communist China entered into the equation
and warned United Nations forces not to ap-
proach its border. Gen. Douglas MacArthur
blatantly ignored this warning, and the Chi-
nese dispatched Gen. Peng Dehuai and
380,000 men to expel them. Around this time,
Stalin also clandestinely introduced Soviet
MiG 15s and pilots into the fighting. They
quickly demonstrated superiority over all
United Nations aircraft in the theater until De-
cember 1950, when the first shipment of
North American F-86 Sabrejets hurriedly ar-
rived to counter them. The two aircraft were
more or less evenly matched, and the fight
was on for control of Korean skies.
Pepelyaev and the 196 IAP staged out of
Antung, Manchuria, just across the Yalu River,
in January 1951. This, in turn, formed part of
the 324th Fighter Aviation Division under
famed World War II ace Ivan Kozhedub. But
Stalin intended to keep the presence of Soviet
pilots a closely guarded secret, and great
lengths were taken to deceive the Americans.
For example, while flying in combat, Russian
pilots were ordered to converse on the radio
in Korean! “It was impossible psychologically
in the heat of battle to use a foreign language
you hardly knew,” Pepelyaev confessed. “So
after a week or two we just decided to ignore
the order. The top brass started complaining,
so I told them, ‘Go and fight yourselves!’” Pe-
pelyaev quickly demonstrated his skills as a
fighter pilot by downing several F-86s in com-
bat. This was deliberately done at the instiga-
tion of Stalin himself, who wanted a fallen
Sabrejetexamined by Soviet engineers. In a
lengthy scrape on October 6, 1951, Pepelyaev
accomplished just that. “I damaged the Sabre,
and the pilot tried to coax the plane out over
the water where helicopter rescue would be
possible. He didn’t make it but managed to
put the plane down on a sand bank near the
coast.” A furious fight then ensued as the
Americans tried to destroy the intact aircraft,
but it was eventually covered by the tide. That
night Chinese work parties cut off the wings
and transported the F-86 to the Russian air-
field. It was destined to be shipped immedi-
ately to Moscow on Stalin’s orders, but Pe-
pelyaev deliberately delayed it a week so that
he and other MiG pilots could examine their
formidable adversary themselves. Russian pi-
lots were especially impressed by the spa-
cious, well-laid-out cockpit interior of the
Sabre, which contrasted with the cramped
arrangement characterizing MiG aircraft.
By the time Pepelyaev rotated back to Rus-
sia in February 1952, he had completed 108
combat missions and claimed 23 air-to-air vic-
tories. No less than 14 of the splendid F-86s
fell before his guns, but he modestly admit-
ted, “I am absolutely certain of only six of my
kills and I saw just two of those actually
crash. Too much was going on to follow
everything.” Under his expert command, the
196 IAP also acquitted itself well, claiming 104
kills for a loss of five pilots killed and 24
MiG 15s lost. However, there is some dispute
as to whether Pepelyaev or another Soviet
pilot, Nikolai Sutyagin, is the highest ace, with
the former’s tally reduced to 19 kills and the
latter’s listed as 22. In any case, both men
eclipsed by one-fourth the tallies of the lead-
ing American jet aces from Korea, Joseph C.
McConnell and James Jabara. The Russians
also claimed a total of 1,300 American planes
shot down in exchange for a grand total of
350 MiGs lost, along with 200 pilots. This con-
trasts with an American tally of 823 Russian
aircraft down for the loss of 139 planes lost in
air-to-air combat (the rest being lost to anti-
aircraft fire). The exact figure may never be
known. As Pepelyaev candidly admitted,
“After both the hunt and combat, that’s when
the tales begin.”
Pepelyaev had performed exceedingly well
in Korea, demonstrating that the Red Air
Force was a match for the well-trained, lav-
ishly equipped U.S. Air Force. For this reason
he was selected to pass through the General
Staff Academy in 1958. The Korean War’s
highest-ranking ace concluded his career in
1973 and is now retired and living in Moscow.
It is hoped that one day the complete story of
Russian pilots in Korea will receive the histor-
ical scrutiny it richly deserves.PEPELYAEV, YEVGENIJ