Tag Archives: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15

8 November 1950

This painting by famed aviation artist Keith Ferris depicts 1st Lieutenant Russell Brown’s Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star as he shot down an enemy Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15 over Korea, 8 November 1950. (Keith Ferris)

8 November 1950: First Lieutenant Russell J. Brown, United States Air Force, 16th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing, is credited with shooting down a Russian-built Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15 jet fighter near the Yalu River while flying a Lockheed F-80C-10-LO Shooting Star. This may have been the very first time that a jet fighter had been shot down by another jet fighter.

Sources vary, reporting the serial number of Lieutenant Brown’s fighter as 49-713 or 49-717.

A contemporary newspaper quoted Brown:

1st Lieutenant Russell J. Brown. (Air Force Times)

Brown gave a colorful description of the fight in history’s first jet-versus-jet battle last week. He said:

“We had just completed a strafing run on Sinuiju antiaircraft positions and were climbing when we got word that enemy jets were in the area.

“Then we saw them across the Yalu, doing acrobatics.

“Suddenly they came over at about 400 miles an hour. We were doing about 300. They broke formation right in front of us at about 18,000 or 20,000 feet. They were good looking planes—shiny and brand, spanking new.”

INS, Tokyo, November 13

Soviet records reported no MiG 15s lost on 8 November. Senior Lieutenant Kharitonov, 72nd Guards Fighter Aviation Unit, reported being attacked by an F-80 under circumstances that suggest this was the engagement reported by Lieutenant Brown, however Kharitonov succeeded in evading the American fighter after diving away and jettisoning his external fuel tanks.

A Soviet MiG 15 pilot, Lieutenant Khominich, also of the 72nd Guards, claimed shooting down an American F-80 on 1 November, but U.S. records indicate that this fighter had been destroyed by anti-aircraft fire.

What is clear is that air combat had entered the jet age, and that the Soviet Union was not only supplying its swept wing MiG 15 to North Korea and China, but that Soviet Air Force pilots were actively engaged in the war in Korea.

Russian technicians service a MiG-15bis o fteh 351st IAP at Antung Air Base, China, mid-1952. (Unattributed)
Russian technicians service a MiG 15bis of the 351st IAP at Antung Air Base, China, mid-1952. (Unattributed)

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15 is a single-seat, single engine turbojet-powered fighter interceptor, designed to attack heavy bombers. Designed for high sub-sonic speed, the leading edges of the wings and tail surfaces were swept to 35°. The wings were very thin to minimize aerodynamic drag.

The fighter was 10.102 meters (33 feet, 1.7 inches) long, with a wingspan of 10.085 meters (33 feet, 1 inch). Its empty weight was 3,253 kilograms (7,170 pounds) and takeoff weight was 4,963 kilograms (10,938 pounds).

The Rolls-Royce Nene I and Nene II jet engines had been used in the three MiG 15 prototypes. The British engines were reverse-engineered by Vladimir Yakovlevich Klimov and manufactured at Factory No. 45 in Moscow as the Klimov VK-1. The VK-1 used a single-stage centrifugal-flow compressor, 9 combustion chambers and a single-stage axial-flow turbine. It produced a maximum 26.5 kilonewtons of thrust (5,957 pounds of thrust). The VK-1 was 2.600 meters (8 feet, 6.4 inches) long, 1.300 meters (4 feet, 3.2 inches) in diameter, and weighed 872 kilograms (1,922 pounds).

The MiG 15 had a maximum speed of 1,031 kilometers per hour (557 knots/641 miles per hour) at 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) and 1,050 kilometers per hour (567 knots/652 miles per hour) at Sea Level.

Armament consisted of one Nudelman N-37 37 mm cannon and two  Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 23 mm cannon.

MIG 15 Red 2057A Chinese Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15bis in a hangar at Kimpo Air Base, South Korea. A defecting North Korean pilot, Lieutenant No Kum-Sok flew it to Kimpo 1953. It was examined and test flown. This MiG 15 is in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force).
MIG 15 Red 2057. A North Korean Peoples’ Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15bis in a hangar at Kimpo Air Base, Republic of South Korea. A defecting North Korean pilot, Lieutenant No Kum-Sok, flew it to Kimpo on 21 September 1953. It was taken to Okinawa, examined and test flown by U.S.A.F. test pilots, including Major Charles E. (“Chuck”) Yeager. This MiG 15 is in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force).

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the United States’ first operational jet fighter. It was redesignated F-80 in 1948. It was a single-seat, single-engine airplane, designed by a team of engineers led by Clarence L. (“Kelly”) Johnson. The prototype XP-80A, 44-83020, nicknamed Lulu-Belle, was first flown by test pilot Tony LeVier at Muroc Army Air Field (now known as Edwards Air Force Base) 8 January 1944. The P-80A entered production in 1945. Improved versions, the P-80B and P-80C (F-80C) followed.

A Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star on display at the Air Force Armaments Museum, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The fighter is marked as F-80C-10-LO 49-713, 16th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Group, Kimpo, Korea, 1950.
Lockheed F-80C-10-LO Shooting Star 49-432 on display at the Air Force Armaments Museum, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The fighter is marked as F-80C-10-LO 49-713, assigned to the 16th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Group, Kimpo, Korea, 1950.

The F-80C was 34 feet, 5 inches (10.490 meters) long with a wingspan of 38 feet, 9 inches (11.811 meters) and an overall height of 11 feet, 3 inches (3.429 meters). It weighed 8,420 pounds empty (3,819 kilograms) and had a maximum takeoff weight of 16,856 pounds (7,645 kilograms).

The F-80C was powered by either a General Electric J33-GE-11, Allison J33-A-23 or J33-A-35 turbojet engine. The J33 was a development of an earlier Frank Whittle-designed turbojet. It used a single-stage centrifugal-flow compressor, eleven combustion chambers and a single-stage axial-flow turbine section. The J33-A-35 had a Normal Power rating of 3,900 pounds of thrust (17.348 kilonewtons) at 11,000 r.p.m., at Sea Level, and 4,600 pounds (20.462 kilonewtons) at 11,500 r.p.m., for Takeoff.  It was 107 inches (2.718  meters) long, 50.5 inches (1.283 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1,820 pounds (826 kilograms).

The F-80C had a maximum speed of 594 miles per hour (516 knots/956 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level and 543 miles per hour (472 knots/874 kilometers per hour) at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). The service ceiling was 46,800 feet (14,265 meters). The maximum range was 1,380 miles (2,221 kilometers).

The F-80C Shooting Star was armed with six Browning AN-M3 .50-caliber aircraft machine guns mounted in the nose.

A Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star of the 16th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing, makes a JATO-assisted takeoff from an airfield in the Republic of South Korea, circa 1950. (U.S. Air Force)

Lockheed F-80C-10-LO Shooting Star 49-713, flown by Albert C. Ware, Jr., was lost 10 miles north of Tsuiki Air Base, Japan, 23 March 1951.

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

29 July 1957

Bendix trophy winner Captain Kenneth D. Chandler, U.S. Air Force, in teh cockpit of Convair F-102A Delta Dagger 56-1196 (U.S. Air Force via Jet Pilot Overseas)
Bendix Trophy winner Captain Kenneth D. Chandler, U.S. Air Force, in the cockpit of Convair F-102A-65-CO Delta Dagger 56-1196 (Jet Pilot Overseas)

29 July 1957: Captain Kenneth D. Chandler, 11th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 343d Fighter Group (Air Defense), United States Air Force, won the 1957 Bendix Trophy Race, flying a Convair F-102A Delta Dagger from O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, to Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington, D.C., a distance of 619.73 miles (997.36 kilometers).

His elapsed time was 54 minutes, 45.5 seconds, for an average speed of 679.053 miles per hour (1,092.830 kilometers per hour).

Cnvair F-102A-65-CO Delta Dagger 56-1196 with its drogue 'chute deployed on landing at Andrews Air Force Base, 28 July 1957. (From the Collection of Johan Ragay)
Convair F-102A-65-CO Delta Dagger 56-1196 with its drogue ‘chute deployed on landing at Andrews Air Force Base, 28 July 1957. (From the Collection of Johan Ragay)

The six F-102A interceptors in the race departed O’Hare at five minute intervals. Captain Chandler, flying the fifth Delta Dagger, departed at 1320.0 hours.

Captain Chandler’s commanding officer, Colonel Robert L. Gould, also flying an F-102, placed second in the race.

Chandler’s F-102 ran out of fuel while taxiing to the ramp.

Captain Kenneth D. Cahnadler's Convair F-102A Delta Dagger, 56-1196, at Andrews Air Force Base, 28 July 1957. (From the Collection of Johan Ragay, with much appreciation—TDiA)
Captain Kenneth D. Chandler’s Convair F-102A Delta Dagger, 56-1196, at Andrews Air Force Base, 28 July 1957. (From the Collection of Johan Ragay)

The Chicago Daily Tribune reported the event:

KOREA JET ACE WINS BENDIX TROPHY RACE

Sets New Record of 679 M.P.H.

Washington, July 28 (AP)—Capt. Kenneth D. Chandler, a Korean War jet ace, set a new Bendix Air Race record of 679 miles an hour today.

     Chandler, 33, flew a Convair F-102 delta wing interceptor 620 miles from Chicago’s O’Hare field to nearby Andrews Air Force Base, Md., in 54 minutes, 45½ seconds. Five other Air Force pilots made the race, flying F-102s.

     Second place went to Col. Robert L. Gould of Baltimore, with an elapsed time of 55:16:8.

Chicagoan Is Third

     Captain Leroy W. Svendesen of Chicago placed third with an elapsed time of 55:17:2. There was a difference of only about two minutes in the times of the first and last place planes.

     Chandler smashed the 666 mile an hour set last year by Maj. Manuel (Pete) Fernandez. Fernandez flew an F-100 from Victorville, Cal., to Oklahoma City.

     The Ricks Memorial trophy flight today also ended at Andrews. The winner of the 2,680 mile flight from Fresno, Cal., was Maj. Peter R. Phillipy, 35, of Pittsburgh. Phillipy made the trip in 4 hours, 13 minutes and 40 seconds, averaging 638 miles an hour.

Springfield Pilot 2d

     Second place was won by Capt. Shirley V. Drum, 29, of Springfield, Ill.

     Chicago area pilots in the race were Maj. Aloysius X. Hiltgen, 33, of Park Ridge, whose time was 4:31:7, and Capt. John C. Nowacki, 34, of Cicero, 4:31:36.

     The Bendix and Ricks air races were highlights of an air show sponsored by the Air Force Association, in a salute the 50th anniversary of the United States Air Force.

     A crowd estimated at more than 75,000 persons witnessed the first public flights of the Ryan X-13 Vertijet and the Republic F-105 supersonic fighter-bomber.

Chicago Daily Tribune, Volume CXVI—NO. 180, Monday, July 29, 1957, Part 1, Page 15, Columns 1–3.

The tally board shows the departure times and elapsed times of each pilot. Chandler is number five. (Jet Pilot Overseas)
The tally board shows the departure times and elapsed times of each pilot. Chandler is number five. (Jet Pilot Overseas)

Kenneth Donald Chandler was born 14 October 1923 at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the second of six children of Thomas Brown Chandler, a cabinet maker, and Gladys A. Smith Chandler. While growing up, his family lived in Phoenix, Arizona, and Compton, California.

During World War II, Chandler flew Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter bombers in the European Theater of Operations. In 1950, he flew a North American Aviation F-86A Sabre as Captain Chuck Yeager’s wingman during the filming of aerial sequences for Howard Hughes’ movie, “Jet Pilot,” which starred John Wayne and Janet Leigh. (RKO Pictures, 1957.)

While flying an F-86 Sabre with the 336th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter Interceptor Group, 18 November 1951, Chandler, flying just ten feet over the ground, destroyed four enemy Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15s parked at the south end of Uiju Airfield, on the North Korean side of the Yalu River. He and his wingman, Lieutenant Dayton W. Ragland, damaged several others. On 13 December, he shot down a MiG 15, but his Sabre, F-86A-5-NA 49-1159, ingested debris from the damaged enemy airplane. Chandler flew the crippled fighter to the vicinity of Chŏ-do Island, where he bailed out and was rescued by two South Korean airmen in a small boat, and taken to a waiting helicopter.

Captain Chandler and 1st Lieutenant Frank Latora, both of the 343d Fighter Group, were killed when their Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star jet trainer crashed 12 miles (19 kilometers) north east of Parker, Colorado, while on a ground-controlled approach to Lowry Air Force Base on the night of Friday, 28 March 1958. Captain Chandler’s remains are buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, California.

Captain Kenneth D. Chandler, United States Air Force, with the Bendix Trophy. (Jet Pilot Overseas)
Captain Kenneth D. Chandler, United States Air Force, with the Bendix Trophy. (Jet Pilot Overseas)
Convair XF-92A 46-682 on Muroc Dry Lake, 1948. (U.S. Air Force)

The Convair F-102A Delta Dagger was a single-place, single engine, supersonic all-weather interceptor. It featured a delta wing and was based on the experimental Convair XF-92A of 1948.

The F-102A was the first production model and was vastly improved over the YF-102 pre-production prototypes, which had first flown 24 October 1953. The redesigned YF-102A made its first flight 20 December 1954, and the first production F-102A flew six months later, 24 June 1955.

The Convair F-102A was 68.3 feet, (20.82 meters) long, including the pitot boom, with a wingspan of 38.1 feet (11.61 meters) and overall height of 21.2 feet (6.46 meters). It had an empty weight of 19,283 pounds (8,747 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 27,950 pounds (12,678 kilograms), and 31,559 pounds (14,315 kilograms), maximum inflight weight or overload takeoff.

The F-102A’s delta wing leading edges were swept aft to 60° 6′. The angle of incidence was 0° and there was no dihedral. The total wing area was 695.1 square feet (64.58 square meters).

The F-102A was powered by a Pratt & Whitney J57-P-23 axial-flow turbojet engine. The J57 had a 9-stage, low-pressure and 7-stage high-pressure compressor section, and a single-stage high-pressure turbine and 2-stage low-pressure turbine. The J57-P-23 had a maximum continuous power rating of 8,700 pounds of thrust (38.70 kilonewtons). The Military Power rating was 10,200 pounds (45.37 kilonewtons) (30 minute limit), or 16,000 pounds (71.17 kilonewtons) with afterburner (5 minute limit). The engine was 20 feet, 5.1 inches (6.226 meters) long and 3 feet, 3.8 inches (1.011 meters) in diameter. It weighed 5,045 pounds (2,288 kilograms).

Compare this overhead view of a Convair F-102A-90-CO Delta Dagger, 57-0809, to that of the prototype YF-102 at top. The "wasp waist" area rule fuselage is very noticeable. U.S. Air Force)
A Convair F-102A-90-CO Delta Dagger, 57-0809. The “wasp waist” area-ruled fuselage is very noticeable. (U.S. Air Force)

The Convair Delta Dagger was the first American production interceptor that could reach supersonic speed in level flight. Its maximum speed was 710 knots (817 miles per hour, 1,315 kilometers per hour)—Mach 1.24—at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). The service ceiling was 55,500 feet (16,916 meters). The F-102A could reach 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) in 6.4 minutes from a standing start at Sea Level. It had a combat radius of 430 nautical miles (495 statute miles/796 kilometers), and its maximum ferry range with internal fuel was 1,140 nautical miles (1,312 statute miles/2,111 kilometers).

A Convair F-102A Delta Dagger launches three AIM-4 Falcon guided missiles. (U.S. Air Force)
A Convair F-102A Delta Dagger launches three AIM-4 Falcon guided missiles. (U.S. Air Force)

Armament consisted of six Hughes GAR-1D Falcon radar-homing, or GAR-2 Falcon infrared-seeking, air-to-air guided missiles, or a combination of both, carried in two internal bays. (The Falcon missiles were re-designated AIM-4A and AIM-4B in 1962.) The missile bay doors contained launch tubes for twenty-four 2.75-inch (70 millimeter) unguided Folding Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR). The Delta Dagger was not armed with a gun.

A Convair F-102A Delta Dagger fires a salvo of 2.75-inch Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets. (LIFE Magazine via Jet Pilot Overseas)

Between 1955 and 1958, Convair built 889 F-102A Delta Dagger interceptors. The F-102A remained in service with the U.S. Air Force Air Defense Command until 1973, and with the Air National Guard to 1976.

The Bendix Trophy-winning F-102A, 56-1196, was delivered from Convair to the 326th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 328th Fighter Group (Air Defense), at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, south of Kansas City, Missouri, on 2 July 1957. It later served with a number of Air Force and Air National Guard squadrons. Its last operational unit was the 157th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, South Carolina Air National Guard. Placed in storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona, in March 1975. 56-1196 was converted to a QF-102A target drone, and in August 1978, a PQM-102B.

The Bendix Trophy-winning Convair F-102A Delta Dagger, 56-1196, in storage at The Boneyard. The interceptor is wearing the markings of the South Carolina Air National Guard.
The Bendix Trophy-winning Convair F-102A Delta Dagger, 56-1196, in storage at The Boneyard, circa 1975. The interceptor is wearing the markings of the South Carolina Air National Guard. The interceptor’s fuselage missile bays are open.

Note: TDiA would like to express its appreciation to Johan Ragay for the use of the photographs of 56-1196, and for some additional details of its service history.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

26 July 1958

Captain Iven C. Kincheloe, Jr., U.S. Air Force, in the cockpit of a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. (U.S. Air Force)

26 July 1958: United States Air Force test pilot Captain Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr., took off from Edwards Air Force Base in Lockheed F-104A-15-LO Starfighter 56-0772, acting as a chase plane for another F-104A which was flown by a Lockheed test pilot, Louis W. Schalk, Jr.

As the two supersonic interceptors began their climb out from the runway, a small control cable deep inside Kincheloe’s fighter failed, allowing the inlet guide vane of the F-104’s General Electric J79-GE-3 turbojet engine to close. With the suddenly decreased airflow the engine lost power and the airplane started to descend rapidly.

Captain Kincheloe radioed, “Edwards, Mayday, Seven-Seventy-Two, bailing out.”

Lockheed F-104A-15-LO Starfighter, 56-0772. (U.S. Air Force)
Lockheed F-104A-15-LO Starfighter 56-0772. (U.S. Air Force)

The early F-104 Starfighters had a Stanley Aviation Corporation Type B ejection seat that was catapulted or dropped by gravity from the bottom of the cockpit. 56-0772 was equipped with an improved Stanley Type C ejection seat. With the Starfighter well below 2,000 feet (610 meters), Kincheloe apparently thought that he needed to roll the airplane inverted before ejecting. This was actually not necessary and delayed his escape.

The XF-104 had a downward-firing ejection seat, intended to avoid the airplane's tall vertical tail. Production aircraft used an upward-firing seat. (Lockheed)
The early F-104s had a downward-firing Stanley B ejection seat, intended to avoid the airplane’s tall vertical tail. Later production aircraft used an upward-firing seat. (Lockheed Martin)

By the time he had separated from the seat and could open his parachute, he was below 500 feet (152 meters). The parachute did open, but too late. Iven Kincheloe was killed on impact. His airplane crashed into the desert floor just over 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) from the west end of Runway 22 and was totally destroyed. Today, a large crater scattered with fragments of Kincheloe’s F-104 is still clearly visible.

Iven Kincheloe was just 30 years old.

Lockheed F-104A-15-LO Starfighter 56-0772 is the interceptor closest to the camera in this photograph. (U.S. Air Force)
Lockheed F-104A-15-LO Starfighter 56-0772 is the interceptor closest to the camera in this photograph. (U.S. Air Force)

Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr., was a legendary test pilot. He was born 2 July 1928 in Wayne County, Michigan, the son of Iven Carl Kincheloe, a farmer, and Francis Emma Wilde. He started flying lessons when he was 14 years old, and by the time he was legally allowed to solo—on his 16th birthday—he had already accumulated over 200 flight hours. He entered the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Program (ROTC) at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, where he was an engineering student. While there, he met Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager and decided that test flying was the career area that he wanted to pursue.

Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr., Purdue Class of 1949. (1949 Debris)

At Purdue, Kincheloe was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon (ΣΦΕ) fraternity, played football and managed the track team. He was a member of a military honor society, the Scabbard and Blade, and the Gimlet Club, a booster organization supporting varsity sports at the university. Iven Kincheloe graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant, United States Air Force Reserve, 17 June 1949.

On graduation, Kincheloe was sent to Arizona to begin his Air Force pilot training. After graduating, Second Lieutenant Kincheloe was sent to Edwards Air Force Base in southern California to work on the new North American Aviation F-86E Sabre.

Lieutenant Kincheloe deployed to Korea as a fighter pilot with the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing in August 1951, flying the F-86E Sabre as an escort for bomber formations. He was transferred to the 25th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Group, and immediately began to shoot down enemy Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighters. He was soon an “ace” with five confirmed kills.

Lieutenant Iven C. Kincheloe, Jr., in the cockpit of his North American Aviation F-86F-10-NA Sabre, 51-2731, named Ivan. (U.S. Air Force)
Lieutenant Iven C. Kincheloe, Jr., in the cockpit of his North American Aviation F-86E-10-NA Sabre, 51-2731, named “Ivan,” Korea, circa 1951. (U.S. Air Force)

After his combat tour (131 missions) in Korea, Iven Kincheloe was assigned as an exchange student to the Empire Test Pilots’ School at RAE Farnborough, England. After completing the ten-month British training program in 1955, Kincheloe was sent back to Edwards Air Force Base.

One of the most skilled test pilots at Edwards, Iven Kincheloe flew every type of fighter, as well as the Bell X-2 rocketplane, which he flew to 126,200 feet (38,465 meters), 7 September 1956. He was the first pilot to climb higher than 100,000 feet (30,480 meters) and was considered to be “the first man in space.” For this flight, Kincheloe was awarded the Mackay Trophy, “For outstanding contributions to the science of aviation by flying the Bell X-2 to an altitude considerably higher than had ever been reached before by a piloted aircraft.”

Kincheloe was scheduled to become the primary Air Force pilot on the upcoming North American Aviation X-15 Program. That would have been followed by the Man In Space Soonest project, which would have launched Kincheloe into orbit with an X-15B second stage launched by an Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile.

Captain Iven C. Kincheloe, Jr., with his son, Iven III, and Dorothy W. Heining Kincheloe. Captain Kincheloe is wearing a David Clark Co. MC-3 capstan-type partial-pressure suit and MA-3 helmet. The airplane is a Lockheed F-104A Startfighter. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)

Captain Kincheloe married Miss Dorothy W. Heining at Monterey, California, 20 August 1955. They had two children, Iven Carl Kincheloe III and Jeanine Kincheloe, who was born several months after her father’s death.

Captain Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr., was awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit (posthumous), the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters (three awards), and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters (four awards), Presidential Unit Citation with oak leaf cluster (two awards), National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with three service stars, Air Force Longevity Service Award, the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, United Nations Korean Service Medal, and the Republic of Korea Korean War Service Medal. In 1959, Kincheloe Air Force Base, Michigan, was named in his honor.

Captain Kincheloe is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.

Captain Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr., United states Air Force. LIFE Magazine via Jet Pilot Overseas)
Captain Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr., United States Air Force. (LIFE Magazine via Jet Pilot Overseas)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

23 July 1953

Major John H. Glenn, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, in the cockpit of his North American Aviation F-86F Sabre, “MiG Mad Marine,” just after his second kill, 19 July 1953.

23 July 1953: Major John H. Glenn, Jr., United States Marine Corps, shot down his third and final MiG-15 fighter during the Korean War.

Major Glenn had previously flown a Grumman F9F Panther with VMF-311, but was assigned to the U.S. Air Force 25th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Group, at K13, Suwon, Korea.

Major John H. Glenn, Jr., United States Marine Corps, standing with his North American Aviation F-86-30-NA Sabre, 52-4584, “MiG Mad Marine,” at Suwon, Korea, July 1953. (John Glenn Archives, The Ohio State University)

While on temporary duty with the Air Force squadron, Glenn flew the North American Aviation F-86F Sabre air superiority fighter. He shot down all three MiG fighters with F-86F-30-NA serial number 52-4584. His previous victories were on 12 July and 19 July, 1953, also against MiG-15 fighters.

Major Glenn had painted the names of his wife and two children,  “Lyn Annie Dave,” on the nose of his airplane, but after being heard complaining that there “weren’t enough MiGs,” he came out one morning to find MIG MAD MARINE painted on the Sabre’s side.

John Glenn’s fighter, North American Aviation F-86F-30-NA Sabre, serial number 52-4584, at K13, Suwon, Korea, 1953. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

Distinguished Service Cross, Captain Joseph C. McConnell, Jr., United States Air Force

Captain Joseph C. McConnell, Jr., U.S. Air Force, Suwon Air Base, Korea, 18 May 1953. (U.S. Air Force)
McConnell’s Beautious Butch II at Suwon Air Base (K13), Korea. (U.S. Air Force)

18 May 1953: On his last day of combat, Captain Joseph C. McConnell, Jr., a fighter pilot with the 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, United States Air Force, flew two sorties in which he shot down three enemy Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighters, bringing his total to 16 aerial victories. He was credited with damaging 5 more enemy aircraft. McConnell was the leading American ace of the Korean War. He had scored all of his victories between 14 January and 18 May, 1953.

For his actions on this date, Captain McConnell was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross:

The President of the United States of America, under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Captain Joseph McConnell, Jr., United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as a Pilot with the 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, FIFTH Air Force, in action against enemy forces in the Republic of Korea on 18 May 1953. Leading two F-86s on an air superiority mission over North Korea, he sighted a formation of twenty-eight MIG-15 type aircraft. Determined to accomplish his mission and with complete disregard for the numerical odds against him, he immediately attacked. Although under fire himself, he pressed his attack to such extent that he completely disorganized the enemy formation, destroying one of the MIGs and damaging another. Several enemy aircraft were then firing at him but, seeing that the other Sabre in his flight was also being fired upon, he completely ignored enemy cannon fire directed at himself and destroyed the MIG that was pursuing his wingman. These victories, in spite of counterattacks by such superior numbers, completely unnerved the enemy to the extent that they withdrew across the Yalu before further attacks could be made. Through his courage, keen flying ability and devotion to duty, Captain McConnell reflected great credit upon himself, the Far East Air Forces, and the United States Air Force.

Captain Joseph Christopher McConnell, Jr., U.S. Air Force.

During his combat tour in Korea, McConnell flew at least three North American Aviation F-86 Sabre jet fighters: an F-86E and two F-86Fs. He named the airplanes Beauteous Butch, after his wife’s nickname.

On 12 April 1953, after his eighth kill, he was himself shot down by another MiG-15. He ejected from his second Sabre, F-86F-15-NA 51-12971, and parachuted into the Yellow Sea where he was rescued by a Sikorsky H-19A Chickasaw helicopter from the 581st Air Resupply and Communications Wing, based at the island of Chŏ-do.

His last airplane, F-86F-1-NA 51-2910, was painted with 16 red stars and Beauteous Butch II following the last mission. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star.

Captain Joseph C. McConnell, Jr., and Captain Harold Fischer, a double ace, with McConnell's second Sabre, F-86F-15-NA 51-12971, Korea, 1953. (U.S. Air Force).
Captain Joseph C. McConnell, Jr., and Captain Harold E. Fischer, Jr., a double ace, leading McConnell at the time of this photograph, with Joe McConnell’s second Sabre, F-86F-15-NA 51-12971, “Beautious Butch.” This fighter was shot down 12 April 1953. (U.S. Air Force).

Of air combat, Captain McConnell said, “It’s the teamwork out here that counts. The lone wolf stuff is out. Your life always depends on your wingman and his life on you. I may get credit for a MiG, but it’s the team that does it, not myself alone.

Joseph Christopher McConnell, Jr., was born 30 January 1922 at Dover, New Hampshire. He was the second child of Joseph Christopher McConnell, a barber, and Phyllis Winifred Brooks McConnell. Mrs. McConnell died in 1931.

After graduating from high school, Joseph McConnell enlisted in the Medical Corps, United States Army, at Concord, New Hampshire, 15 October 1940. He had enlisted for the Philippine Department. Private McConnell was assigned to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, for training. McConnell was 5 feet, 9 inches (1.75 meters) tall and weighed 134 pounds (60.8 kilograms).

In 1941, McConnell married Miss Pearl Edna Brown at Fitchburg, Massachusetts. They would have three children, Patricia Ann, Kathleen Frances, and Joseph Christopher McConnell III. McConnell called his wife “Butch.” He explained the not-so-flattering nickname by saying that she was, “the butcher of his heart.”

In 1943, McConnell was selected as an aviation cadet, and was trained as a navigator. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant, 18 September 1944.

A Consolidated B-24H Liberator of the 448th Bombardment Group, circa 1945.

Lieutenant McConnell was assigned to the 448th Bombardment Group (Heavy), based at RAF Seething (Army Air Force Station 146) near Norwich, Norfolk, England. The 448th was equipped with B-24 Liberator bombers. McConnell flew as navigator on 60 combat missions.

Following World War II, Lieutenant McConnell remained in the Army Air Force. In 1946, he was assigned to pilot training. He graduated from flight training at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, and received his pilot’s wings 25 February 1948.

Lieutenant McConnell deployed to the Republic of South Korea in September 1952, and was assigned to the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing.

“Beauteous Butch” (Mrs. McConnell) and Captain Joseph C. McConnell, Jr., circa 1953.

Captain McConnell returned to the United States 24 May 1954. After meeting with President Eisenhower in Washngton, D.C., he was assigned to the 435th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, based at George Air Force Base, Victorville, California. The squadron was equipped with the F-86 Sabre. (The former air base is now the Southern California Logistics Airport, VCV.)

The community of Apple Valley, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) southeast of George AFB, donated a two-bedroom house and an acre of land (0.4 hectare) to Captain McConnell and his family, as a sign of its appreciation. The house was constructed in 45 hours. ¹

In the summer of 1954, Captain McConnell was temporarily assigned to Edwards Air Force Base, 35 miles northwest of George, to evaluate the new North American Aviation F-86H Sabre fighter bomber.

Similar to the F-86H-1-NA Sabre flown by Captain McConnell, this is a North American Aviation F-86H-10-NH, 53-1298. (U.S. Air Force)

On 25 August 1954, McConnell was flying F-86H-1-NA 52-1981, the fifth production airplane, performing an aerobatic function check. About 20 minutes into the test flight, McConnell radioed to Edwards that he was experiencing flight control problems, and had to use elevator trim adjustments to control the Sabre’s pitch attitude. He reported that he planned to make an emergency landing on the dry lake bed.

Witnesses reported seeing McConnell eject from the F-86H at about 500 feet (152 meters) above the surface. His parachute did not open. Captain McConnell was killed. The fighter bomber flew on for about one-half mile (0.8 kilometers) before it crashed at approximately 1:00 p.m., local time.

Investigators found that two bolts in the horizontal stabilizer control system had not been properly fastened and had fallen out.

Joseph Christopher McConnell, Jr., was just 31 years old. His remains were interred at the Victor Valley Memorial Park, Victorville, California.

Captain McConnell in teh cockpit of Beauteous Butch II after his final combat mission, 18 May 1953. The airplane is McConnell's third Sabre, F-86F-1-NA 51-2910. (U.S. Air Force)
Captain McConnell in the cockpit of Beauteous Butch II after his final combat mission, 18 May 1953. The airplane is McConnell’s third Sabre, F-86F-1-NA 51-2910. (U.S. Air Force)

¹ The McConnell “appreciation house” is located at 20822 N. Outer Highway 18, Apple Valley, California. The 1,980 square foot (184 square meters) 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, house, in derelict condition, sold for $47,000 on 16 July 2016, less than 20% of what its value should have been. ***Update: A TDiA reader reports that the McConnell House has been completely renovated to better-than-new condition.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes