IN ONLY 30 MISSIONS, Capt. Ralph S. Parr downed 10 enemy aircraft, becoming the 11th double jet ace on the last day of the Korean War.
Having just landed from a combat mission, the four of us were walking casually from our squadron’s sandbagged revetments towards the operations building, when the deafening engine whine of another returning flight of F-86 Sabrejets caught our attention. At the time, all fighter-interceptor pilots instinctively checked the gun ports of returning flights for the dark gray soot, indicating their guns had been fired. This would imply contact with MiGs. And sure enough, the .50-caliber blast shields of one aircraft showed the unmistakable signs. But something else about it looked odd: The ship’s entire fuselage was very badly scorched from nose to tail as if…
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Flight Journal (Digital) - 1 Issue, January/February 2024