FlyPast 06.2018

KOREAN WAR US MARINE CORPS

20 FLYPAST June 2018

KOREAN WAR US MARINE CORPS

after firing, it was definitely time

to pull out of the dive and climb

rapidly on instruments.

“In the rugged mountains and

high plateaus of North Korea,

you often could not know

the elevation

of the target or whether you were

flying down a valley on a fairly flat

plateau or headed right into the

side of a mountain. Nevertheless,

we made the enemy pay a high

price for trying to move their

supplies toward the front lines.”

One of VMF(N)-513’s most

spectacular examples of airmanship

and gunnery occurred on the night

of March 15/16, 1951. Captain

J Webster was working with a

Douglas C-47 Skytrain flare-ship in

the Sibyon-ni area. The squadron

commander, Major Anderson,

recollected that mission: “Webster

flushed a large truck convoy and

was able to take out 25 trucks

before he ran out of ammo.

“I arrived just as he was putting

the finishes touches on his last

truck. When you realise that the

Corsair he was flying carried only

800 rounds of 20mm and fired it

at a rate of some 700 rounds per

minute, the skill required to flame

25 targets with an average burst

of 25 rounds per truck, is nothing

short of incredible.”

Ice cold ignition

Once China entered the war, the

Tigercats did a lot of time closer

to the 38th Parallel. The only

thing the Chinese had flying at

night were Polikarpov Po-2 Mule

biplanes on nuisance sorties. The

“Flying over mountainous terrain was

dangerous enough, but to fl y low into

treacherous valleys with little or no moon,

the odds were stacked against the

night-fi ghters”

Above

A Corsair of VMF(N)-

over the mountains

of Korea in early 1951.

LYNN WILLIAMS

Right

Loading ordnance on

to an F4U-5N. GENE

DERRICKSON

Below right

The Marines had a

small number of F7F-3P

photo-birds for post-

strike analysis. Behind

is Japan’s Mount Fuji.

GEORGE GLAUSER