1 July 1950 Task Force Smith arrives in Korea from Japan

EVERY MAN A TIGER:

Squadron Calendar

25 JUNE 1950 - 15 SEPTEMBER 1950

JUNE 1950

25 June - The North Koreans attack across the 38th parallel into the Republic of Korea (ROK). At the beginning of the war, the 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (Photo Jet) is based at Yokota, Japan. Far East Air Forces (FEAF) is in possession of 25 RF-80A "Shooting Stars"--all assigned to the 8th TRS.

27 June - A flight of four RF-80As of the 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS) fly from their home base at Yokota to Itazuke, Japan. This is done in preparation for a "maximum show of force" by FEAF in support of ROK ground forces scheduled to occur on 28 June 1950.

28 June - First Lieutenant Bryce Poe II, of the 8th TRS flies an early morning weather run over the Korean Peninsula from Itazuke, Japan on the first jet combat reconnaissance mission in history. His positive weather report allows FEAF to successfully launch the day's bomber and fighter-bomber missions.

JULY 1950

1 July - General Stratemeyer believes that air reconnaissance requirements in the Korean Theater cannot be met by a single photo jet squadron and therefore submits a request to Washington, D.C. for an RF-51 squadron and RB-26 night photographic squadron to be sent to Korea.

7 July - In a conference at FEAF Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, General ____ promises to provide sufficient numbers of RF-80s to the 8th TRS to keep it at its war time strength. FEAF withdraws its request for an RF-51 squadron.

9 July - The 8th TRS moves from Yokota to Itazuke Airfield in Japan to be closer to the Korean Theater of Operations.

XX July - The 162d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (Night Photograph RB-26) based at _____ and the 363rd Reconnaissance Technical Squadron based at ____ are ordered to Japan.

AUGUST 1950

Late August - The 162d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (Night Photograph RB-26) and the 363rd Reconnaissance Technical Squadron reach Itazuke Airfield, Japan.

SEPTEMBER 1950

3 September - 5th U.S. Air Force activates the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Itazuke Airfield, Japan. However, the squadron will not receive its RF-51 aircraft until November 1950.

11 September - While participating in an aerial reconnaissance mission over Korea in an RF-80A "Shooting Star", Captain Marshal "Rojo" M. Williams of the 8th TRS is shot down by antiaircraft fire and listed as Missing in Action. "Rojo" Williams, so nicknamed for his red hair, is the first casualty of the squadron in the Korean War.

16 September - While participating in an aerial reconnaissance mission over Korea in an RF-80A "Shooting Star", First Lieutenant Donald J. Drama of the 8th TRS is shot down by antiaircraft fire and listed as Missing in Action.

26 September - The 5th U.S. Air Force activates the 543rd Tactical Support Group at Itazuke Airfield, Japan, as a headquarters for 8th, 45th, and 162nd Reconnaissance Squadrons. The 543rd Group Commander is ________.

After a year in Peru in 1946 teaching Peruvian pilots to fly P-47’s, I returned to the U.S. in 1947, was assigned to the 161st Tac Recon Squadron at Langley Field, Virginia, which operated new RF-80’s. I was delighted, but when Lt. Col. Jim Rose the Squadron C.O. had to offer someone for a base headquarters assignment, he picked me — I was out. Nine months later I volunteered for fighter jet training at Williams Field, Arizona, then was reassigned back to Langley to the newly organized 160th Tac Recon Squadron (RF-80s). The 160th and 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadrons, together with the 12th Squadron in RB-26’s, made up the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Group headed by Col. James Smelley.

Fighter pilots look down their noses at recon pilots (called "Recce Pukes") since recon is not a gun/rocket/bomb type business. However in peacetime I learned that recon can be more productive than fighters. We flew mapping photography and provided aerial photos of U.S. military installations, military cemeteries greatly expanded by WWII, nuclear weapons sites, etc. Jets were new and requirements for air shows were many. The RF-80 was the most reliable source since it had a radio compass that allowed it to be flown safely through weather to destinations while abiding by Air Traffic Control rules. F-80 fighters had no instrument navigation system and could not do this.

After WWII the average fighter pilot knew little about instrument flying procedures, about cruise control or about high altitude weather like icing — 100-150 mph jet streams aloft and about the sonic barrier. The lack of this knowledge and training led to the death of numerous jet jockeys. We learned mainly through experience. Keep in mind, the late 1940’s were formative years for jet operations and jet pilots. In the 160th and 161st Squadrons at Langley from 1947 through 1949 we lost probably as many RF-80 pilots in operations and training accidents as we did in the Korean War.


AIR SHOWS

There were air shows almost weekly in the late 1940's. One of the more interesting air show demonstrations was at Randolf Air Base, Texas, for the School of Aviation Medicine in mid 1948. Two RF-80s were to pass in opposite directions head-on in front of the viewers at speeds to demonstrate 1,000-mph rate of closure. I had separated six aircraft into two flights of 3, which flew in two spread-out string formations. The flights passed each other head-on flying on the deck using the main runway as a separation line. Timing to get two of the six aircraft to pass the reviewing stands at the same time was tricky. On the second fly-by attempt two passed head on at 475 mph each for 950-mph rate of closure in front of the reviewing stand.

A 36 RF-80 aircraft formation led by Col. Smelley ran through a large formation of B-29?s at the opening of Kennedy Airport celebration on Long Island, New York. President Truman was there and the news columns read that F-80 aircraft performed intricate maneuvers over the grandstands. The weather was lousy and a variety of aircraft were operating uncontrolled under 1,000-foot ceiling. It was an aerial mess without a catastrophe.

In 1948, a multiple pass, four aircraft fly-by was scheduled over a Boy Scout Camp celebration. The aerial trick was to find its location under a large oak tree in a forest in Ohio. We were on time at the right place and put on a good show.

A cut back in the Air Force units in April 1949 caused the deactivation of the 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Langley and the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at March Air Base in California. This left two squadrons of RF-80s in the Air Force, the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron which had moved to Shaw Air Base in South Carolina and the 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Yakota Air Base in Japan near Tokyo. An RB-26 night Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron remained at Langley and was re-designated the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron when it moved to Korea in the Fall of 1950. During the Korean War the 161st Squadron trained replacement pilots at Shaw and became the nucleus on which the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was formed.

North Korea invaded South Korea 25 June 1950 and the 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron moved from Yakota Japan to Itazuke Airfield on Kyushu an easy 100 miles from Korea and started combat operations ? Squadron Commander, Lt. Col. Jacob Dixon. Back at Shaw AFB, South Carolina, the 161st was moving replacement RF-80s to the West Coast for shipment to Japan and also the 1st five replacement pilots. Clyde East and I were among them. Three others came with that group; Capt. Les Asbury, Lt. Stan Sebring and Lt. J. B. Smith who became critical to our reconnaissance operations.

The mission of a tactical reconnaissance squadron is to produce intelligence information. Flying aircraft is not the primary purpose but a means to that end. These three pilots had been trained as photo interpreters and the 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron didn?t have any. The Squadron had a photo Lab and a camera maintenance section not fully manned and some photo interpretation equipment. These photo interpreters produced the intelligence reports ? prime product of reconnaissance. Later Les Asbury was promoted and assigned a chief of the recon office in 5th Air Force Headquarters. Stan Sebring (not originally an RF-80 pilot) was checked out and flew a combat tour. J. B. Smith was flying an RF-80 when shot down over Pyongyang, became a POW and later released.

I was the ranking Captain and one of the few pilots who had combat experience in WWII. On arrival at Itazuke I became operations officer. We flew single aircraft missions and to some pilots flying a single unarmed aircraft in enemy territory seemed risky. Most pilots however were aggressive and returned from combat missions with assigned photos or visual reports.

"I was on a delay en route to Camp Stoneman, California for assignment to Clark AFB, Philippine Islands. I got as far as Denver and picked up the morning paper with the headlines "North Korea Invades". -- Ruffin W. Gray

"I was at Randolph [Air Force Base] prancing around as an Aviation Cadet in a starched khaki uniform when the war in Korea broke out. I cannot recall what my reaction to that news could have been other than perhaps the exciting notions of getting an opportunity to fight in a War as a Pilot instead of as a Radio Gunner which is what I was on Navy torpedo bombers in WW2. Of my Randolph Classmates who went on to Williams Air Force Base for Jet Fighter Training, all ended up fighting in Korea. Most went to F-80 and F-84 Fighter Bomber units, some went to F-86s, and Roger Miller and I went to the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. I do recall that many were hoping that we could get over to Korea to do some fighting before the war ended. As you know from my Williams Year Book, our losses in Class 51B were very heavy." -- Norman E. Duquette

"On 25 June 1950 I was on leave in Ohio en route to Camp Stoneman, Pittsburg, California for further assignment to 5th AF." -- Edwin D. Stoltz

"I had just completed Heavy Ground Radar Maintenance school at Keesler [Air Force Base] and had the wife and two kids in our '49 Studebaker enroute to our new duty assignment with the 30th Air Division at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan. We were some where in Tennessee listening to the radio when I heard the announcement of the North Korean's invasion of the South. This concerned me more than somewhat because I had come from Okinawa (51st Fighter Group) prior to radar school and I knew how woeful the Far East Air Forces were. We in the 51st had many briefings about the force levels of the military as opposed to our capabilities--and indeed the entire Air Force. While in Radar school, at least a half of my class had been either forced out of the service or were permitted to stay without flying status--Thanks to the huge cutbacks by the Secretary of Defense (then Louis Johnston). I guess I had not been cut because my rated specialty was 1059 (Jet Fighter Pilot) and my Comm 0200 spec. We pressed on to Selfridge and found them asleep, and nothing happened till after the 4th of July holidays when I was sent back down to the 664th AC&W at Lockbourne Ohio." -- Richard E. Chandler

"I was an Aviation Cadet in Pilot Training Class 51-C at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas in the pre-solo phase with a total of 14 hours of T-6C time. All I was worried about was soloing the T-6 which I finally did on July 26, 1950." -- Norman Fredkin

"I was an Air Traffic Controller in Norfolk, Virginia. BUT, I was a member of the 10th Fighter Squadron (Reserves) flying the new F-86A. We were an experimental reserve unit attached to the 336th Squadron of the 4th Fighter Wing. Bruce Hinton was the 336th Commander. The 4th deployed to Korea in short order and our 10th Fighter Squadron was recalled to active duty and reported to the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw Air Force Base the 1st of January 1951." -- James W. Nimmo

"I was an assistant 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Group Headquarters operations officer at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, flying with the RB-26s because the RF-80s had moved to Shaw AFB SC. Our other two squadrons were B-45s. On 12 July 50, I deployed with the RB-26s for Korea but the Wing Commander directed me back to Langley because one of my twin sons born prematurely on 12 July 50 died at birth." -- Cecil Rigsby

"On June 25, 1950, I was at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, along with other members of 10th Fighter Squadron (Reserve), getting checked out in the F-86A. I got my third flight in the F-86 that Sunday morning. When I landed, I found out what was happening in Korea. That was my final flight in the F-86. The 4th Fighter Wing moved immediately North to "defend Washington" (as I recall) before moving on to Korea. Anyhow, with a total of about three and a half hours of F-86 time, I was then a Jet Pilot -- by golly -- and eventually (the following January) got called to active duty as such and wound up at Shaw Air Force Base. I think there were ten of us from the Norfolk area in that group." -- Ernest R. Harden III

My experience as an RF-80 pilot was not a lot different than that of many others, but in some ways my tour of duty in '50 & '51 was unique.

I had flown a combat tour over Germany in 1944-45 as a France-based 9th Air Force, 409th Bomb Group (LT) A-26 "Invader" pilot (the A-26 was later re-designated as the B-26). As soon as the war was over I was released from active duty, and I went back to college (USC) and for three years flew A-26s with the California ANG. Given a Regular commission, I returned to active duty in 1948.

Prior to going to Korea I had graduated from the Air Force Intelligence Officer School and the Photo Interpretation Course. I was assigned to the 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS) as a photo interpreter -- not as a pilot. My assignment was not to Korea but to that highly desired airbase at Yokota, Japan. It was peacetime and with civilian clothes, golf clubs, tennis racket and ukulele, I thought I was prepared for anything. I was wrong.

While I was crossing the Pacific on a troop ship, the North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel. Another first lieutenant, JB (no names and no periods) Smith and I got to Itazuke just a few days after the 8th TRS had moved from Yokota. JB was also a photo interpreter. When we arrived, the "Every Man A Tiger" squadron was getting settled in tents and old buildings on "The Strip". The Strip was the runway and an assortment of buildings located several miles from the main base of ltazuke.

Lt. Col. Jacob "Jake" Dixon was the squadron commander. Jean K. "Woody" Woodyard was the operations officer and Capt. Clyde East was squadron executive officer I think -- though I?m not sure about that. There was another major that was qualified in the RF-80. He was J. Lester "Les" Asbury who was reassigned to the forward Headquarters of 5th Air Force as an Intelligence and Reconnaissance Liaison Officer.

Naturally, there was a huge immediate requirement for intelligence on the North Korean forces, and the 8th TRS was mounting a maximum effort every day. The photo lab was set up in tents and was doing a great job under our photo officer, Channing F. "Tank" Tankersley. In the Photo Interpretation (P.I.) Section we had, as I recall, five officers and three sergeants. We were inundated with photography. It was frustrating because we often didn't know specifically what we were looking for -- just anything that could be identified as North Korean military equipment or activity. Sometimes we were successful and sometimes we weren't.

By September the operations schedule was more or less established though never exactly routine. Our Photo Interpretation (P.I.) Section was busy every afternoon and evening, but the morning schedule was relatively light. Neither JB nor I had any jet experience. So JB and I talked to Col. Jake and requested that we be trained as photo jet reconnaissance pilots. He granted our request but it was with the firm understanding that he wasn't running a flying club. We had to be serious about flying combat missions as a part-time additional duty--and with the understanding that if it should happen that we flew a hundred missions before the end of our scheduled tour of duty, we would not be eligible to then go home, as primary duty pilots could. Our instructors were Jean Woodyard and Clyde East. I flew six T-33 transition training flights and ten RF-80 recon training flights before I started flying combat missions. JB's training was, I think, about the same.

JB Smith and I both had experience in twin-engine flying. The squadron had a twin-engine Beech general utility/transport aircraft, and JB and I took turns flying it as our own little

Tiger Airline. Mostly we flew people and parts from Itazuke to Pusan and Taegu, and to Yokota and Tachikawa for RF-80 parts and "whatever."

Incidentally, the 8th Fighter Wing, flying F-80s, was stationed at Itazuke when the war started. All of the married pilots had their wives and children living in quarters on-base. The wing got a lot of press because of this, including LIFE Magazine, I believe. Anyway, the wives would stand outside the chain link fence to watch their husbands take off for Korea, and would be standing there counting airplanes as they returned.

In September 1950, the 543rd Tactical Support Group was formed as the umbrella organization for three tactical squadrons. In October we moved to Taegu, Korea (K-2). Jake Dixon was promoted to Colonel and was the Group Commander. In January, Colonel Carl Polifka was assigned but didn't have a specific job until February when the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was activated and he became the commander. The 543rd became the 67th Tac Recon Group, the 8th TRS became the 15th, the 162nd, which had the RB-26 night recon mission became the 12th TRS. The 45th TRS (RF-51s) remained the same, and the 363rd Reconnaissance Technical Squadron which had been sent over from Shaw AFB in August became the 67th RTS.

Jean Woodyard can probably recall better than I can who were in what jobs at Group and Wing Headquarters. I think that he was the Group Operations Officer. A Captain was the Group Intelligence Officer. I can't seem to recall his name. I was assigned as the Assistant Group Intelligence Officer. A few months later, the captain rotated back to the U.S. and I became the Group Intelligence Officer. I continued to fly missions (about 10 per month) vs. about twice that number that were flown by some of the primary duty pilots.

25 June 1950. I was on an Army troop ship one day out of San Francisco when the announcement was made that North Korea had invaded the South and the United States would support the United Nations in fighting the aggression. I was a recent graduate of the Air Intelligence, Radar and Photo Interpreters Course and was headed for Japan on a PCS with my family to follow later.

My assignment was supposed to be with the Reconnaissance Technical Squadron (RECCE TECH) in Tokyo but was changed to the 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in short order. The squadron was based at Yokota but had already been moved forward to Itazuke. I joined the squadron at Itazuke and was assigned to the Photo Interpretation Shop. That is where I met Bruce Shawe.

Bruce was already flying combat missions and the squadron was turning out massive amounts of aerial photographs. There were three photo interpreters--me, Stan Sebring, and T. J. Adams. We were responsible for doing a quick scan of the photographs and reporting any clearly defined targets to 5th Air Force for possible strike. I did my flying in a C-45 as a courier to 5th Air Force Headquarters in Tokyo, with an occasional trip to South Korea in C-47s.

Bruce and the other pilots were skilled at their job and combat ready to the Nth degree. The squadron was headed up by Jake Dixon, Squadron Commander, and I think "Woody" Woodyard as Operations Officer. Bruce was one of a group of six or so of West Point Class of 1946. They were a good bunch of guys--"Rojo" Williams, Bryce Poe, Wes Brothers, and Roy Hudspeth to name a few. It was a great group of guys dedicated to doing their best in a really tough situation.

The squadron moved forward to K-2 Taegu, South Korea sometime around September. Along with the move forward from Japan, air operations intensified. Ground fire and flak became more of a problem.

I could see that if I did not get qualified in the RF-80 and fly combat missions, I might be in Korea a long time. I was told to forget about it--my job was photo interpretation. Jake Dixon went home on rest leave to Yokota so I sold Woody on the advantages of checking me out on the RF-80. I got two rides in a T-33 around the pattern at K-2 and then started flying combat missions.

FIRST PICTURES FROM JET IN COMBAT, TAKEN WITH NEW-TYPE CAMERA, RECORD BEAUTY AND DESTRUCTION

On these pages LIFE publishes the first aerial color photographs taken during the Korean war, and the first ever made in combat from a jet plane. They were taken at more than 400 mph by Air Force Lieut. Colonel Jacob W. Dixon, who was flying an RF-80, a reconnaissance version of the F-80, on a jet strike which smashed up Communist vehicles and communications between the towns of Taejon and Kumch'on. In a lush setting of angular hills and well-tilled valleys, Colonel Dixon brought back a striking photographic record of scenic beauty and fiery destruction.

"BURNING AMMUNITION TRUCK was hit by F-80s. The force of the explosion damaged bridge at the end. Other end of the bridge has been knocked out by a bomb. Beyond the bridge are bomb craters in bed of the river, which is a Kum tributary. In the center foreground, in strip of ground between the two roads, is a camouflaged enemy antiaircraft gun."

"BURNING VILLAGE east of Taejon adjoins another knocked-out bridge, this one broken by a U.S. demolition squad that punched out a section far more neatly than a bomb could have done. Tracks show that Communist troops continued to ford the river easily. Blaze set by jets at bottom of the left-hand smoke column is in shed containing military supplies."

Dixon's pictures represent the first combat test of 14 years of experimenting by the Air Force at Wright Field, Ohio and by the Eastman Kodak Co. laboratories at Rochester, N.Y. His camera was a motor-driven K-22 with a 12-inch lens, which takes sequence pictures on 75-foot strips of aerial Ektachrome when fired by a trigger from the pilot's cockpit. It was designed to operate at high shutter speeds (up to 1/800th of a second) from low altitudes (600 to 800 feet). The film is especially adapted to high-speed aerial photography and has the further advantage of being suitable for fast, on-the-spot processing. These pictures were developed in only 100 minutes in a tent in southern Japan, where the outside temperature was 100 degrees, the film being washed in water which was cooled by 50-pound cakes of ice. Color film greatly broadens the field of photoreconnaissance. Present camouflage is designed to fool black and white photography. On color film camouflaged guns and equipment become glaringly obvious.