STARFIRE Over Korea

F-94 pilots tangle with MiGs

WARREN E. THOMPSON

FOR THE FIRST FEW MONTHS of the Korean War, there was very little need for a nocturnal interceptor because the North Korean Air Force had been obliterated by U.S. fighters. In November 1950, this situation changed drastically. The sweptwing MiG-15 began flying south of the Yalu River, which put the airspace over friendly troops at risk along with the jampacked airbases south of the 38th parallel. Up until this time, the nightly alerts were manned by the F-82 Twin Mustangs and the Marines’ F7F-3N Tigercats. These two World War II types would be no match for the MiG-15. For the U.S. and England, the all weather interceptor business began to gain momentum in March 1948, when it became known that the Russians were producing a long-range bomber that had the…

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Flight Journal (Digital) - 1 Issue, July/August 2024

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