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  • Capt. Harold "Hal" Fischer: Double MiG Ace and POW

    Harold Fischer had great success as a fighter pilot in Korea, and he also endured captivity in communist China long after the end of hostilities. On his first tour in Korea, Fischer flew ground attack missions in F-80s in the 8th Fighter Bomber Wing. He stayed in the Far East and transferred to the

  • Master Fighter Tactician: Frederick "Boots" Blesse

    Frederick C. Blesse was one of the greatest aces of the Korean War era. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1945, flew two combat tours during the Korean War, completing 67 missions in F-51s, 35 missions in F-80s and 121 missions in F-86s. During his second tour in F-86s, he was

  • From Ace to Space: Iven C. Kincheloe Jr.

    Iven C. Kincheloe Jr. was typical of those young Americans who fought the communist threat in the skies over Korea. Born on July 2, 1928, in Detroit, Mich., he entered the Air Force under the cadet program at Purdue University. While a member of the Air Force ROTC, he was sent to Wright-Patterson

  • USAF Aces of Two Wars

     Many American pilots with World War II experience fought in Korea. Francis Gabreski, Vermont Garrison and Harrison Thyng were three of the six USAF Korean War aces who were also WWII aces. (The others were Majs. George Davis Jr., James Hagerstrom and William Whisner.)Francis "Gabby" Gabreski was

  • Leading Jet Ace: Capt. Joseph McConnell Jr.

    The leading jet ace of the Korean War was Capt. Joseph McConnell Jr., who scored his first victory on Jan. 14, 1953. In a little more than a month, he gained his fifth MiG-15 victory, thereby becoming an ace.On the day McConnell shot down his eighth MiG, his F-86 was hit by enemy aircraft fire, and

  • Capt. McConnell Shot Down

    “I am Harold Chitwood, First Lieutenant, USAF, and at the time Mac was shot down I was stationed at K-13 Korea. I was assigned to the 39th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter Wing. We were in the same squadron; as a matter of fact we went to Korea on the plane. I happened to be flying the

  • Personal Account from Capt. McConnell

    31 January 1953 "I encountered 4 MiG 15's at 46,000' I turned left into them, then reversed my turn on the first 2. I then broke right into the second 2 and again reversed my turn and lined up on the #2 MiG of the 1st element. I hit the MiG it rolled over and dived for the ground. I followed firing

  • First Jet vs. Jet Ace: Capt. James Jabara

    The world's first jet-versus-jet ace was USAF Capt. James Jabara, who scored his initial victory on April 3, 1951 and his fifth and sixth victories on May 20. He was then ordered back to the U.S. for special duty.At his own request, he returned to Korea in January 1953. By June, he had shot down

  • Lt. Col. Bruce Hinton: First F-86 MiG Kill

    Lt. Col. Bruce Hinton, commander of the 336th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing, was the first F-86 pilot to score a MiG-15 kill. On Dec. 17, 1950, Hinton led a flight of four F-86s over northwestern North Korea. To trick the communists, the Sabre pilots flew at the same

  • MiG-15 Pilot

    Unlike their Sabre counterparts, MiG-15 pilots did not wear hard helmets or g-suits. In fact, their flight clothing and gear was essentially the same as that worn by Soviet pilots years before during World War II.ASP-3N GunsightThis ASP-3N gunsight was removed from the museum's MiG-15bis. Like the