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

Published May 12, 2015

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Lt. Col. Bruce Hinton at Suwon Air Base in the summer of 1951. (U.S. Air Force photo)

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Lt. Col. Bruce Hinton (left) toasts with bravado just before boarding the last transport to leave Kimpo Air Base on Jan. 2, 1951, before it was overrun by Chinese forces. (U.S. Air Force photo)

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 altitude and speed as F-80s typically did on missions, and they used F-80 call signs.

Hinton spotted four MiGs at a lower altitude, and he led his flight in an attack. After pouring a burst of machine gun fire into one of the MiGs, it went down in flames. In April 1951, Hinton shot down a second MiG-15.

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

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