Ya know, it was either in the manual or the companion guide that came with it that said in the Korean War the MiGs were reluctant to penetrate even a thin overcast. Maybe the lack of interceptions is the result of poor weather keeping the MiGs low and near their bases. The next day the weather was clear and a bomber strike on Hamhung was intercepted by a group from China. Gotta pay more attention to the weather from now on.

27Jan

The UN offensives succeed. As a result, the Reds pull back beyond Kaesong. If past campaigns are any indication, there will be heavy fighting in the Triangle. Aircraft levels are as low as any point since the campaign began. If we can push another 10 miles or so, the Reds will be forced to abandon the airfields around Sariwon. Something tells me it won't be easy.

Dossier

29Jan

The line now stretches from Kumchon in the west, through Kumwha, to Kojin on the east coast. Bad weather broke on the morning of the 27th and Migs are once again showing up at some targets. Only one skirmish as a result. 10 more RedTails bagged. NK capitol of Pyongyang now lies just 50 miles behind the lines.

A new section of 86's brings 1st squadron up to 10 planes. Every other squadron is down to 6 planes. All MiG squadrons have pulled back to the 3 PYang bases, and the Reds are showing signs of resistance. A few front line towns are starting to become active. Air-to-air kills now exceed 400 with only 40 UN planes lost to MiGs.

Nevermind about the donkeys, I just found them. Flew a road interdiction in a Sabre with rockets and located the convoy. I couldn't make out what it was from so far out. We engaged and a 37mm in a truck opened up on the wingies from a hillside overlooking the road the convoy was travelling on. I immediately swung the guns on the truck and kicked up some dust. No more flying oranges. Climbed and banked back around to the road.

It looked like the wingies were on target, so I decided to make a visual before wasting any ammo. Might be some trains nearby! As I passed over the road I saw a bunch of burnt carts. In the center of this long row of carts was one donkey standing there still attached to his cart. I felt so bad for him, that I ordered the wingies to rejoin and we flew home. It was just a sad sight. Poor donkey!

And I'm starting to be a believer in regards to the weather and how it affects the MiG activity. It's early, but I think we're on to something.

Well, things have gone well so far, but the USAF took a beating which I'll describe below. Most of my highest priority targets are currently knocked out. But all of a sudden things ain't so rosy for the flyboys. We also lost another day in the campaign. It looks like we skippied right by the 28th. I don't know if it's a bug, or if we were grounded. I'll assume the latter since it makes it feel more like a war.

Two whole days have now been lost to severe weather and the stuff we've been flying in is no picnic. For the past two weeks, only two days have been clear. Snow or rain the rest of the time. Severe winds and gusting is making ground strikes difficult. My rockets are going all over the place.

Click to continue

Squadrons Early in the Campaign

31Jan.

The UN launches an offensive in the Iron Triangle in the central sector. Up until now the campaign has been going very well. The strategy and tactics are working like a charm. Red supply machine is at a crawl. There are virtually no train bridges standing in the entire theater. Traffic is minimal. MiGs have been quiet. That was all about to change.

We awoke on the morning of the 31st to a bright sunrise, the first sunny day in a long time. Upon arrival at Kimpo, Commander informed us that B-29's were on the table. And we were going to PYang to escort them to the MYard. I had mixed feelings. The last couple of runs to PYang were too easy. It gave me an uneasy feeling. With the clear skies, there was a chance they'd be ready for a fight.

A little before eight in the morning, we lifted off, waited for Cougar flight to join, and went to find the Forts and the four F-80's tasked with close escort. Found them easily in the clear skies, and we flew off to PYang. I had a bad feeling about this.

As we approached the city, it was obvious that we'd have some company today. 20 MiGs had lifted off from both PYang East and downtown fields and another formation was inbound from China. It was going to be 20 UN fighters and the Forts against over 60 MiGs, and 40 of those were RedTails. The formation from PYang East was first to engage. Normally we fly ahead of the bombers to disrupt the MiGs as they set up to attack. Today we stayed close to the bombers.

Badly outnumbered, I wanted to try and concentrate our fighters around the bombers for some mutual protection. Cougar flight engaged first. They peeled off to engage the RedTails now approaching the bombers from behind. We kept on with the bombers, which were only 10 miles from the pickle point. Panther Two spotted the Chinese MiGs approaching from 12 o'clock high. It was on.

We swung around to see if the bombers were in any immediate danger(relative term in a situation like this!) and as I looked, I could only see the Camo painted MiGs. No RedTails in sight. Cougar flight was strangely silent. Panther flight was ripping apart the Camos. Before the mission I had chosen the finest pilots in the squadron for this mission. I guessed we'd be jumped and the skill of the Panthers was showing.

About 10 MiGs were dusted in 4 minutes. We had chased the Chinese MiGs down low and they appeared to be beating feet. Certainly no longer a direct threat to the B-29's. A quick check-in revealed both Panther Five and Eight were missing. We climbed to see if we could help Cougar and Puma flights. As we approached the RedTails, I was shocked to see they were in formation. 2 squadrons of RedTails heading straight for the unprotected bombers. They had completely destroyed second squadron. All eight Sabres lost.

They hit the Forts with fury. We tried to fight them off, but with 6 Sabres and only 2 F-80's there wasn't much we could do. We shot down another half dozen. I even watched as a B-29 smoked a MiG. 7 B-29's were blown from the sky. Some damage was done to the target.

The mission cost us 14 fighters and 7 bombers for 18 MiGs killed. Second sqaudron is completely wiped out. Some of the finest pilots we had aren't coming home. The MiGs lack of activity had merely been the calm before the storm. And I find myself wishing for snow.

Watch for an article soon on campaign planning by Derek Bond. For more on MiG Alley see our MiG Alley Index

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