Tonight at 20:00 EST, PBS affiliates will run an acclaimed science program NOVA on the air war over Korea and what happened to US pilots shot down…
pbs.org Link
Oh it should be very interesting to watch, but … damn i have no PBS in my satellite plate:)
What i have to do?
I hope you will inform as about this program of NOVA?
I believe you can watch it online at their site, in installments.
Yes, here:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/warplanes/program.html
And the program was very interesting. I never knew that the Soviets managed to recover a nearly undamaged F-86E that was forced down in North Korea after running low on fuel I believe. The US managed to rescue the pilot, but failed to destroy the Sabre in several attacks…
I wish it were longer, only being an hour program. They could have made a documentary mini-series out of this…
Oh thanks , i will try to download tonight.
Yes i knew about one capturing Sarbe in Korea.
But it was not full undamaged as you think. I read about the specal group of the soviet Migs who was aimed PRIMIRALY to capture the unharmed Sabre, but as far as i know they never reached this aim.
Only ONCE the lighly damaged Sabre was landed in the water near sea-cost. The wtaer saved the body of fighter from the full damage and fire- so the Koreans imeediatelly reported to the soviet staff and it was desided to evacuate the Sabre.
It was amazing operation- by day this was inpossible coz the USAAF continiously try to damage the plane and shot to everething that try to move near it.
But by night- the plane was removed to the sea cost, then was devided into the 3 parts and finaly removed to the soviet airfield. Later as i’ve read those 3 part was connected and removed to the Moscow for study.
They actually briefly touch on this in the program… Seems to be a rather silly, impossible mission to knock down a fighter without causing too much damage too it. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but that’s a type of thing that only happens on accident with the gods in your favor…
It was not so silly indeed - during the WW2 there were a lot of such cases when both Germans and Soviets captured the enemy aircraft by such way.
The methods awas simple- the group of fighter 4-6 aircraft surround the enemy faircraft behind and when he try to lose the pursute - they open the fire in aim to back him to the direct fly.
In this way they could force to fly to the choosen direction by the threat to be shoted dowm as much as the fuel enough.
This was the jet age where neither side had absolute numerical advantage and the nature of the air war was quite different…
And the UN side was quite silly too, such as enticing North Korean/Chinese defector MIG pilots, but providing no means for them to get through a screen of fighters and AA artillery. The one that finally did, in 1953, was quite lucky as the UN forces had largely stood down and were awaiting the truce. So he flew over AAA batteries that didn’t notice he was a MIG-15 until after he was out of range. And the main air defense radar was taken down for maintenance as well.
On has too wonder if there were any other pilots that were lured by the propaganda leaflet enticement of money and a new life in the West that were shot down trying to fly their MIGs south…
OK i was trying and look for that massage:
We’re sorry, due to rights restrictions this program is only available for online viewing in the United States, its territories, possessions, and commonwealths. You appear to be connected to the Internet from outside these areas.
WTF going on Nick?
is this sort of national discrimination?
How could we be sure that NOVA tell a true ?Might it be the domestic propogandic serial about “how they shot down the handreds of Reds per day”
Well but this was subsonic age YET.
And UN forces has a absolute numerical superiority indeed.
I’ve read somewhere it were over 2 000 of airplains at UN side and just 300-400 at the Red Side at one moment.
And the UN side was quite silly too, such as enticing North Korean/Chinese defector MIG pilots, but providing no means for them to get through a screen of fighters and AA artillery. The one that finally did, in 1953, was quite lucky as the UN forces had largely stood down and were awaiting the truce. So he flew over AAA batteries that didn’t notice he was a MIG-15 until after he was out of range. And the main air defense radar was taken down for maintenance as well.
It’s amazing case. This pilot was damn lucky
On has too wonder if there were any other pilots that were lured by the propaganda leaflet enticement of money and a new life in the West that were shot down trying to fly their MIGs south…
Yea what’s the irony of destiny:)
The right final for the traitors:)
Try Youtube…
Done…
Yea this is a good film of NOVA.
I didn’t knew that the best soviet jet ace Evgenij Pepeljaev still alive. He described the story how they try to capture the Sabre.
Actualy the electrical ecuipment like the automatic radar sight of Sabre was an outstanding thing.The Mig untill the most end of the war had nothing simular.
The movie from a guncamera of sabre was excellent one that i did not see.
Unfrortinatelly the director of film did not used the photo and cinema shoots of Mig gun-camera.
I think this is a little uncorect film coz …the director was focused at the dogfighting of Sabre vs Mig-15.
Coz the main aim of american pilots was to hit the Migs.
However the main aim of Migs wasn’t a dogfight- the primary aim was always the American bombers like B-29 and B-26.So they relatively seldom have been involved in pure figter-firhter dogfight.
Unfortinatelly i did not see the shoots of Migs gun-camera of destruction of the Strategic bombers in this film of NOVA.I saw it in one of russian film - its was
As we know the US lost about 100 of B-29 and about 150 B-26 - very great resault for Migs.
Mig was a best jet “bomber-Killer” ( well might be just right after Me-262 that was not such succesfull due to unrealible engines).
Curiously, one of the missing Sabre pilots was the top scoring WW2 Typhoon ace, Johnny Baldwin…
He was RAF, but flew Sabres on exchange to the U.S.A.F., & remains missing to date…
…despite rumours that he was captured & sent to the U.S.S.R…