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00:01Next on Secrets of War.
00:03Heroes of the air war one day, prisoners of war the next.
00:08UN pilots battle anti-aircraft fire and a mysterious enemy in the skies over Korea.
00:14Previously classified telegrams reveal Stalin's personal role in the conflict
00:18and how Britain unwittingly aided the communists.
00:21Korea, Stalin's secret air war is next on Secrets of War.
00:36Korea, Trump, and the end.
00:47SAW TONG STREET
00:48FAR TONG STREET
01:42To some young men, the war was an invitation.
01:48Meet me in Korea.
01:51Lose your innocence and follow me.
01:55In this rare home movie taken in 1950,
01:59American pilots suited up for a sortie into the skies.
02:05Within minutes, they would be catapulted off the carrier deck
02:08of the USS Valley Forge,
02:10en route to targets in enemy territory.
02:17Some would encounter near-death experiences rewarded with half a crate of whiskey when
02:22they were rescued from the chilling sea.
02:27Some would never make it back for dinner.
02:32And still others would be captured and brainwashed or allowed to die in prison camps.
02:41All who fought in Korea soon lost their innocence.
02:47The idea was then we thought the war would be over and when the war folded up, I'd come home
02:55at the end of 90 days.
02:57Colonel Bud Mahurin was one of many pilots who were summoned to Korea to fight expanding communism.
03:06His targets were tiny glints of steel, fleeting against grey skies miles away.
03:14The airmen who were ordered to bomb and strafe never fully realized how their combat missions affected the enemy on
03:21the battlefield.
03:26Nor could they understand how their actions modified the major political and strategic decisions made in Washington, Moscow and Beijing.
03:38Information from the Soviet archives, not uncovered until the 1990s, reveals the secret involvement of the pilot's real adversary.
03:50Marshal Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union.
03:55They were rewarded secretly.
03:57This is the way it was done, you know, secret rewards.
04:08The story that the pilots never knew began when the North Koreans invaded the South on a rainy Sunday morning
04:15in late June of 1950.
04:20First reports of the attack were not considered sufficiently urgent to wake General Douglas MacArthur at the U.S. Embassy
04:27in Japan.
04:35The world's alarm clock had sounded.
04:38Democracies were caught napping.
04:44When Korea was partitioned at the 38th parallel by the Soviet Union and the United States at the end of
04:50World War II,
04:52the Americans tried to create in the Republic of Korea a model democracy for Asia.
05:01In the industrial North, however, Soviet-style military training forged a well-armed, well-equipped North Korean army of 180
05:10,000 men.
05:17Kim Il-sung, the young ruler of North Korea, was intent on reuniting the two Koreas
05:23and badgered Joseph Stalin for permission to invade the South.
05:30They exchanged more than 40 secret coded telegrams.
05:37Finally, in April 1950, the aging Stalin agreed to let Kim invade the South.
05:46These classified communications revealed that both men believed all of Korea could be forcefully unified.
05:54To ensure a swift victory, Stalin secretly provided advisers, equipment, and ammunition to the North Koreans,
06:01documented here by Soviet cameramen.
06:10Neither dictator expected the Americans to intervene so far from their own shores.
06:17The South Korean army, with only three years of training from American advisers,
06:22tried vainly to stop the onslaught on the 25th and 26th of June.
06:30But then retreated in disarray.
06:35If you look at Korea, you look at just colossal irresponsibility on the part of the United States State Department
06:41because we had proclaimed that South Korea was not within our area of interest.
06:49To prevent a total takeover of South Korea,
06:52President Harry Truman immediately ordered General MacArthur
06:55to direct American naval and air power against the communists.
07:05The huge, impenetrable tanks Stalin had given to the North Koreans
07:09through some of the first American aerial attacks.
07:16Since the South Korean army had few anti-tank weapons,
07:21air power was the only available option.
07:26Then Truman committed ground troops at MacArthur's recommendation.
07:34But it would be weeks before these new troops could counter-attack.
07:42Covering the evacuation of refugees from Seoul,
07:45American F-82 Mustang pilots destroyed three North Korean Yak fighters.
07:53In light of this threat to the North Korean Air Force,
07:57Stalin had to re-evaluate his plans.
08:03The United Nations resolution brought American and British forces together again,
08:08with other allies to defend South Korea.
08:11Pilots were mobilized, some from reserve units.
08:15And what a shock it was for these people.
08:18I knew a number of them very well.
08:19There were young lawyers, young bankers,
08:22young men getting started in their businesses,
08:25young people in school,
08:26and suddenly they were swept up
08:28and they left their wives and families
08:30and found themselves riding this carrier off of Korea.
08:37Among the first pawns in Stalin's secret war
08:40were American Air Force and Navy veterans
08:42like pilot Don Ingen aboard the carrier USS Valley Forge.
08:50The Air Force was heavily committed
08:52with P-51s and P-80s to supporting that land battle.
08:57We ranged the breadth of the Korean peninsula
09:00and attacked all those moving targets
09:04that were coming down from the North.
09:06Tanks, trucks, troops,
09:10trying to stem the flow of people into South Korea.
09:16Air bombardment was not the only task
09:19of the rapidly assembled Air Force.
09:23Throughout the course of the war,
09:25the air was filled with paratroopers,
09:30with equipment and supplies,
09:33with helicopters rescuing downed pilots,
09:38with psychological warfare layfits,
09:43and with loudspeakers urging the enemy to surrender.
09:53Allied warplanes were able to zero in
09:55on the Soviet tanks,
09:57eliminating them at a far faster rate
09:59than soldiers who would attempt
10:00to pry open their hatches
10:01to drop grenades inside.
10:07Air power knocked out 180 tanks
10:11at a time when the army did not possess
10:15any type of anti-tank weapon
10:18that was truly effective against tanks.
10:25Overwhelming air power demonstrated
10:27that the Soviets and Kim Il-sung
10:29had grossly underestimated
10:30the resolve of the United Nations.
10:36Bombs dropping in Korea reverberated
10:39in Moscow and Beijing.
10:44Stalin found himself backsliding
10:46into a war he did not expect.
10:53He launched an urgent barrage
10:55of secret communications
10:56directed at Kim Il-sung
10:58and at Mao Zedong, ruler of China.
11:03Discoveries from the newly opened Russian archives
11:06confirm what many suspected.
11:11We provided the Chinese with the aircraft
11:14with the pilots too because the Chinese
11:17couldn't run the aircraft.
11:21They were just, well, learning this job.
11:24And the pilots were given the instruction
11:27that if something happens,
11:30you must commit suicide.
11:32You see, never say that you're a Soviet pilot.
11:39Soon, the Cold War turned hot.
11:44Soviet airmen secretly entered the war
11:46against their one-time allies, the Americans.
11:51With the sleekest, fastest,
11:53and highest flying jet yet seen,
11:55Stalin's men could only be countered
11:57by a new breed of pilot
11:58in a new jet aircraft.
12:02The battle for air superiority
12:04over a slice of Northwest Korea
12:06bordering the Yalu River,
12:07known as MiG Alley,
12:09would be a clash between MiG-15s and F-86s.
12:18The best the Soviets had
12:20against the best of the USA.
12:34Marshal Joseph Stalin was shocked
12:37by the continued air raids
12:38on North Korean troops
12:39in late June 1950,
12:41just six days after the invasion.
12:50Using one of his codenames,
12:52Fin Si,
12:53he telegrammed his ambassador
12:55in the North Korean capital.
12:57He wondered whether the demoralized
12:59North Korean command would push on.
13:02The attack absolutely must continue.
13:06The sooner South Korea is liberated,
13:09the less chance there is for intervention.
13:12Communicate also how the Korean leaders
13:15regard the attacks on North Korean territory
13:17by American planes.
13:20The Soviet ambassador responded
13:22to Stalin the next day.
13:25Because of the frequent attacks
13:27by American planes
13:28on population points
13:29and industrial and military sites
13:31in North and South Korea,
13:32the political mood of the population
13:35is somewhat worsening.
13:39Kim Il-sung humbly sought advice
13:42from his Soviet advisors
13:43on how to regroup
13:44after the American air raids.
13:49The Chinese were already criticizing
13:52the North Koreans' underestimation
13:54of the probability
13:55of American military intervention.
14:02Kim could see as well as anyone else
14:05that once the war had started,
14:06it was more than likely
14:07the People's Republic of China
14:09would be forced into supporting him.
14:12On the 5th of July,
14:13Stalin was so alarmed
14:15by the American bombardment,
14:16he dispatched a telegram
14:18to his minister in Beijing.
14:22Stalin wanted Mao
14:24to station nine Chinese divisions
14:26on the Manchurian border
14:27in case the Americans
14:29crossed the 38th parallel.
14:34In exchange,
14:36Stalin offered to provide
14:37limited air cover
14:38to protect the Chinese forces.
14:45within a month,
14:47the first of Stalin's
14:48new airplanes
14:49arrived in China,
14:51crated and unassembled,
14:53as documented
14:53in this Chinese film
14:55from 1950.
15:01One jet fighter division
15:03equipped with 124 aircraft
15:05sufficient to cover Mao's troops
15:07stationed near the border
15:08began training
15:09their Chinese counterparts
15:10from bases in Manchuria.
15:16Though Stalin's unmistakable fingerprints
15:18were on the war,
15:19it could not be detected.
15:23During the summer of 1950,
15:26Allied forces
15:27were pinned down
15:28behind the Pusan perimeter.
15:30Though more heavily armed,
15:32they still risked
15:33being pushed into the sea.
15:38The Incheon invasion
15:40changed that.
15:44Starting on September 13th,
15:46MacArthur's sweeping
15:47amphibious counterattack
15:48on North Korean forces
15:50began with saturation bombardment
15:52from the air
15:53and from the sea.
15:57The terrain where thousands
15:59of Marines were going to land
16:00had to be softened.
16:04This was a major,
16:05major assault
16:06and probably the first time
16:07that the U.S.
16:08really came back
16:09into the war
16:10with a vengeance.
16:13That was a stroke of genius
16:14on the part of General MacArthur
16:15and the Navy
16:16supported that fully.
16:17So the Incheon assault
16:19really started
16:21the next dynamics
16:23of the war
16:24which was
16:24the move back
16:25into North Korea.
16:30MacArthur's stunning success
16:31at Incheon
16:32compelled a politically weakened
16:34President Truman
16:35to congratulate him
16:36at Wake Island
16:37four weeks later.
16:40It also led
16:42to a flurry
16:42of communications
16:43among Stalin, Mao
16:45and Kim Il-Sung.
16:48Classified telegrams
16:49recently uncovered
16:51reveal their secret fears
16:53and orders.
16:56Panicked,
16:57the three dictators
16:58found themselves
16:58embroiled in a war
17:00from which they could not
17:01easily escape.
17:06As the Allied troops
17:08began their advance
17:09on Seoul
17:10two days after landing
17:12at Incheon,
17:12Stalin ordered
17:14the North Koreans
17:15to abandon
17:15the Pusan perimeter
17:17and to defend
17:18their capital
17:18of Pyongyang.
17:23He ordered
17:24his defense minister
17:25to provide air cover
17:26but to keep it secret.
17:30The Soviet defense minister
17:31responding to
17:32Stalin's request
17:33informed him
17:34that Soviet air cover
17:35for the capital
17:36would require
17:37almost a week
17:38to prepare.
17:42The minister
17:43pointed out
17:44that the Russian
17:45stakes were
17:45even higher.
17:47Activity by
17:48Soviet ground
17:49controllers
17:50and pilots
17:50would be easily
17:51detected by the
17:52Americans
17:53since they would
17:54be speaking
17:54in Russian.
17:58Above all,
17:59Stalin wanted
18:00to avoid
18:00a direct
18:01confrontation
18:02with the Americans.
18:05He never
18:06enforced the order.
18:09air bombardment
18:11from the United
18:12Nations forces
18:13continued
18:13furiously.
18:15Fighters
18:16and B-26
18:17bombers
18:17were ordered
18:18to strike
18:19every moving
18:19target
18:2024 hours a day.
18:25We would take
18:26off in the end
18:28of the night
18:28and we would
18:29get out
18:30to the target
18:31area
18:31while the trucks
18:33were still
18:33using their
18:34headlights
18:34but it was
18:35dawn
18:36and so we
18:37would be able
18:37to take
18:38the targets
18:39that way.
18:41Launched
18:42off the carrier
18:42deck of the
18:43USS Valley Forge
18:44the props
18:45and the jets
18:46would align
18:46themselves
18:47in the air.
18:51James Holloway
18:52piloted a
18:53Skyraider.
18:56We would
18:57be in
18:57ahead of
18:58them
18:58firing our
18:59machine guns
19:00firing the
19:01rockets
19:01and then
19:02recover
19:02and as we
19:03were pulling
19:04out of our
19:04dives
19:05the first
19:05dive bombers
19:06would be
19:07coming in
19:07with a bomb.
19:08The timing
19:09was terribly
19:09important.
19:12By the end
19:13of September
19:13Allied bombing
19:14and strafing
19:15had destroyed
19:16a large number
19:17of North Korean
19:18tanks and
19:19artillery
19:19and reduced
19:20their food
19:21supply by
19:21one half.
19:25The air
19:25war in Korea
19:26was effective
19:27in the sense
19:28that it
19:30made very
19:32difficult
19:32the communists
19:34effort to
19:36supply their
19:36troops at
19:37the battle
19:37front.
19:39Just 10
19:39days after
19:40MacArthur's
19:41invasion
19:41Stalin fired
19:42more withering
19:43telegrams to
19:44the Soviet
19:45military advisors
19:46in North Korea
19:47criticizing them
19:48for incompetence
19:49on many
19:50fronts.
19:53North Korean
19:54troops were
19:55ordered to get
19:56out of the
19:56South if they
19:57could be
19:57organized in
19:58time.
20:02From Pyongyang
20:03another telegram
20:05reached Stalin
20:05on the 27th
20:06of September.
20:08The situation
20:09is severe.
20:10The air
20:11force has
20:12dominated
20:12the airspace
20:13without hydrants.
20:15Troops have
20:16suffered heavy
20:17losses, mainly
20:18from the
20:19enemy's air
20:19force.
20:20Communications
20:21wars was
20:22interrupted
20:23by the enemy's
20:24air raids.
20:25The Chinese
20:25railroads
20:26are overloaded.
20:29The Russian
20:30ambassador telegrammed
20:32foreign minister
20:32Andrei Gromyko
20:33on September
20:3729th.
20:38One can feel
20:40confusion and
20:41hopelessness.
20:42The military
20:42situation has
20:43worsened
20:44dramatically
20:44lately.
20:45Railroads do
20:46not function.
20:48Bridges and
20:48railway stations
20:49are demolished.
20:53After almost
20:54two weeks of
20:55intensive fighting
20:56MacArthur's troops
20:57recaptured Seoul.
21:02Proudly, the
21:02general handed
21:03the fire-torn
21:04city back
21:05to Singman
21:05Ri, president
21:06of South Korea.
21:10Within 90
21:11days, South
21:12Korea was
21:12restored to
21:13its status
21:13before the
21:14invasion,
21:15primarily
21:16because of
21:16overwhelming
21:17air power.
21:20the weakened
21:21and desperate
21:22North Korean
21:22army began
21:23its withdrawal
21:24from South
21:24Korea.
21:28But the
21:28Chinese were
21:29setting a new
21:30trap for the
21:31American
21:31imperialists.
21:43Still
21:43devastated by
21:44the relentless
21:45hail of bombs
21:46and bullets
21:47from the sky,
21:48Kim El-sung
21:48wrote a very
21:49humble telegram
21:50to Stalin
21:51on the
21:521st of
21:52October,
21:531950.
21:56As the
21:57South Korean
21:573rd division
21:58crossed the
21:5938th parallel,
22:00Kim bemoaned
22:02the overwhelming
22:02power of the
22:03Americans.
22:07The enemy's
22:09air force
22:09numbering
22:10a thousandth
22:11airplane
22:12totally
22:13dominate the
22:14airspace.
22:15The enemy's
22:15air force
22:16impeded
22:17provisions
22:17of our
22:18supply.
22:19Communications
22:20lines are
22:21cut up.
22:22We need
22:23an appropriate
22:24air force.
22:25We need
22:26direct military
22:27assistance
22:27from the
22:28Soviet Union.
22:32Kim did
22:33not tell
22:34Stalin that
22:35he had just
22:35received an
22:36ultimatum
22:37from General
22:37MacArthur
22:38calling for
22:39unconditional
22:39surrender.
22:43It would be
22:44the first
22:44of two
22:45Kim would
22:45reject
22:46within a
22:47week.
22:49And
22:50Stalin was
22:51concerned
22:51first of
22:52all as
22:52to whether
22:52he could
22:53save anything
22:53of the
22:54North Korean
22:54forces.
22:55It seemed
22:56to him
22:56on reflection
22:57the only way
22:58to do this
22:58was by
22:59bringing
23:00China in.
23:02Stalin
23:02desperately
23:03pleaded
23:03with Mao
23:04Tse-tung
23:04to provide
23:05the Chinese
23:06divisions
23:06he'd
23:07originally
23:07promised
23:07near the
23:0838th
23:09parallel.
23:13Stalin hoped
23:14the Korean
23:14comrades
23:15could then
23:15reorganize
23:16under
23:16Chinese
23:17protection.
23:21Stalin then
23:22ordered Kim
23:22to evacuate
23:23the North
23:24Korean troops.
23:27on the
23:282nd of
23:29October
23:29however
23:29Mao
23:30told
23:30Stalin
23:31that he
23:31was
23:32rejecting
23:32Stalin's
23:33original
23:33plan
23:34to move
23:34his
23:34divisions
23:35south.
23:39It's
23:40now known
23:40that Mao
23:41went even
23:42further.
23:42He actually
23:44wanted to
23:44call off
23:45the war.
23:47He
23:48recommended
23:49to Stalin
23:50that the
23:50Koreans
23:50should suffer
23:51a temporary
23:52defeat
23:52and change
23:53the form
23:54of the
23:54struggle
23:54to a
23:55partisan
23:56guerrilla
23:56war.
24:01On
24:01the 5th
24:02of October
24:02Soviet
24:03Foreign
24:03Minister
24:04Andrei
24:04Gromyko
24:05dictated
24:06to the
24:06Soviet
24:06ambassador
24:07in Pyongyang
24:08that the
24:08evacuated
24:09troops
24:09could be
24:10reestablished
24:11in the
24:11USSR
24:11and in
24:12China.
24:17Stalin
24:18was prepared
24:19to abandon
24:20Korea
24:20to avoid
24:21direct
24:21confrontation
24:22with the
24:22United
24:23States.
24:28Four days
24:29later,
24:29Kim Il-sung
24:30again begged
24:31Stalin
24:31to send
24:32assistance.
24:37To be
24:38successful
24:38in a struggle
24:39against a
24:40strong enemy
24:41armed with
24:42the latest
24:42technology,
24:44we need
24:44to have
24:45thousands
24:45of trained
24:46pilots,
24:47tank
24:48and radio
24:49operators
24:49and engineering
24:50officers
24:51urgently.
24:54On
24:55the 14th
24:55of October,
24:56Stalin
24:56received
24:57two
24:57communications
24:58from
24:58Beijing.
25:01After
25:02much
25:02internal
25:03debate,
25:04Mao
25:04had
25:05finally
25:05changed
25:06his
25:06mind.
25:07China
25:08would send
25:09troops
25:09into Korea,
25:10provided the
25:11Soviet Union
25:11would protect
25:12them with
25:13an air force.
25:18Relieved by
25:19China's decision,
25:20Stalin
25:20contacted
25:21Kim Il-sung.
25:24Delay the
25:25evacuation of
25:26troops and
25:26advisers,
25:27he ordered.
25:29Stalin
25:29would supply
25:30the men
25:30and equipment
25:31Kim had
25:31requested.
25:33But Kim
25:34would have to
25:35work out
25:36some of Korea's
25:37problems with
25:38the Chinese
25:38directly.
25:41Stalin
25:41would also
25:42provide the
25:43Chinese with
25:43their armaments.
25:47To make the
25:48deal financially
25:49viable,
25:50both countries
25:51would have to
25:51sign long-term
25:53loan agreements
25:53with the
25:54USSR,
25:55still recovering
25:56from the
25:56Second World War.
26:01So what the
26:02Soviet Union
26:02is doing
26:02is funding
26:03and training
26:04the Chinese
26:06and North Koreans
26:07to bear the
26:07brunt of the
26:08fighting.
26:10Thus,
26:11the stage
26:11was set
26:12for the
26:12intervention
26:13of 300,000
26:14Chinese troops,
26:15initially disguised
26:16as North Koreans,
26:18one month
26:18to the day
26:19after the
26:20momentous
26:20Incheon landing.
26:25Within
26:26another week,
26:27the first
26:28Soviet
26:28MiG-15
26:29fighter planes
26:30appeared in
26:31the skies
26:31over North Korea.
26:36For the
26:37UN forces,
26:38a trap
26:38had been set
26:39and the war
26:40was about
26:40to enter
26:41a new stage.
26:47One document
26:48from the
26:49Soviet archives
26:49shows the
26:50151st Fighter
26:52Aviation Division
26:53was ordered
26:53to defend
26:54the Chinese
26:5413th Army
26:56group
26:56around
26:56Andong
26:57on the
26:58Chinese border.
27:03Soviet planes
27:04were strictly
27:05prohibited
27:05from crossing
27:06the Yellow River
27:07into North Korea.
27:09Russian pilots
27:10were to train
27:11the Chinese
27:11to fly
27:12the new
27:12MiGs.
27:14They put
27:15down
27:16something like
27:17900
27:18MiG-15s
27:19in the course
27:19of the war.
27:20They supported
27:21it with training,
27:22they supported
27:23it with the
27:24ground control,
27:25they had Russian
27:25controllers on the
27:26ground,
27:26Russian radars,
27:27Russian artillery.
27:30China had
27:31many sophisticated
27:32industrial complexes
27:34in lower
27:34Manchuria.
27:36Stalin viewed
27:37these as
27:38collateral
27:39for his loan
27:39agreement and
27:41issued orders
27:41to protect
27:42these new
27:43assets from
27:44American air
27:44bombardment.
27:48The Soviet
27:49pilots were
27:49ordered to
27:50take command
27:51of the air
27:51over the
27:52Yellow River,
27:54disrupt
27:55American photo
27:56intelligence,
27:57intercept the
27:58massive B-29
27:59bombers,
28:01and prevent
28:02the Americans
28:02from attacking
28:03railroads and
28:04bridges coming
28:05down from China.
28:08If Stalin was
28:09going to fulfill
28:09his commitment
28:10to Kim El-Sung
28:11and to Mao Tse-Tung,
28:13he needed a
28:14working supply
28:15line.
28:21Stalin's
28:22primary goal
28:22was to defend
28:23the Asian side
28:24of the Soviet
28:25Union with
28:26Chinese soldiers
28:27and Chinese
28:28airmen,
28:28not with
28:29Soviet troops.
28:32Though Allied
28:33intelligence could
28:34monitor the
28:34presence of
28:35Russian and
28:36Chinese-speaking
28:36personnel in the
28:37radio, it was
28:38not known for
28:39many years how
28:40extensive the
28:41operation had
28:42become under
28:42Stalin.
28:46Evidence
28:46suggests the
28:47Russian presence
28:48eventually grew
28:49to some 70,000
28:51men disguised
28:52in Chinese
28:52uniforms.
28:55As inducement
28:56to the
28:57mobilization,
28:58Stalin granted
28:58special privileges
29:00and rewards
29:01for the Soviets.
29:04to prevent any
29:06further revelations
29:07about Soviet
29:08participation,
29:09Stalin insisted
29:10that the veil of
29:11secrecy cloak the
29:12whereabouts of Russian
29:13pilots from their
29:15own families.
29:16soldiers.
29:18I think the
29:19practice when
29:20the Russian
29:21pilots
29:21shut down
29:22is the same
29:23as now.
29:24You see,
29:24something
29:25happened,
29:26you know,
29:26a man just
29:27got a heart
29:28attack
29:28and working
29:31for his
29:31country
29:32and the
29:33wife got
29:34the message
29:34that he
29:35was a great
29:36man,
29:36he was a
29:37great patriot,
29:39but they
29:39never,
29:40never revealed
29:41the truth.
29:43The deception
29:44was rendered
29:44complete
29:45when families
29:46were informed
29:47that husbands
29:47or fathers
29:48were on a
29:49special mission.
29:52Pilots often
29:53died because
29:54they,
29:55quote,
29:55contracted
29:56some strange
29:57disease,
29:58close quote.
30:00The man-made
30:01plague of
30:02secrecy
30:03concealed
30:03their real
30:04cause of
30:04death.
30:08Only in
30:09the air war
30:10over Korea
30:11did the
30:11Americans
30:11come closest
30:12to identifying
30:13their true
30:14rivals,
30:15one kill
30:15at a time.
30:18The hunch
30:19that the enemy
30:20was Russian
30:20is now
30:21substantiated
30:22by hard
30:22evidence.
30:27One
30:28uncovered
30:29handwritten
30:29document
30:30represents
30:30the daily
30:31combat log
30:32of the
30:32Russian
30:33151st
30:34Fighter
30:34Aviation
30:35Division.
30:39Beginning
30:40when the
30:40Soviets
30:41flew air
30:41defense
30:42missions
30:42over the
30:42Yalu River,
30:43it monitored
30:44who was
30:45flying,
30:46when,
30:46and where.
30:50The Soviets
30:51were in the air
30:52almost every day
30:53in Migali.
30:58From November
30:591st of 1950
31:00to fall of 51,
31:01it is a Soviet
31:02air war.
31:02There are no
31:03other pilots
31:04flying up there
31:05as far as we
31:05can tell.
31:07The Soviets
31:08lost their
31:09first Mig
31:09in December
31:101950.
31:15But they still
31:16possessed better
31:17planes and more
31:18of them than
31:18the Americans
31:19did at that
31:20time.
31:23Ironically,
31:24Truman's
31:25defense team
31:25was so
31:26concerned with
31:27Soviet expansion
31:28in the West
31:29that they sent
31:30the best weaponry
31:31in the U.S.
31:32arsenal to
31:33NATO forces
31:34in Europe.
31:35Equipping NATO
31:36against a potential
31:37Soviet threat
31:38was peculiarly
31:39more urgent
31:40than a so-called
31:41police action
31:42in Asia.
31:56After months
31:57of deliberation,
31:59President Truman
31:59replaced General
32:00MacArthur
32:01with General
32:01Matthew Ridgway
32:02in April
32:031951.
32:08The vicious
32:09winter of
32:091950 had
32:10combined with
32:11the hordes
32:12of Chinese
32:12to push back
32:13U.N. troops
32:14on the ground.
32:17Allied pilots
32:18tried their luck
32:18in the air again.
32:21On the 7th of
32:23April,
32:23B-29s tried
32:24to bomb
32:25the supply lines
32:26leading down
32:26from China
32:27but could not
32:28escape the
32:29quick MiGs
32:29and anti-aircraft
32:30fire.
32:35With
32:35MacArthur
32:36out and
32:36the trustworthy
32:37Ridgway
32:38in charge,
32:39nuclear bombs
32:39were secretly
32:40sent to
32:41Guam.
32:43There,
32:44they would
32:45be more
32:45accessible
32:45to the new
32:46commander
32:46if the war
32:47escalated
32:48near China's
32:49border.
32:54But even
32:55this most
32:56threatening
32:56concept
32:57had to be
32:57suspended
32:58while the
32:58Korean skies
32:59were filled
33:00with
33:00Stalin's
33:01MiGs.
33:03The deadly
33:04effectiveness
33:05of the
33:06MiGs
33:06was evident
33:07on one
33:07of the
33:07worst days
33:08for the
33:09U.S.
33:095th Air Force.
33:12On the
33:1323rd of
33:13October,
33:141951,
33:15eight B-29s
33:17escorted
33:17by 55
33:18Thunderjets
33:19were engaged
33:20by 50
33:21MiG-15s.
33:25Three bombers
33:26were shot
33:26down,
33:27the rest
33:28were heavily
33:28damaged.
33:31After
33:32Black Tuesday,
33:33B-29s never
33:34flew in
33:35daylight hours
33:36again.
33:39Part of
33:40Stalin's
33:41plan was
33:41working.
33:43His
33:44private,
33:45secret Air
33:45Force was
33:46successfully
33:47defending his
33:47assets.
33:52Ironically,
33:53the Soviet-trained
33:54pilots were
33:54dominating the
33:55skies in a
33:56plane powered
33:57by a jet
33:57engine cloned
33:59from the
33:59Rolls-Royce
34:00company in
34:01Great Britain.
34:03This little-known
34:04fact, the
34:05whereabouts of the
34:06Nen engine,
34:07always represented
34:08a huge
34:08embarrassment to
34:09America's
34:10principal ally.
34:11time.
34:15The major contribution
34:17that Britain makes
34:18to the air war
34:19is to provide
34:20the engine
34:21design for
34:22the MiG-15.
34:23Back in
34:241945, when
34:25Britain was
34:26still pursuing a
34:27policy of getting
34:28as good a
34:29relationship with
34:30Stalin's Soviet
34:31Union as possible
34:32in the post-war
34:32era, a British
34:34Rolls-Royce
34:35Nen engine,
34:36a much more
34:37advanced jet
34:38engine than
34:39anything the
34:40Russians themselves
34:40had, had been
34:42given to the
34:42Russians as a
34:43goodwill gesture.
34:45The Soviets just
34:46simply copied it.
34:50On the 1st of
34:51December, 1951,
34:53Truman, under
34:54strong pressure,
34:55allocated more
34:56F-86 Sabre
34:57Jets to Korea,
34:58bringing the
34:59total to just
34:59127.
35:06They were pitted
35:07against nearly
35:081,000 MiGs from
35:09airfields in
35:10Manchuria.
35:14No other plane
35:16could compete
35:16with the agile
35:17MiG jet fighter.
35:20Since the
35:21battlefield had
35:22extended to
35:23verbal conflict
35:24in the first
35:25phase of the
35:25peace talks,
35:26F-86 Sabre
35:28pilots had
35:29to try to
35:29change the
35:30situation on
35:30the ground
35:31and at the
35:32armistice table.
35:36If UN pilots
35:38using new
35:39tactics could
35:40clear the
35:41MiGs from
35:41the skies,
35:42B-29s could
35:44fly again.
35:45Supply lines
35:46could be
35:46interrupted.
35:47Bridges and
35:48tunnels for the
35:49railroads could
35:49be destroyed.
35:52Concessions could
35:53then be won in
35:54the War of Words.
35:57Again, the
35:58outcome of the
35:59war depended on
36:00pilots armed
36:01with new
36:02technology.
36:06The F-86
36:07Sabre jet was
36:08a marvelous
36:08airplane.
36:09It was the
36:10first successful
36:11swept-wing fighter
36:12the United States
36:13Air Force had.
36:15The airplane
36:16was easy to
36:18fly.
36:19The swept
36:20wings added
36:21nearly 100
36:22miles an hour
36:22speed to an
36:23airplane that
36:24originally had
36:25been designed
36:25with a straight
36:26wing.
36:27The bubble
36:28canopy gave the
36:30fighter pilot
36:31magnificent
36:31visibility.
36:34The MiG could
36:36turn tighter
36:37than the F-86
36:37at low altitudes.
36:40At higher altitudes,
36:41it had almost
36:42doubled the rate
36:43of climb.
36:46Though smaller
36:47and lighter,
36:48its performance
36:48was impaired
36:49impaired by its
36:50high-speed
36:51instability.
36:55But America's
36:56most famous
36:56test pilot,
36:58Chuck Yeager,
36:59flying the
36:59Bell X-1,
37:01had proven a
37:01new advantage
37:02for the F-86
37:03Sabre,
37:05a moving
37:06horizontal
37:07stabilizer.
37:10The flight
37:11controls of the
37:12F-86 were
37:13hydraulically boosted
37:14so that even
37:15at the highest
37:16speeds,
37:16the pilot
37:17could still
37:17fly with two
37:18fingers and
37:19control the
37:20aircraft smoothly.
37:23Hydraulics and
37:24the innovation of
37:25the slab tail
37:26created a more
37:27maneuverable aircraft.
37:32We knew that
37:33we could turn
37:33faster than they
37:34could,
37:35we could dive
37:35faster,
37:36and we could
37:37pull out quicker
37:38than they could.
37:40Frederick Blessy,
37:42Boots as he was
37:43known to all,
37:44was one of those
37:45extraordinary pilots
37:46who have an eager
37:48sense of how to
37:49find the enemy.
37:54Thirty-nine aces,
37:55men who shot down
37:56more than five
37:57enemy aircraft,
37:58were responsible
37:59for most of the
38:00MiG kills.
38:04Boots would have
38:05ten.
38:07I think you had
38:08to be aggressive.
38:10The key ingredient,
38:11I think, to a
38:12successful air-to-air
38:12pilot, is some
38:13previous experience
38:14and tactics and
38:16the aggressiveness and
38:17the desire to really
38:18want to mix it up.
38:22Aggressive pilots
38:23had to listen to
38:24their radios to find
38:25out where the
38:25flight was.
38:28Tiger 8, Tiger 2
38:30here, got a couple
38:31bogeys out there,
38:32one coming around
38:32at 2 level.
38:52Invisibly padlocked
38:53together, wingman and
38:54leader would perform
38:55intricate loops and
38:56turns, dives and
38:58thrusts for miles at a
38:59time at the speed of
39:01sound in completely
39:02synchronized maneuvers
39:03while the leader kept
39:05his enemy in his sights
39:06for the kill.
39:14Many American pilots
39:15thought their enemy was
39:17Russian, but could never
39:18confirm it.
39:20No Russian pilot was
39:22ever captured.
39:26The predominance was
39:27Russian pilots.
39:29As a result, we didn't
39:30see very many
39:31Orientals.
39:32We did, however,
39:33experience one time, and
39:34it happened a couple of
39:35times, when the
39:36controllers up north were
39:38confused and they
39:39actually intermingled the
39:41Russian airplanes with the
39:43Oriental airplanes, and the
39:45Russians shot down a
39:46couple of their own
39:47pilots, the Oriental
39:48pilots.
39:50The confirming
39:51communication came
39:52through to the UN
39:53forces who monitored the
39:54radio traffic between
39:55Russian ground
39:56controllers and their
39:57flight teams.
40:02The Soviets went to
40:03enormous lengths to stop
40:05their intervention in the
40:07war being known, even to
40:08the extent, on one
40:09occasion, of killing one
40:11of their pilots who had
40:12been shot down in the sea.
40:13His companions shot him
40:15up so that he could not be
40:16picked up by Western
40:17forces.
40:18And we would not
40:19discover officially that
40:20the Soviet Union was in
40:22the air war.
40:24Even in a watery grave,
40:27Stalin's absolute rules of
40:29secrecy had to be
40:31preserved.
40:40Limited warfare required
40:42certain rules of
40:43engagement.
40:44In Korea, some of these
40:46restrictions were extremely
40:48frustrating for the UN
40:49forces.
40:50One command prevented UN
40:52pilots from crossing the
40:54Yalu River and pursuing
40:56MiG pilots into the
40:57privileged sanctuary of
40:59Manchuria.
41:00President Truman didn't want
41:01to fight the Chinese over
41:03their soil.
41:04But the pilots in the
41:05need of combat in hot pursuit
41:07were theoretically cleared to
41:08cross the Yalu and to shoot
41:10down an enemy plane they're
41:11pursuing.
41:12Though UN pilots were not
41:14permitted to do more, they
41:16often did for what they
41:17considered very valid reasons.
41:23I do know that a number of
41:26Air Force pilots went north of
41:28the Yalu to get MiGs.
41:31And the reason was apparent.
41:33You rob a bank because that's
41:34where the money is.
41:35You go north of the Yalu because
41:36that's where the MiGs are.
41:38This secret archive copy of a
41:41Soviet radar document indicates
41:42that the Russian technology could
41:45not detect low-flying jets.
41:51After discovering this through
41:52trial and error, UN pilots crossed
41:55the Yalu River under the enemy
41:57radar, attacked the MiGs, then
41:59quietly retraced their paths.
42:05You will be allowed the right of
42:07hot pursuit.
42:08If you have the enemy in sight and
42:10you have engaged the enemy and he's
42:12fleeing across the border, you can
42:14go across the border and shoot him
42:16down.
42:17Well, we stretched that hot
42:19pursuit like the longest rubber
42:20band you ever saw, because they
42:22basically had no way to tell whether
42:24you were in hot pursuit or not.
42:26And what that did was that gave us an
42:28opportunity to hunt and to stretch
42:30our hunting grounds out to where it
42:31was a lot more lucrative.
42:33When the returning pilots debriefed
42:36after their mission, officers didn't
42:38ask and pilots didn't tell.
42:42UN airmen were rarely without support.
42:47Even in the freezing winter, downed
42:50UN pilots would aim for the Western
42:52Sea, where rescue by carrier or by
42:54friendly North Korean guerrillas awaited
42:57them.
43:02In the Western Sea, secret allied forces
43:05infiltrated several small islands where they
43:08trained thousands of anti-communist
43:10forces.
43:13A couple of the islands had airfields on
43:15them.
43:16And they were used not only for evasion
43:19and escape operations, but they were a
43:22place that we could use to resupply those
43:24forces.
43:26Some downed UN airmen, however, fell into
43:29enemy hands as prisoners.
43:33The first UN POWs were generally treated
43:36without mercy.
43:40Many were later discovered bound, bayoneted,
43:44and buried in mass graves by the side of a
43:46road, victims of North Korean atrocities.
43:53Later in the war, every POW could expect to be
43:56interrogated by English-speaking Chinese, who
44:00would first pry out tactical information.
44:04The higher the rank of the prisoner, the more
44:06intense the investigation.
44:10Critical information would be telegrammed back
44:13to Moscow for evaluation.
44:18Since the communists were always looking for
44:21converts who would denounce American
44:23imperialism, most POWs were subjected to some
44:26form of harsh treatment or brainwashing.
44:33As part of their daily briefings, the airmen
44:36were told to tell their captors anything they
44:39wanted to know, for it would not affect the
44:43outcome of the war.
44:45Because of their vulnerability, pilots were
44:48deliberately denied access to strategic
44:50information.
44:53On the ground, General Ridgway needed new targets to
44:56advance the peace talks.
45:03The U.S. 5th Air Force bombed Stalin's
45:06Manchurian assets, the hydroelectric facilities and
45:10the centuries-old irrigation systems which provided
45:13food to the North Koreans.
45:21However, secret documents now show that damage to
45:24the complexes had very little impact at the
45:27bargaining table in Panmunjom.
45:34UN pilots dramatically altered the course and the
45:37outcome of the war.
45:43Time after time, they enabled troops on the ground to
45:46hold onto terrain and to advance against the enemy.
45:51Bombing had slowed the enemy down and made his life
45:55miserable.
45:56But it did not stop him.
46:03We were not successful in stopping the Chinese from
46:06supplying their troops.
46:07And what our mission was, I mean, our piece of it was to
46:11blow up railroad tracks and to catch any trains and
46:13anything we could.
46:15And we did a wonderful job of that.
46:17But that wasn't enough.
46:20Perhaps Ensign Ken Schechter's story best symbolizes the
46:24courage, skill, and tenacity of the airmen during the
46:28Korean War.
46:31Through a government oversight, his accomplishment and
46:35that of his buddy Howard Thayer almost remained a secret
46:38forever.
46:43Ensign Schechter left the deck of the USS Valley Forge in a
46:47Skyraider on a routine bombardment mission near the end of the war.
46:55I was in a run, probably about a thousand feet, heading to release my
46:59bomb.
47:00And there was this giant explosion.
47:02mission.
47:03And what had happened is an anti-aircraft shell had blown up in the cockpit.
47:07And I'm sure I was knocked out for a couple of minutes.
47:10But when I came to, I was blind, and I felt this lip was just hanging there.
47:20And my face was all chewed up by shrapnel.
47:23And so I started yelling on the radio.
47:25I said, I'm blind, for God's sakes, help me, I'm blind.
47:33Hearing the cry, Howard Thayer flew alongside and told Schechter to rock his
47:38wings so he could identify the aircraft.
47:42Instinctively, Schechter responded.
47:45Over the next tense minutes, Thayer talked to his buddy on the radio.
47:54Schechter could not see and was losing blood.
47:56He slipped in and out of consciousness.
48:01Bonded as wingman to leader, Thayer guided Schechter out of the clouds and
48:06down to a tiny gravel landing strip in South Korea that they'd flown over before.
48:16On board the aircraft carrier, as dinner was being prepared, their conversation was
48:21monitored by men who guided a helicopter to rescue Schechter.
48:24On board the USS Constellation, Ken Schechter was finally honored in 1995.
48:39With Howard Thayer's widow and children looking on, next to Schechter's own family, he was awarded
48:45the Distinguished Flying Cross.
48:48Though it took more than 43 years, both pilots were forever locked together in disguise over Korea.
49:01Stalin's secret air war achieved one goal.
49:04Stalin's secret air war achieved one goal.
49:04He had manipulated the Chinese into confronting Americans on Korean soil, but he unwittingly transformed
49:12a potential communist rival into an uncertain partner.
49:18China was propelled onto the global stage, now armed with the world's third largest air force.
49:27At home, Stalin did not live to see the results of the secret war he'd begun three years earlier.
49:38Actually, secrecy was one of the main points of the communist regime over there at that time.
49:45And it was somehow even pleasant, you know. You participated in something very secret, and everybody loved it.
49:56Stalin's legacy, the plague of secrecy, had left most Soviet people in worse condition than they were in
50:02before the Korean War began.
50:07Now contained by stronger alliances like NATO, the Soviet Union was also surrounded by the thriving democracies of Japan and
50:16Germany.
50:18Few Russians knew of Stalin's gamble in Korea, or his failure.
50:26Even as they viewed Stalin's casket, few suspected that the first nail had already been hammered in the coffin of
50:33the Cold War.
50:38The World War...
50:38The World War...
50:46The World War...
50:47The World War...
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