SABRE PILOTS STILL MIA
by John Lowrey
During our 14th Reunion, members should watch for relatives of some of the 31 F-86 pilots who were shot down and are thought to have been captured, but were never repatriated. While the names of the relatives planning to attend are unknown at this time, we will attempt to identify them and provide nametags indicating their "MIA relative" status. Many are children of these still missing Sabre pilots. Most have no memory of their father or his personality. If you knew any of the MIA pilots, watch for their namesake(s) and introduce yourself. They thirst for information, photos and conversation with someone who knew their loved one.
Two relatives we know that will attend are Mrs. Ann (Niemann) Bakkensen and Mr. Richard Niemann. Ann is the daughter and Dick the brother of 1st Lieutenant Robert F. Niemann, 334FIS, 4th FIW. Bob, a new first lieutenant and recent West Point graduate, was downed by a Mig-15 at around 1115 on 12 April 1953. His case will give you a feel for the problems the MIA- relatives faceIn a September 28, 1993, article for the now defunct Sacramento Union, writer Robert Burns wrote that the name of First Lieutenant Robert Frank Niemann appeared on a document provided by the Russians, called the "List of 59". This document, compiled in 1991 & 92 from original documents in the former Soviet military archives, identified 59 airmen who were shot down in Korea "...and who transited through a (Soviet) interrogation point." ("Last Seen Alive", by Laurence Jolidon) The report quoted retired Soviet Colonel Viktor A. Bushuyev, deputy chief of intelligence for the Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation Corps (FAC) based at Antung, China, as saying in a September '92 interview that he remembered an F-86 pilot named "Neiman or Naiman". The 64th FAC commander, General Lobov, also remembered Niemann. General Lobov recalled questioning Niemann while he was recovering from wounds in a "war zone hospital" - identified elsewhere as Antung, China. (San Francisco Chronicle, September 28, 1993.)
Both General Lobov and Colonel Bushuyev recalled that Niemarm refused to answer any of their questions. Instead he reminded them "it is a violation of international law" to interrogate a wounded POW.
Niemann's reported strict silence is consistent with the author's earlier conversations with him. He talked fervently about the necessity of resisting interrogation if we was captured. The reports from his captors, some of whom remembered Niemann specifically, after almost 40 years, show he was a man of his word. It is clear from several sources that Lt. Niemann's adamant adherence to the military code of conduct impressed his interrogators.
Colonel Bushuvev confirmed that Bob was alive in Soviet custody for some time. A later notation on the Soviet list of 59 airmen (not all Sabre pilots) noted that he had died. Given his refusal to be interrogated we can only imagine how he died. ("Last Seen Alive", Jolidon)
The 31 missing Sabre pilots are thought to have been victims of a special Soviet effort to capture F-86 pilots for intelligence exploitation. According to General Lobov, around April 1951, a secret special unit was formed, consisting of nine Mig-l 5 testpilots. Their mission was to force down an F-86, and not only capture the pilot, but to get the airplane's radar ranging gunsight, which Russian designers wanted to duplicate. Unfortunately for the Soviets several of these pilots were shot down and killed. Most of the survivors returned to Moscow. ("The Unreturned", by Ralph Wetterhahn, The Retired Officer magazine, November 2002.)
Although the special unit's mission was unsuccessful, on 6 October 1951, Col. Evgenie Pepelyayev shot down an F-86 which crash-landed on a sandbar along the Yellow Sea coast. The pilot was rescued by an SA-16, but the Sabre was recovered by the Soviets and sent to Moscow. Several of the 31 missing Sabre pilots are also thought to have been sent to Moscow.
F-86 Sabre Pilots Association members may be interested to know that until around 1994 the Russians were relatively generous with previously classified information. For example, they provided a "Summary of Combat Activities of Corps Units on 12 April 53". This was the day Lt. Niemann was downed, along with soon-to-be triple ace Captain Joe McConnell. in reading these reports, Niemann's engagement is fully described.
"Captain Lazarev, flying as wing of his pair, noticed a pair of F 86s, which were pursuing a pair of Mig-15s. He went into an attack. The pair of Mig-15s. He went into an attack. The pair of Migs, which were being attacked, went into the cloud cover while the pair of F-86s turned left and began heading for the bay. Banking left and closing to a distance of 800-900 meters, Captain Lazarev fired a short burst from an angle of 2/4. The pair of F-86s rolled over from a left into a right turn and entered a right bank. Having completed (sic.) 3 - 4 banks and descended, Captain Lazarev closed on the wing F-86 to a distance of 600 meters and on an attack angle of 1/4, fired three bursts. After a third burst the F-86 turned over onto its back and began to smoke. Captain Lazarev began to quickly close and pass above him (the F-86). He pulled out of the battle by going into the cloud cover." (Note: Sometime in May 1953, Captain Lazarev was killed in combat.)
This is but one story. The Niemann family is still trying to get documentation as to how Bob died and where he is buried. Although the Russian information flow stopped abruptly in the mid-nineties they are hopeful that today's political climate will see them resume cooperation.
We know that some of captured airmen were executed by firing squad. The execution of an entire B-29 crew in Russia was documented by at least one eyewitness. ("Last Seen Alive", Jolidon)
By now, for some, the years have dampened the emotions of war. Those of us who survived may not think as frequently about our lost comrades. But for the MIA families the story has no ending. They live continuously with images of a now-forgotten war, and the disappearance of their closest family members.
So share the good memories and photographs. Every bit of knowledge brings greater insight and is a gold mine for the MIA families.
RUN FOR THE RIVERby by George McKay
Editor's note: George McKay was a P-51 Mustang driver with the 81st Fighter Group in China during Word War 2. During the Korean War WcKay went in Korea with jet experience and hoped to be assigned to one of the F-86 units. He was, but nor exactly the he was hoping for
I kept volunteering for a combat tour in Korea every week, but for some reason I was never accepted. This went on for months until I changed tactics and went to 15th AF Headquarters at March Alf, arid volunteered for Korea there. This was on Monday and by Wednesday I had my orders for a fighter assignment in Korea, On Saturday, I was on board an Air Force C-54 on my way to Japan. Landing in Japan, we were transported to Fuchu. Air Station which was 5th AF (Rear) for assignment orders to a combat unit. Here my limited hours of jet time stood me in good stead for I had left the states as a F-51 replacement pilot.
But instead of going to one of the fighter groups, I was assigned to the 67th Tac Recon Wing. I flew to Seoul in a C-47, where I was met by a 67th enlisted man who hauled me down the road to Kimpo. Again, my limited jet time was a life saver for I was assigned to the 15th Tac Recon Squadron (Photo jet), which was equipped with the same RF-80s I'd flown at March AFB several years earlier. My first mission was a two-ship RF-80 flight, with me flying wing and watching for MiGs that might attack us as soon as we got above Pyongyang. Inbound to the target area I noticed some contrails headed our way. Not knowing who or what they were, I called them out to my leader. It was a good thing that I did for things happened much more rapidly in the jet age.The MiGs intercepted us at about the time I ended my transmission! Our standard evasive tactic was to drop the speed brakes, and stick the nose straight down in about a 4.5G spiral, and head for the deck. The MiGs were very limited on fuel and much less maneuverable than the RF-80 at lower altitudes. These evasive maneuvers were very effective, for in some 13,000 RF-80 sorties, we lost only one aircraft and pilot. And they worked again this time. However, they were very hard on the ear tubes if you had even a slight cold. Shortly after I arrived, they began talking about converting me to RF-86 pilot. The day finally came. My checkout in the F-86 consisted of a cockpit briefing, instructions on starting the engine, takeoff and landing speeds - and a quick pat on the back! Lt. Bob Burkhart gave me the blindfold cockpit check
Burkhart then gave me the pat on the back and I started the engine, flew a 45 minute local flight, made a single 'touch and go', and then landed. I was now considered "checked out" and my next flight was a dicing mission to Anting Airfield. After flying the RF-80, the RF 86A was kind of like moving from a Chevy to a Cadillac
On a typical 'across-the-river' mission, we would take off, climb to about 20,000, and head directly north toward Antung. The RF-86 pilot was always first off the Kimpo runway as we were slower than the escorts. It was a wonderful feeling to look in the mirror and watch the escort Sabres, between 4 and 24 F-86s, run their engines Up TO full throttle and see the smoke roll up from their exhausts prior TO the takeoff roll.
When the mission was a dicing run to Antung or Ta-Tung-Kou, standing orders were to never cross the Yalu River into Manchuria. And we were continually briefed on this policy, which was violated almost every day by some Allied pilot. On the other hand we were also always tasked to get GOOD photos -which was impossible without crossing the Yalu.
On one of these missions, MiG activity was expected to be minimal, so I only had a few ship escort with Capt. Ralph Banks as Flight Lead. We proceeded north to the Yalu, where I broke off, dove down and crossed the Yalu before beginning my dicing run on Antung. The weather was extremely hazy with poor visibility and I never saw the twenty-four strip alert MiGs being scrambled. As I turned west to cover Ta Tung-Kou Airfield on the way out, I was almost rammed by the first of the MiGs being scrambled from Antung. My only choice was to turn into and under the MiGs as they were climbing out. My escort saw this at about the same time that the first two MiGs latched onto me and began firing.
As I looked in the rear view mirror, I could clearly see the MiGs firing, and behind them were another pair of airplanes. But these birds had low wings - Sabres! I pulled hard on the stick and just went anywhere. This 'evasive maneuver' took me deeper into Manchuria, but at this point I really didn't care.
Fortunately for me, the F-86 pilots were better shots than the MiG driven and Ralph Banks shot both MiGs off my tail. Meanwhile, the rest of the squadron was at altitude nearby and dove into the fray. Of the twenty-four MiGs that were scrambled, twenty-one were shot down or heavily damaged. Colonel Harrison Thyng, Commander of the 4th Fighter Group, made Ace on that mission. We understood the Chinese commander was relieved.
As soon as I worked my way back across the Yale. I released the escort and continued on the deck back to Kimpo, making sure no MiGs had followed. When I got back to Kimpo, most of the escort Sabres had already landed and were filling out their mission reports. The guys in the 4th put me in for a Distinguished Flying Cross, which was upgraded to a Silver Star at 67th Wing Headquarters. They pinned the medal on me at Willy Air Patch after I'd finished my 103 missions over North Korea.
A 'FOX ABLE' FLIGHT TO EUROPE
IN THE F-86Fby Gary Sparks
As I stopped at the main gate at George AFB, CA., I saw a flight of 4 F-86's on the break coming in to land. I was impressed with the lead's pattern as he pulled it pretty tight, and in that era, 1954, most of us still liked to make a tight pattern even with the modified 360 overhead we were forced to go to in the jets. (I found out later that the pattern I was impressed with was flown by the commander of my new squadron.) The gate guard gave me directions to Base Personnel and I drove there to find out where I was going to be assigned.
I had been flying the F-84G & F models in the 405th FBW at Langley AFB VA, but wanted to go to Europe and, more importantly, I wanted to fly the '86. The 21st FBW at George, my new wing, had the Sabre and was going to France. Personnel informed me that I was being assigned to the 416th FBS, and that it was commanded by Major Morgan R. Beamer, who had requested that I be assigned to his squadron. I was very pleased as I had been in his squadron in Korea during the 'Police Action and had flown 100 combat missions in the RF-51 at K- 14 while under his command. He was a great commander and at that stage of my career, the finest fighter pilot I had ever known. Today, after flying fighters for 20 years, that statement is still true.In the next several days I checked out in the F-86 and felt it was a vast improvement over the F-84. We practiced almost daily, mainly HARS, LARS, and some air to air. Occasional cross-countries were permitted and I lost no time in returning to Langley AFB and showing off the '86 to my envious former squadron mates.
The first action directly related to the flight to France was getting fitted for the infamous exposure suits. George AFB in July is never cool and I think they most have been setting records that year. Even the water in the swimming pool at the O'Club where we checked for leaks in the suits seemed to be 90 degrees or so. It was a very unpleasant way to spend the afternoon. But, after a couple of sessions, we were all fitted and the next time we saw the exposure suits was at Loring AFB, Maine.
On the 13 December 1954 our squadron left George AFB in flights of four, with 15 minutes intervals between flights. Our route was; Clovis AFB NM, Alexandria AFB LA, Shaw AFB SC, Dover AFB DE, Loring AFB ME, Goose Bay AB Laborador, BW1 Greenland, Keflavik AB Iceland, Prestwick AB Scotland, and then on to France. We RONed at each base, and in some cases stayed much longer than one night. We fell under the old Ferry Command, and weather restrictions were much more restricted than the normal TAC limits. We had a marine pilot, Capt. George Dodenhoff on exchange duty with us, and up to that time, there had never been a marine on a High Flight to Europe. George was looking forward to the flight, but while at Dover, he suffered a kidney stone attack, which grounded him. When he finally passed the stone and was back on flying status, our squadron was long gone. He wound up catching a C-54 to Keflavik, where he replaced a pilot from the squadron following us who had broken his ankle. So he at least got to make pact of a High Flight.
We had stayed pretty well on a one night RON schedule until we reached Loring AFB. Looking at my Form 5, we got there the 20th and left on 30 December. Loring was a SAC base, and many of you will recall that SAC had a requirement to wear the uniform with a white shirt and a black bow tie in the O'Club after 1800 hours. We briefed every morning at 0500 regardless of what the forecast had been the night before, and this resulted in a lot of needless briefings. Finally, we got a "Go" on the morning of the 23rd. The weather briefer told us he expected scattered snow storms that after noon, but we would be in Goose Bay by then, so no problem I was flying No.3 on Major Beamer, who was leading the squadron, and we were waiting in the cockpit for the signal to start engines when the snowflakes started. Within 3 or 4 minutes you couldn't even see the Base Ops building. Major Bearner's crew chief came over and said, "Major Beamer said we should all go inside and wait till the snow shower ends." 24 hours later, it ended.
It took them two days to clear the taxiways and runways. The weather forecaster was asked several times about his definition of "scattered snow showers" the few times he ventured into Club after that storm! Before we finally got out of Loring, Bearner shuffled the lineup of his flight. Originally, we had a lieutenant colonel "headquarters-type" flying wing on Major Beamer, while I was a first lieutenant leading the element The lieutenant colonel suggested to Beamer that he felt it might he more fitting for him to lead the element, and as Beamer told me later, normally when a superior officer suggests something to a major, the major takes the suggestion to heart. So, when we finally left Loring, I was flying Two on Major Beamer. I'm sure the colonel had been a very good fighter pilot at one time, but his Years in staff jobs, and flying four hours a month didn't do a great deal for his proficiency. The join-up he made coming out of Loring didn't result in a mid-air, but it was a bit more exciting than a normal join-up!
I see by my Form 5 that we got into Goose Bay on the 30 December and departed them on 11 January 1955. As I recall, there was a reasonable amount of "Spirits" consumed on that New Years Eve. We knew we weren't leaving the next morning and, to be truthful, the 8 hours between bottle and throttle was not always adhered to in that era, specially by young fighter pilots and some of the old fighter pilots as well. One thing I recall on the morning of departure is that I put my clothing bag on the wing while I was making my walkaround, it fell off the wing and the plastic shattered. I think it was something like 25 below that morning and the plastic got too brittle to be plyable.
We had been airborne only a short time when the colonel got an opportunity to show his ability as a leader. Four called and said his tanks weren't feeding. After he had done all the necessary checks to get them to feed with no results, Major Beamer told the element lead to take Four, return to Goose and get the tanks fixed. Beamer & I pressed on. The two of us continued to BW-1 and were lucky enough to encounter a T bird when we broke out on the letdown, and its pilot led us up the fiord to the runway. The rest of the squadron arrived later on, along with our element after Four's tank problem was fixed.
We got airborne the next morning and the whole squadron made it to Iceland that day. We weren't quite as lucky with the weather while in Iceland. Referring again to my Form 5, it shows we left there for Scotland on the 18th. Iceland sure isn't the greatest R & R area, but I did luck out and encountered a Republic tech rep who I had known from Langley. He was a fun-loving bachelor type like myself and knew quite a number of the beautiful, blonde Icelandic gals. They certainly helped make the time pass a bit faster.
Upon arrival in Scotland, they didn't have adequate room in the BOQ's so we were quartered at a great hotel in Troon. Our permanent base in France was to be Chambley, but they were not ready for us, so, temporarily, we would be flying out of Toul AB. The squadron ahead of us had lost a plane going into Toul because of GCA difficulties (the pilot got out OK), so USAFE thought it prudent to send flight leaders from the 48th FBW at Chaumont AB France over to Scotland to 'lead us into France'. In retrospect, this had to be a bit of an insult to our very competent squadron commanders and flight leaders. They sent some great guys though and we all got along fine.
Finally, we departed Scotland on 29 Jan 1955 and arrived at Chaumont AB where we were greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm and an equal amount of beer provided by the 48th FBW. The next day we flew to Toul AB, led by our own squadron commander and flight leader. It had taken almost seven weeks to travel from George AFB to Toul AB, which is a long time to live out of an F-86! It was a very interesting trip and one that I don't think my of us will every forget.
FIRST DRAW WITH "THE PROFESSOR"
(We didn't get 'em All!)by Colonel Martin C. "Joe" Johansen
When we got to Korea in December of 1950 no one in the 4th Fighter Wing knew a whole lot about the MiG-15. We spent many hours talking with some of the F-80 jocks who had battled the MiGs in the past month since they appeared. We learned that the MiGs were clobbering the B-29s along the Yalu River, and there was very little the F-80 guys, much less the Mustang drivers, could do about it. The F-80 pilots were courageous, but they had very limited success fighting the much faster Mig. That is why the 4th was now in Korea. The F-86 was the only logical choice to re-capture the skies.
Lt. Col. Bruce Hinton took the first batch of Sabres into Korea during mid-December 1950. Although they didn't know a lot about the MiG, they learned fast, shooting down several North Korean and Chinese pilots who had showed up on our side of the Yalu. Bruce's gang passed the word along to Col. J.C. Meyer, Lt. Col. Glenn Eagleston, Major Ed Fletcher, and the rest of us who would take the 334th Fighter Squadron into what became known as "MiG Alley". But the Migs were very elusive and things were quiet in the Alley for the better part of a month. Often we could see them forming up on their side of the river. But it was rare when an occasional brave soul, or 3 or 4, would even make a threatening pass to try and get us to drop our external tanks.This changed quickly when Soviet pilots showed up. Suddenly the MiGs got bolder, appearing more and more frequently on 'our' side of the Yalu - large formations of them! Their passes became more aggressive, and we got into scraps more and more often. Our guys now found it more difficult to score. These MiG drivers didn't make the same mistakes the earlier MiG pilots had. They didn't make those dumb shallow banks to evade us. Nor did they try to dive away from us, apparently knowing that the '86 could outdive them easily. They did have one advantage that they used often. When they wanted to break off an engagement they simply ducked across the Yalu, knowing full well that we were ordered not to follow. The MiG pilots were improving.
About this time we started getting reports of a single MiG, which would stay high above the madding crowd, all by himself. He remained on his perch and would only come down when he spotted a stray with no wingman, a common situation with the wild maneuvering during a big fight. In early spring of 1951 we decided to try a "bait" tactic to see if the Soviets were listening to our radio chatter, much as we assurned we were listening to theirs. The plan was for Lt. Col. Eagleston, nicknamed "Eagle", to take a flight of six up to the river, just below the contrail level, usually about 40,000 feet. Eagle and his wingman were in the lead, Captain Jim Jabara and his wingman on the left element, and "Ole Joe" Johansen and his wingman on the right.
The idea was to have Captain A.J. Melancon with another flight of four down about 25,000 feet. A.J. was to start broadcasting a panic "Bingo" (low fuel) and other troubles, saying he was heading south and yelling for his other three flight mates to cover him. Obviously the enemy was listening and the MiGs took the bait. Soon enough, four of them were chasing A.J.. Eagle, superb combat leader that he was, rolled us over and down beautifully, bringing us out right behind the. MiGs.
We were perfectly aligned for a quick kill. Eagle and his wingman lined up behind two of the MiGs, with Jabara and his wingman behind the other two. Ole Joe had no MiGs in front of him so I started to position myself and my wingman to cover the other four. Suddenly I saw a lone MiG climbing off to the right. At which nine I said to this MiG "You're dead, you SOB!" - WRONG'
With tons of airspeed after the Split-S I knew I could get this guy. That was my first mistake. We knew they were maneuverable but really didn't know how much the MiG could out climb us. I decided to go up after him - second mistake. The MIG orbited to the left, apparently just watching my wingman and me. He threatened a couple of times, which caused me to begin a spiral upward, gravity notwithstanding, in order to keep my nose toward him - another mistake. That's when he made his first pass.
I pulled my nose in to meet him. He came in at a high Mach and started firing all of his "Roman Candles" (red for 37mm and yellow for 23mm). A hit by any one of those would make my Sabre mighty sick I met him head-on, firing my poor little .50 calibers. But because his tracers were like a colorful strearn of water, it was easy for me to press a bit of right rudder, knowing he was probably sighting on my air intake the same as I was on his. He was. The Roman Candles went directly over my left wing, as did the MiG. That's when I saw the four big red stripes just aft of his canopy. I thought, "This guy is a wheel!"
The MiG zoomed back up on his perch like a home-sick angel, as I began to lose both airspeed and brains trying to climb after him The MIG banked over and came down, all lined up for his second pass. Again I met him head-on. I really hosed at him with a lot of rounds, still with a bit of rudder. He fired a rather short burst, again passing over my left wing before roaring up high again in his yo-yo.
On his third pass, as my Sabre was shaking in a prestall, he made a classic curve-of-pursuit attack, and opened up on me from way out. As the bright stream headed my way I kicked in a little more rudder with a stick-pull - almost stalling. The Roman Candles passed just behind my vertical tail - and just over my wingman's canopy! Incredibly my wingman, was stiff with me. The MiG driver again zoom-climbed up for his fourth yo-yo. I stayed around became I wanted this guy - BAD! Still one more mistake!
This time he came in with lots and lots of airspeed. Same song - next verse, He fired a long burst. A little bit of rudder and stick-pull into an even worse stall on my part caused his rounds to again pass slightly aft of my rudder and in front of my wingman He sure must have had a lousy gunsight Then came his fifth yo-yo and his great insult to me. As he started in with his speed boards out to slow down to pull more lead, the guy did a nice left-hand barrel roll! That's sort of insolent, I thought to myself.
At the end of the roll he opened up again. But as quickly as the Roman Candles started, they stopped. The MiG was out of ammo. He floated down toward me, passing just aft. I flung my 86 over to the right hoping for a canopy-to-canopy snap-shot as he passed underneath. I knew the odds of hitting him were like drawing to an inside straight, but I had to try. We looked at each other, canopy-to-canopy, for a bit. I could plainly see, underneath that funny little tankers helmet and behind the little mask that he wore, that this light-haired, bright blue-eyed jock was not Korean or Chinese. And for some reason, this knowledge made me feel better.
Still flying canopy-to-canopy I'm wishing he'd blink and get the hell out of there. I guess he felt the same way, especially since he was out of ammo. He firewalled the throttle, accelerating rapidly and climbing the whole time. I did a Split-S, and finding that I was way beyond "Bingo" fuel, headed south with my tall between my legs arid rather damp, armpits. Hairy though it had been, it was still a draw And my wingman was still with me!
Returning to Suwon I found the word was already out that I'd had a real gasser with a great enemy pilot. The officers and EMs from both the 334th and 336th squadrons were gathered for the war story even before I got to Intelligence for the de-brief. It was all still fresh in my mind to say the least, and I had no trouble at all telling what I'd learned from this Soviet jock. I named the MiG driver 'THE PROFESSOR", for he had a true PhD in Air Science and Tactics. Various other 4th Fighter Films encountered this guy later on, some of whom were clobbered by him. Bruce Hinton got a few pieces of him during a clash after the Professor had punched a lot of big holes in Eagle's F-86. Someone later dubbed him CASEY JONES and that name stuck. After my debrief with the troops and Intell, my wingman stole up to me and quietly asked, "Sir, do you think we might have been a little too aggressive today?" I had no answer.
(Editor's note: -Old Joe", Col. Martin C. Johansen, made his last flight on
19 October 2002. He is missed.)