Radio chatter between the pilots

One of my favorite movies and I love the realism portrayed by the movie maker. While necessary for the inhancement of the plot, in reality, all the radio conversation between the pilots while over enemy territory would not have taken place. There was way too much, specific radio chatter between the Navy pilots.

During the photo recon run, CAG and Brubaker talk about where they are and that the target was 15 miles ahead. Later, CAG says he commensing his photo run. Then he announces he's returning to base.

Later, during the strike against the bridges, CAG reports he's commensing the attack. Then later, he says he's going to attack the secondary target. CAG and Brubaker speak to each other using their first names.

Now, the enemy has radio receivers, too, and would have loved to hear all this stuff. They would have triangulated on the transmissions and would have known right where the Americans were located. Think of the intell the Korean operators could have picked up. The Koreans had telephones and would have called the bridge air defense command that the Americans were coming. Coupled with their Russian built radar, the North Koreans would have had a turkey shoot.

Military aircraft didn't have encrypted satelite radios like they have now.

The Korean War pilots used hand signals a lot, if possible, instead of their radios. A good example of this, in the movies, would be the photo-recon sequence in the film "Thirteen Days," when the two Navy pilots flew a photo mission over Cuba during the 1962 Missile Crisis. Flying their F-8 Crusader jets over the Russian missile sites, the element-leader hand gestured all of his moves to his wingman while maintaining radio silence. That was all that was necessary, anyways, since both pilots knew what was to be done during the mission.

Toko-Ri is a great movie, filmed with close cooperation with the US Navy, but not realistic in this one respect.

CmdrCody