“The lm was good and intelligence were
elated. There were seven frames with clear
shots of swept-wing aircraft. The lm was
immediately own to Command HQ and then
on to UN to con rm reports of Soviet-type jet
aircraft being used in Korea. This was the
rst lm that con rmed this fact.”
Capt Flake also fought several battles
with the Yaks, scoring his rst kill during a
low-altitude mission close to Yalu after four of
the ghters had begun a diving attack on his
two elements.
“I turned my element hard right to meet
them head on,” he said. “As we came
around, the lead Yak red a short burst and
broke to his left and down, and I proceeded
to engage, continuing a maximum right turn.
“For a moment, I lost sight of him and then
picked him up as he pulled out of the dive.
This allowed me to gain a favourable ring
position from behind and slightly inside his
circle. Having spent a large part of my ammo
against ground targets, I did not want to re
until I was in optimum range. I pulled the
trigger when I got within 600ft of him.
“Almost immediately, the Yak began
trailing smoke... the pilot levelled the aircraft
out and then baled out.” Flake saw the
ghter spiral down and crash, while the rest
of the enemy aircraft headed north of the
Yalu, adding: “The Yak pilots we faced on this
day were inexperienced.”The next day the Americans were again
attacked by four Yaks. “This time, they were
experienced and eager to engage. After
passing each other on a headlong pass, I
pulled almost vertical to gain altitude while
slowing to quicken my turn. At the next sight
of him, he was above me and his nose was
almost on me – and he was closing so fast,
he would be ring before I could get into
position.
“Rolling and inverting, I headed straight
down with a most uneasy feeling that he was
close behind me.
“I can’t recall the details of the gyrations
that ensued. Knowing I could not turn with
him, I felt my life depended on gaining
the airspeed and altitude advantage. I
used every ounce of power of my F-51 to
overcome his superior manoeuvrability. It
ended in a series of vertical moves, from
10,000ft at the top to the deck and then
straight back up.“He would hold the Yak in the vertical
climb until it disappeared to stop mid-air...
fall backwards and spin out. The only shots
I came close to getting off were when he
peaked at the top. I would gain on him in
the top of the climb, but just as I got in range
he would tumble back, and you can’t hit a
spinning target.
“After three or four such manoeuvres, I
apparently got some hits as he approached
his peak again. He started to break out of
his climb prematurely and head straight
down. I was able to reach a good position
behind him, slightly above and to the right.
As I red, his right wing appeared to pull
away at the wing root.
“The Yak rolled abruptly and crashed,
spreading ames and debris over a large
area. Low on fuel and ammo, we returned
to base and were met with much acclaim.
For the rest of my tour I had no further
opportunity to engage any North Korean
aircraft.”
The propeller-driven long-range Mustang
bore the brunt of the ghting in the early
months of the war north of the 38th parallel
border between the two Koreas. While no
match for the MiG, records show F-51s
downed 18 Yaks, an Il-10 ground attack
aircraft and an La-7 ghter – the 67th
Fighter-Bomber Squadron claiming 12.5
Yaks.68 Aviation News incorporating Jets September 2017Above: Yaks that had been strafed were
found by the Americans when they took over
several bases in North Korea. This photo was
taken at Hamhu ̆ng, North Korea. Oakley Allen
via Warren Thompson
Bottom: A 67th FBS Mustang equipped with
standard 5in rocket works in the mountains
of North Korea in 1951, searching for a
column of tanks. Charles Morehouse via
Warren Thompson64-68_mustangDCmfDCmfDC.indd 68 04/08/2017 12:36