The First Jet Powered Dogfight
I love the smell of jet fuel in the morning
Beginning on September 15th, 1950, the United States began running air support missions over North Korea in support of United Nations forces at the outbreak of the Korean War. These carrier based bombing runs were focused on slowing and destroying North Korean positions in the north of the country in an attempt to hamper organizational efforts by the Koreans and Chinese who were planning on being deployed to the south.
This was the first large scale, live combat, operation in which United States jet planes were activated. In response, the Soviet Union began deploying their brand new MiG-15 jets to China in order to deter United States air superiority over the Korean Peninsula.
Yalu River Bombings
As the bombing campaign stretched on, General Douglas MacArthur began to focus on targets along the North Korean border with China. Bridges over the Yalu River were seen as critical infrastructure that needed to be knocked out in order to cut the supply lines between Korea and China. The proximity to Chinese territory prompted the appearance of the MiG-15s on the scene.
