On April 12, 1951, the Soviet Air Force staged a "Black Thursday" for American bombers
As yet, President of the United States B. H. Obama said the other day that he considers his rash destruction of Libya from the air to be his main mistake.
Earlier, he also considered one of the main mistakes of his predecessor Bush to rashly destroy Iraq from the air.
Today, as we celebrate the 65th anniversary of Black Thursday for the US Air Force in the skies over Korea, it is worth talking about how one country managed to escape.
The idea of widespread use of aviation against countries and regimes that do not agree with the Anglo-Saxon understanding of the world order was publicly voiced by W. Churchill in his Fulton speech. The first country, which after the Second World War they tried to roll into dust by bombers, was North Korea.
However, the first pancake came out lumpy. Why didn't it work in Korea what it did then repeatedly? Why did the US Air Force not smash the troops of B. Assad to dust the way they did it with the army of M. Gaddafi?
So, let's see how Soviet and American pilots generally met in the Korean sky.
Background
Korea was a Japanese colony until 1945, so it is logical that it was occupied by the troops of the USSR and the United States. The allies divided Korea into zones of occupation in the same way as Germany and Austria had been divided before. The USSR got the north of the country, America - the south. The border between the Soviet and American zones ran along the 38th parallel.
The literature describing the pre-war years indicates that the USSR and the United States originally planned to reunite the northern and southern zones into a single Korea. However, this was hardly possible after the formation of governments - led by Kim Il Sung in the north and Rhee Seung Man in the south. Moreover, each of the new Korean leaders believed that it was under his leadership that this reunification would take place.
War
Who is responsible for starting the war is a controversial question. In fact, it was started by Kim Il Sung: the North Korean army crossed the demarcation line on June 25, 1950 and by August controlled almost the entire peninsula. However, he started it in response to constant violations of the border from the "southern" side. In 1949 alone, there were more than 2,600 of them.
It is also believed that the Korean War was an undeclared war between the USSR and the United States: the United States supported its protégés, we supported ours. This is somewhat different. If we talk about support, then from our side, Kim Il Sung was rather supported by China.
On the side of the North Korean forces, primarily Chinese volunteers and military specialists fought. The USSR provided pre-war training for the North Korean army. But at first, until about October 1950, the Koreans fought themselves.
At the second stage of the war (autumn 1951), the South Korean government received the support of the "UN forces". This, of course, was a euphemism: there were no other UN forces besides the American ones in this part of the world at that time.
By the beginning of October 1950, the situation was reversed - now the North Korean army was defeated and retreating to the Chinese border.
And only from that moment on, the PRC, and then the USSR, entered the war on the side of the North.
Moreover, from the PRC, this support was not only a tribute to membership in the Comintern or blind anti-Americanism. Mao Zedong: "If we allow the US to occupy the entire Korean Peninsula … we must be prepared for them to declare war on China." Given the American support for Taiwan, the opinion is quite reasonable.
In the USSR, however, they rightly judged that there are enough infantry in the PRC and Korea. Therefore, they sent to help something that neither the PRC nor the Koreans possessed - fighter aircraft and pilots who had gone through the Great Patriotic War.
The rout
The fact is that the main reason for the defeats of the North Korean army was the bomber aircraft of the "UN forces", which used the well-known tactics of "bombing into the stone age." As soon as Soviet pilots appeared in the skies of Korea, the course of hostilities changed dramatically again.
Of course, this is a shared merit - Soviet fighters that flew US bombers, and China, which supplied Kim Il Sung with volunteers and military aid.
It is with military aid that Black Thursday is connected. Its deliveries went to Korea via the railway bridge over the Yalujiang border river. The destruction of the bridge meant the cessation of the supply of weapons and ammunition.
On April 12, 1951, 48 B-29s were sent to the crossing under the cover of F-80, F-84, F-86 - a total of about 150 fighters.
To intercept this armada, the famous Soviet ace I. Kozhedub raised everything he had: 36 MiG-15 fighters of his division (according to other sources, there was still a pair on duty at the airfield), which was transferred to Korea only at the beginning of April.
It should be noted that the attack was not suicidal at all. Only the F-86 could compete with the MiGs on equal terms, with the rest our pilots got involved in battle even with a 10-fold advantage of the enemy - the military experience of the pilots and the advantages of the MiG in armament and speed affected.
The word “rout” is best used to describe the events that followed that day. The losses were 12 B-29s and 5 cover fighters. About 100 American pilots and gunners (B-29 crew - 12 people) were captured. The bridge survived.
In October of the same year, our aces arranged another "rainy day" for the Americans, having already destroyed 16 "Super Fortresses". After that, the American command finally abandoned the use of the B-29 in large groups and during the day, and, therefore, the tactics of "bombing into the stone age." However, October was already the last attempt, the fighting reached a dead end in July. The US military machine, due to constant losses in strategic aviation, stalled more and more.
By that time, both Koreas had dug in in the region of the 38th parallel, from which the war began a year ago. On July 27, 1953, the parties signed a truce and are still at war, although they are not fighting.
conclusions
During the Cold War, the USSR and the United States have repeatedly found themselves in a confrontation situation. However, there were no more such large-scale battles between the pilots of the two countries.
Moreover, after Vietnam (there a similar role was played by the aces of both the Soviet and Vietnamese Air Forces, and Soviet anti-aircraft gunners), the United States, in principle, changes its form of participation in indirect conflicts with the USSR. The place of "Superfortresses" is taken by bearded Islamists (Afghanistan) - they are much cheaper than a bomber, and it is not a pity to lose them at all.
We observe the "renaissance" of carpet bombing only in conflicts in which Russia either did not intend to take part (the first and second Iraq, Libya), or at the moments when we were, shall we say, not quite subjective (Yugoslavia). So in Syria, the decision to use the Air Force against Assad's troops did not go further. And bearded Islamists have their limits of effectiveness.
And finally, a little observation. The United States is fighting for the sake of what it lives for - for the sake of money. "Black Tuesday", "Black Thursday" - this is how they refer not only to the days of the largest military losses, but also to the days of record drops in stock indices, i.e. they are perceived as events of the same order.
This means that it is quite easy to save even the most outspoken Washington hawks from repeating Korea, Vietnam or Yugoslavia.
And by saving them from mistakes, we ultimately bring them good.
