Biggest Dogfight

One day last week 34 U.S. B-29s lumbered up "MIG Alley" to drop 260 tons of bombs on bridges across the lower Yalu. The enemy's fast MIG-15s, squatting on their nests behind the Manchurian border, howled up to attack, 40 strong, in spite of 80 U.S. jets (50 F-84 Thunderjets and 30 F-86 Sabres) escorting the bombers.

The Thunderjets undertook to drive the attackers off (while the Sabres stayed close to the bombers) and did it quickly. After two MIGs had been hit, the rest streaked for safety across the Yalu; the U.S. pilots broke off the pursuit at the river. In this biggest dogfight of the war, no U.S. plane was scratched.

Earlier in the week, U.S. jet pilots had claimed four MIGs destroyed, twelve damaged. At week's end the number of confirmed kills of enemy jets stood at 31.

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