MovieChat Forums > The Hunters Discussion > Korean War - Aerial Films

Korean War - Aerial Films

posted 19 years ago by sggar00
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My father is a Korean War Veteran. So we basically watched just about every movie there was about the Korean War. Sadly there are not too many that I can say are top notch. That aside, I have noticed that in this movie along with "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" and "Men of the Fighting Lady" or even "Sayonara" that while they are all dealing with fighter pilots it always seems to me that the war is in the background. When you compare it with "Pork Chop Hill" or "Retreat Hell" (the movie M*A*S*H* is just a different movie) those were about the war whereas the aerial ones focused in on love interests. The Hunters though is a tremendous movie because of the character portrayal by Mitchum.

[–] CmdrCody 19 years ago

sggar00: You're spot-on! "Pork Chop Hill," "Fixed Bayonets," and "Retreat Hell" really give a taste of that terrible time on the ground.

"The Hunters" inadvertantly highlights a fact that the USAF knew but the American public didn't....Russian pilots flying the "Chinese" MiGs against us. It makes sense, once one thinks about it...how could Mao take over China in 1948 and then take on our Sabres in Korea with MiG 15s two years later? The Casey Jones MiG pilot had to be a Russkie ace....perhaps one of their best.

[–] sggar00 19 years ago

Say CmdrCody:
I seem to think that there was another Korean War movie featuring an USAF Officer that was played by Robert Stack (I think). His wife came over there as some sort of correspondent with a newspaper or magazine and was working at the base there in Japan. In the beginning of the movie they were flying P-80s then at the end they were flying F-86s. As far as I can remember it was in black and white. Do you know the name of this one or am I crazy? Thanks in advance.

[–] CmdrCody 19 years ago

sggar00: Yes sir....I think you refer to "The McConnell Story" (1955), starring Alan Ladd. Or is it some other picture?

[–] sggar00 19 years ago

I liked "The McConnell Story". Alan Ladd does a good job and so does June Allyson. Having had a little more time today to do some research I found the movie I was talking about was called "Sabre Jet". It did have Robert Stack in it. Thanks for the help though.

[–] SipteaHighTea 17 years ago

I saw the movie Jet Attack with John Agar, and the movie did have actual aerial camera scenes from the USAF of MIG 15s being shot down by our men.

[–] MadTom 18 years ago

"The Hunters" inadvertantly highlights a fact that the USAF knew but the American public didn't....Russian pilots flying the "Chinese" MiGs against us. It makes sense, once one thinks about it...how could Mao take over China in 1948 and then take on our Sabres in Korea with MiG 15s two years later? The Casey Jones MiG pilot had to be a Russkie ace....perhaps one of their best.

Actually, I don't recall them mentioning anything about Casey Jones's nationality in either the movie or the book. And in the movie, he was played by a Filipino actor!

[–] stealthman 15 years ago

I think they were implying that Casey Jones was Chinese.

"WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND THEY IS US"

POGO

[–] MadTom 15 years ago

You're right. Imil does refer to Casey Jones as "that China Boy" once early in the movie.

[–] stealthman 15 years ago

Thanks Mad Tom.
If you're not aware of this, there is a lot of info on
Soviet Pilots flying in Korea, covertly.
Very interesting stuff.

Tom L.

"WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND THEY IS US"

POGO

[–] CmdrCody 15 years ago

Obviously, the producer/director of the movie, Dick Powell, would not have known about Soviet pilots in Korea since it was a closely guarded secret by the Pentagon, the Chinese and the Russians until the mid '80s.

But, would the CO (Imil) of the fighter wing during the Korean War have this information (that he was flying against the Russians over the Yalu) from US Intel and pilot reports ? Probably. At least he would suspect it. Remember that Mao's primitive peasant army had taken over Mainland China in 1948. Stalin did shower his Chinese allies with supplies and weapons during and after the battle with Chiang Kai-Shek

but

could the Chinese be able to produce ANY MiG pilots to fight us effectively in four years by 1952 in Korea ? Even with the best Russian flight instruction ?
Unlikely. If there were any experienced Chinese pilots from WW II, they would have been on Formosa (Taiwan) with Chiang's forces.

So...if any of the "Chinese" pilots turned out to be (in Imil's words)..."a live one" like Casey Jones, I think Cleve Seville would have wondered to himself: "...who are these guys?"

And Imil would have replied, "...clam-up about that. Orders from the very top...there are NO Russian pilots in Korea. They're ALL 'Chinese'...GOT IT ? Just don't let any of 'em get on your six !"

One other comment...since the top Russian and American pilots were tangling over the Yalu in their front-line fighters, the results and study of tactics in these dogfights must have been "Topic A" in Washington and Moscow. There was a general belief among the generals that Korea was just the opener for the next world war and that the same forces might engage over the skies of Germany soon.

CmdrCody

[–] stealthman 15 years ago

Without a doubt.
The Sabre pilots knew it and I'm sure the higher ups did too.
To make that an issue, you risk ww3.
One of the Sabre pilots in Korea said that if you were up against
a Russian pilot, in a Mig15,you had your hands full.

"WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND THEY IS US"

POGO

[–] MadTom 15 years ago

Actually, Soviets flying MiGs over Korea was mentioned in my Air Force ROTC textbooks back when I was a cadet in the mid-1970s, albeit as a presumption rather than as a confirmed fact.

The Russians were training North Korean and Communist Chinese pilots on the MiG-15 throughout the war. The first MiG-15 to fall into American hands was flown by a defecting North Korean, Lieutenant No Kum Suk, in September 1953, two months after the Korean War ceasefire. (Lt No had an interesting story; he had been raised Catholic, his mother was in South Korea, and he became a fighter pilot solely with the intent of defecting to the South by stealing his plane but had been based in China, out of range of South Korea, until the ceasefire. The $100,000 bounty offered by the USAF to the first defecting MiG pilot came as a totally unexpected windfall.)

Since the original topic of this thread was Korean War aerial films, I also want to throw in a plug for Battle Hymn, and a shout out to Colonel Dean E. Hess whose autobiography it was based on. It was one of the movies that inspired me in my youth to pursue a career in fighter aviation (before I ever saw The Hunters), and I later I had the honor of being introduced to Col Hess who then took me under his wing as literary mentor of sorts.

[–] R011DaveAAA 11 years ago

It was well known at the time even if not officially acknowledged that the MiG's were flown by Soviet pilots.