Although outmoded by the new generation of jet fighters and used mainly in the role of close air support, during the Korean War, a series of US Navy F4U Corsair and US Marine Corps were sent against the night invaders from North Korea who attacked UN lines after dark, and was on a night fighter F4U-5N that Lieutenant Guy Bordelon became the only ace of the United States Navy in the conflict.
However, as recounted by Warren Thompson in his book F4U Corsair Units of the Korean War, on September 10, 1952, captain Jesse Folmar piloting a VMA-312 Corsair was able to destroy one of the two MiG-15s that had attacked him from his wing.
Guy Bordelon
Between August 1950 and December 1952, the ship Sicily supported attacks in North Korea by units F4U VMF-214 (1950) VMF-323 (1951) and VMA-312, which operated from the ship between 4 September and 19 October 1952 .
On 10 September 1952, an interdiction mission and close air support required maximum effort, and the ship launched a large number of F4U-4Bs 'Checkerboards'. Captain Jesse G Folmar led a division and during the course of the mission, he and his wing, Lr Walter E Daniels, were involved in a historic confrontation with some aggressive MiG-15s. Taking off at 4:10 p.m., they received orders to attack a concentration of troops on the south side of the Taedong River near Chinnampo.
Captain Folmar recalled how the events unfolded;
"As we cross the coast and enter enemy territory, we beg for the execution of a tactical plot at 10,000 feet. Arriving at the target area, we did not observe any activity, so we continue to fly reconnaissance in the Taejon estuary area. As we began to lean over a small island off the coast, I had a glimpse of two MiG-15s in the early stages of preparing to fire at us. They were in loose section formation, so I tilted the angle of my angled curve towards them while at the same time increasing the power. I threw away all the external war material and fuel tanks and then switched to the guard channel to report that we were being attacked by MiGs. I told Lieutenant Daniels to make a much tighter maneuver and not let the communist MiGs' droppings out of his sight.
"Seconds later, I saw two more of them closing fast since my 'eight o'clock. I turned hard to the left, trying to trigger my weapons before they could open fire, but due to their quick close, I couldn’t do it-lo. His trackers were passing us, so I reversed my margin to the right and turned into one of the MiGs when he started climbing up to the left. I pulled him up and got him right in my sights, giving him about 20 mils of advantage. Then fired a long five-second burst with my four 20 mm cannons.
"I could say that I made him see through the flashing flashes along the left side of his fuselage. A gray trail of fuel vapor began to flow from the MiG, and this quickly turned into a billowing black smoke. He bent his nose slightly and seemed to lose acceleration. Seconds later, the pilot was ejected and fell into the air in what appeared to be a smoke ball. When your parachute opened, I could see your "G" suit burning from head to toe. I looked down and saw the flaming MiG hit the water vertically. "
MIG-15
Both Folmar and Daniels resumed their defensive plot, and soon four more MiGs joined the fight, lined up in a loose column of two sections. Suddenly, the odds of facing the pair of Corsair were even greater against them. Folmar decided to run home and ordered a strong escape to the left and down;
"I had just started to gain a good dive speed when I saw tracer shots passing on my left. At that moment, I felt a strong jolt and explosion in my left wing. My aircraft began to shake as if it was flying at high speed. I looked and saw that my left aileron and about a meter of my left wing had disappeared. In addition, the top of the left wing was destroyed to the inside side of my 20 mm inner cannon. My damaged plane was trying to roll left, although the control column was positioned totally right. This led to my decision that it would be too dangerous to try to land back in Sicily, so I decided to leave. "
Folmar transmitted the search and rescue distress signal and repeated his position, before preparing for the burden. While he was doing this, another MiG shot at him, but his projectiles spread. At 3000 feet he rolled out of the right side of the cabin and fell.
As soon as he pulled the D-ring off his parachute, he heard a deafening noise and looked up to see another MiG shooting at his Corsair. Seven MiG-15s remained in the area, but left as soon as Folmar hit the water. He estimated that he was at sea for about eight minutes before being rescued by an Albatroz SA-16 'Dumbo'.
Photo credit: Bzuk via Wikipedia, US Air Force and US Navy
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