F-86 SABRE ACES OF THE 51ST FIGHTER WING (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 70)

Warren Thompson

The Korean War was the first conflict in which jets fought for the control of the skies. The Soviet-designed MiG-15 and the USAF's F-86 Sabre were the best fighters committed to the war, and they went head-to-head over the Yalu River from late 1950 through to the ceasefire in July 1953. When the communists rushed more than 500 MiG-15s into bases in Manchuria in an effort to seize aerial supremacy over North Korea from the USAF-deominated United Nations forces, they were opposed by just 140 Sabres from the 51st and 4th Fighter Wings. The first two volumes chronicling the combat histories of Sabres aces in Korea, this book focuses on the 51st Fighter Wing. Originally equipped with Shooting Stars, the 51st hastily converted to the f-86E in late 1951, and pilots such as McConnell, Fischer, Overton and Heller exacted a heavy toll on the Mig-15 regiments. 96 pages