fighters in a short span of time. ‘Our Corsairs and Skyraiders had achieved excellent results while working the airfield over. We then returned to our carrier with no losses. That afternoon we launched another strike against the same airfield, but there were very few targets left untouched after the morning attack. Anti-aircraft fire was minimal on both strikes.’ Soon after the initial strikes, both Valley Forge and Triumph were ordered south for a good reason. US military leaders were uncertain about North Korean and Chinese intentions, and it was feared that the invasion 7 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CHAPTER ONE of South Korea might have been a diversion to enable communist China F9F-2B BuNo 123443 from VF-112 to launch an amphibious attack on nationalist Chinese Taiwan (Formosa). floats on the water after crashing shortly after being launched from When it became obvious that this was not in fact the case, both carriers Philippine Sea off Mokpo-Kwang-Ju rejoined the war to make continuous attacks on targets north of the 38th on 7 August 1950. Its pilot, Lt Cdr Parallel. This put VF-51’s F9F-3s back in the thick of it. Ralph Weymouth (CO of VF-112), can be seen standing in the cockpit of his The second aircraft carrier to enter the war was USS Philippine Sea aeroplane awaiting rescue. This (CV-47), with CVG-11 embarked. When the conflict began the ship was aircraft was the first of three moored in its homeport of San Diego, California. Within days it was on Panthers lost during the deployment. its way to the Far East, sailing for Hawaii on 5 July. By 5 August the carrier Lt Cdr Weymouth went on to captain the Essex Class carrier USS Lake was off the coast of South Korea, ready for combat operations. Upon its Champlain (CVS-39) in 1961, and arrival in-theatre the vessel was designated flagship of TF 77. CVG-11 he was in command when that ship also boasted two squadrons (VF-111 and VF-112) of F9F-2 Panthers, and recovered Alan B Shepard Jr on these units would make a major contribution to the war effort. When the 5 May 1961 to signal the end of the first US manned space flight. carrier reached the Sea of Japan the situation was desperate on the Korean Capt Weymouth later rose to the Peninsula, as UN forces had been boxed into a small area to the southeast rank of vice-admiral (US Navy) of the country known as the Pusan Perimeter. CV-47 would remain on station until mid-March 1951, which meant that its crew had to endure a harsh Korean winter. Upon joining TF 77, VF-111 and VF-112 were ordered to attack roads leading to the Pusan area, while CVG-11’s Corsairs and Skyraiders rained tons of bombs on the enemy’s forward positions. During this period aircraft from Philippine Sea struck targets from Seoul up to Wonsan. Ens Allen ‘Boot’ Hill, a VF-112 Panther pilot, recalls a memorable mission he flew on 26 August when the North Koreans were close to pushing UN forces into the sea; ‘We were working approximately ten kilometres north of Pohang. At the beginning of a routine road and rail reconnaissance hop, a Marine airborne forward air controller [FAC] saw us and contacted our CO, who was flying lead.