[music playing] December 1950, jet fighters roar
across the skies above Korea. For half a century, dogfights
have been won or lost with propeller planes
driven by piston engines. Now, for the first
time in history, swept wing fighters
with jet engines slug it out at extreme altitudes
and near-supersonic speeds. American F-86
Sabres head-to-head against the Communist MiGs. Their contrails will
write a new chapter in the annals of air warfare
in a place called "MiG Alley." [music playing] Experience the battle,
dissect the tactics, relive the dog fights. [music playing] August 5, 1952. Four US Air Force F-86 Sabres
move into the hostile skies of MiG Alley above
Northwest Korea. [planes roaring] For over two years,
nimble Russian NARRATOR: Russian-built
MiG-15 fighters have been darting from
sanctuaries in China, challenging American
bombers and fighters. [music playing] The Sabre flight is led by
Captain Robinson Risner. His mission is to find
the MiGs and kill them. [music playing] All eyes are
outside the cockpit, scanning, searching,
for a contrail, a telltale flash of metal. Suddenly, there they are,
eight silver MiGs passing left to right,
1,000 feet below-- perfect setup, too perfect. I can still remember
seeing those MiGs below me. That was unusual. Any time you saw a MiG below
you, it was an exciting thing. But we learned quickly
to suspect the situation. NARRATOR: Risner
instinctively calls check six. His wingman responds. Lead, we've got
MiGs at 3 o'clock. Six MiGs scream in from
overhead, lethal cannon flashing. The Sabres are in a trap. Now they are the prey. Risner calls a right break. The Sabres stand on one
wing, pull hard around, neck muscles strained
to keep heads upright against the heavy pull
of G. The Sabres turn into the face of the enemy. Risner is screaming headlong
into his first life and death encounter, in MiG Alley. Two years earlier,
on June 25, 1950, the North Korean
People's Army swarmed across the 38th parallel,
the dividing line between the Communist North and
the Republic of South Korea. US Armed forces under
United Nations auspices are committed to the fight. The North Koreans have
the manpower and tanks, but they're primitive air force
is quickly shot to ribbons. American aircraft are
free to roam the skies. Communist troop concentrations
and supply lines are relentlessly
pounded from the air. FREDERICK "BOOTS" BLESSE:
It had a great effect, because we were able, in
a lot of circumstances, to either curtail or certainly
decrease the amount of enemy army activity. NARRATOR: But then
in November 1950, the Americans are
stunned by the appearance of new Soviet-built
MiG-15 jet fighters. With a top speed of
670 miles per hour, the MiG is 100 miles per hour
faster than older F-80 and F-84 jets in Korea. The critical air supremacy
achieved early in the war is now in jeopardy. The MiG was built as
a point interceptor. It was light. It had a lighter wing loading. And it didn't carry as much
fuel, which limited the range, but made it very good for
climbing purposes and turning purposes. BARRETT TILLMAN: It was
optimized to shoot down B-29s. So that's why it had the
heavy cannon armament that it did, 223 millimeters
and a 37 millimeter. FREDERICK "BOOTS"
BLESSE: The cannon was really a surprising weapon. If the guy was within about
700 or 800 feet behind you, and he fired it, you could feel
the vibration with your rudder pedals. When that happened to you, you
knew you better do something pretty quick, left or right. But don't stay where you are. NARRATOR: The MiG-15s dash
from bases in China just across the North Korean border. Any aircraft venturing
into a 6,000 square mile slice of airspace above
northwest Korea is vulnerable. American airmen
call it MiG Alley. It is here that the fiercest
air battles of the Korean War will be etched across
the cold, blue sky. The US Air Force rushes the
fourth fighter interceptor wing to Korea. The fourth is equipped with
the new F-86 a saber jet. Is the only airplane
in the Western arsenal that approaches the
MiG's capabilities. ROBINSON RISNER: The F-86
was my very favorite plane that I've ever flown, which
I used to kiddingly call my little sports car. BARRETT TILLMAN: The
F-86 was a pure fighter. It was not intended to intercept
or shoot down enemy bombers, but it was meant to
take on enemy fighters, destroy them, and
achieve air superiority. NARRATOR: The Sabre is a strong,
maneuverable, and stable gun platform, the very qualities
needed in a good fighter aircraft. Although the Sabre is slightly
faster in the crucial areas of rate of climb and
altitude, the MiG is superior. That's assuming that you've
got the same pilots operating both of them. One of the main
things that we enjoyed over the Communist aircraft
was that our pilots were better trained, and we had
better tactics eventually. NARRATOR: F-86s launched
their first combat air patrols into MiG Alley in December 1950. Captain Bruce Hinton takes
first blood for the Sabre on December 17. The F-86s do well, but there are
400 MiGs based across the Yalu. In 1950, there are fewer
than 50 Sabres in Korea. Even though outnumbered,
the experience and the spree of the Sabre pilots makes
the critical difference in MiG Alley. It's called flight
suit attitude. Robbie Risner has it. Arriving in Korea in
the spring of 1952, Risner's flying skills
are quickly recognized. He soon advances to
flight lead status. Today in MiG Alley,
Risner's Sabre flight has just been jumped
by eight MiG-15s. ROBINSON RISNER: They
normally had high escort. My wingman called up. We had more MiGs coming in
on our 3 o'clock position, making a pass on them. NARRATOR: The MiGs are higher
and have the speed advantage. The Sabres continue
straight and level. They present broadside
targets to the MiGs. If they turn left, the MiGs
will attack from the rear. Risner's only option is to turn
directly into the attackers, presenting a smaller
cross-section, while forcing the MiGs to overshoot. Risner calls a hard
break into the MiGs. Being a typical fighter pilot,
flying that wonderful F-86, we weren't really
concerned about these guys. We didn't want them
to hit us, though. So we broke into them, made
a high G turn into them. NARRATOR: The abrupt
maneuver derails the ambush. Two MiGs overshoot
and streak by. [music playing] The F-86s reverse. As the MiGs dive
at the Americans, the Sabres make a hard climbing
turn directly into them. The MiGs overshoot. The Sabres then reverse
their direction, putting them on their attacker's 6 o'clock. The tables have turned
within seconds, the hallmark of jet age combat in MiG Alley. I I took the tail
end of Charlie, because he's the
closest one to me. When I put the pepper on that
tail pipe, pulled the triggers, he lit up like a Christmas tree. You see, we had armor-piercing,
incendiary bullets in those 650-caliber
machine guns. NARRATOR: The first riddles
the bandit's engine. The MiG pulls into a climbing
turn in a desperate attempt to shake his tormentor. Trailing smoke, the
MiG claws for altitude. The smoke suddenly stops. His engine quits. The MiG posts upward,
bleeding off airspace. Risner's F-86 shudders as he
chops power and pops his speed brakes to stay in trail. The MiG hangs suspended,
motionless, then drops off into a spin. The F-86 buffets as
it, too, loses energy and enters a stall. Risner kicks in left
rudder, noses over, fires another burst into the
spiraling MiG only 300 feet away. It was a thrill to hear
those guns chattering, because something was going
to happen up in front. And sure enough, it did. NARRATOR: 50-caliber,
armor-piercing, incendiary rounds slam into the
MiG's aft fuselage. The vertical stabilizer
is blown clear away. [music playing] The MiG pilot ejects. The fight is over. It is Risner's first kill. I'll tell you that
was a grand feeling. We were doing what we
were assigned to do. And that was to knock
every MiG down we could. And that's what I did. NARRATOR: This fight
is just a prelude. Four months later, Risner will
lock horns with the best pilot he's ever seen in one of the
most heart-stopping encounters of MiG Alley. September 15, 1952,
Captain Robbie Risner is leading a flight of
four F-86s into MiG Alley. It's four months
since his first kill. In the effort to
maintain air supremacy in the MiG-infested
area, the Sabres are escorting F-84
fighter bombers to an industrial area near
the mouth of the Yalu River. The mission profile
puts Risner's flight into a protective orbit for
what is normally prohibited Chinese airspace and directly
above the largest concentration of MiG airfields in Manchuria. Midway into their
protective sweep, the Sabres run into four MiGs. The MiGs bank away as if
retreated from the area. But Risner suspects a trick. He continues tracking
the enemy fighters. Sure enough, the
MiGs turned back. They're heading for the bombers. The MiGs are initiating one
of the Korean War's most remarkable encounters. Although at maximum range, the
Sabres' radar-ranging gun sight finds the target with
deadly efficiency. [gunshots] One of the technological
advantages that the F-86 had over the MiG, as opposed
to aerodynamic features, was that the 86 had a
radar-ranging gun sight. And that meant the Sabre pilot
could get a fast, accurate tracking solution on a
maneuvering enemy target, and it would
automatically compensate for the ballistic drop of
those 50-caliber rounds. And when it was
working properly, it was deadly accurate, because
the first round would likely impact on target. NARRATOR: Risner's machine
guns shatter the MiG's canopy. [music playing] The other three MiGs run away. Risner, covered by his wingman,
counters the MiG's turn, fires another burst. The MiG initiates violent
evasive action in an attempt to get Risner off his tail. He noses over into a dive, rolls
inverted, then rolls again. The MiG pilot demonstrates
superb mastery of his machine. He will put Risner's flying
skills to the ultimate test. This is a special
breed of aviator. When MiGs first
encountered Sabres in 1950, they usually made diving
attacks from higher altitudes. They rarely maneuvered
or turned into the F-86s to fire another burst. This was largely due
to the inexperience of the Communist pilots, as
well as the MiG's limited range. But there was another reason. Moscow and Peking needed to hide
the identities of their airmen. The Soviets were using MiG
Alley as a clandestine training arena. Russian pilots couldn't fly
within 60 miles of UN lines or over the Yellow Sea,
for fear of being picked up and their true
identities revealed. The Russians even strafed
one of their own pilots who had parachuted
into the ocean. In the summer of 1951, the
Soviets changed their tactics, replacing trainees
with instructors and high-time fighter pilots,
veterans of the Great Patriotic War. The Americans call them honchos,
Japanese slang for big shot. They are good. Today, Risner is tangling with
a honcho he will never forget. ROBINSON RISNER: The
MiG was so aggressive. He also was so
well-trained, he did not intend for me to get right
behind him and shoot him down. So what he did was he turned
that thing upside down and split S. That means
he reversed his direction. NARRATOR: The split S is a
commonly used fighter reversal technique. The aircraft rolls inverted
and dives, pulling out in the opposite direction. ROBINSON RISNER: He was so low,
and I was sure he wasn't going to make it. And I said to my wingman, this
is going to be the easiest kill I ever had. Well, it turned out
this guy made it. NARRATOR: There should
have been a fireball, but the MiG recovers
miraculously into a dry riverbed. Risner watches in disbelief
as the MiG twists and turns right on the deck. ROBINSON RISNER: He was
so close to the ground, he hit rocks and debris. I, meanwhile, had managed
to get in behind him. I got dents all over my airplane
where he'd knocked rocks-- blew rocks up off of the riverbed. Well, from there on,
it wasn't a real fight. This guy was some pilot. NARRATOR: Risner can barely
keep the stick in his hands as he's thumped hard
by the MiG's jet wash. The MiG flies like a banshee. He chops power, pops
out his speed brakes. The MiG is trying to force
the Sabre to overshoot, which will expose Risner
to the MiG's cannon. Risner counters by rolling his
jet over the MiG, bleeding off airspeed, while keeping on
his adversary's 6 o'clock. Then the MiG
firewalls the throttle and accelerates away in a
hard turn, pulling maximum G. ROBINSON RISNER: He
took me on a mad race, and I'm getting the shot
aimed every once and a while. We were tenacious as a bulldog. We just didn't
want to turn loose. NARRATOR: The MiG reverses
his turn, another burst from Risner. Parts of the tail fly off. The fuselage begins to smoke. Risner can't believe his eyes. The MiG goes inverted,
pushes vertically up the side of a mountain and over the top. When that happens,
you're putting negative Gs on your body. Your eyeballs pop
out about this far. And the blood
rushes to your head. You can get a red eye. I wouldn't even attempt it. I have to do a half
roll and pull down. NARRATOR: Down again
in the riverbed. [music playing] The MiG chops power. Risner reacts instinctively
to slow with the MiG. ROBINSON RISNER: I coasted
right up beside him, wingtip to wingtip. I looked into his cockpit. He looked into my cockpit. He raised his fist
and shook it at me. And I thought, man,
this is like the movies. NARRATOR: But it's not a movie. The MiG suddenly
banks to the right. Risner is snapped
back to the moment. Black puffs of anti-aircraft
fire fill the sky. The honcho has led them directly
over a Chinese air base. [music playing] September 15, 1952, a desperate,
but enormously skilled MiG pilot has led Robbie Risner
and his wingman on a wild, twisting chase all the way to
his home base, Tatungkow, 35 miles inside China. Anti-aircraft fire
surrounds the Sabres. ROBINSON RISNER: He was so
low, he was blowing dust off the runway. He must have called ahead and
said, shoot these guys off of my tail. The wingman's name
was Joe Logan. Then he said, hey, lead,
they're shooting at us. Well, they certainly were. And the guns were
shooting from everywhere. Black and explosions
all around us, but it didn't concern me
enough to turn him loose. I'll guarantee. I was behind him, and that's
where I was going to stay. And I did. NARRATOR: Risner can't drop
low enough for a clean shot. The MiG runs out of
options, pulls up sharply into a climbing turn. When he ran out of
runway and he pulled up, I was able to get an
angle off, which I needed. I hit him heavy. NARRATOR: The MiG's wing is
shredded by the Sabre's guns. [music playing] His only chance for survival
is to land immediately, forcing or spiking the
jet onto the ground, and hope for the best. Risner has another idea. ROBINSON RISNER: He
never put his gear down. He made 180-degree turn. And when he was
headed back down, it looked like he would
land beside the runway, not on the runway, in the grass. Well, I poured all my ammunition
into him at that time. Every 50-caliber I
had was chattering. He never completely leveled off. NARRATOR: The MiG slams into
the ground and explodes. Pot shards of burning
metal and debris sliced through a
line of parked MiGs. Risner's wingman exults
at the fiery spectacle. I know Joe Logan
was so enthusiastic, he said, hey, lead, you just
destroyed their air force. Ha ha. What a wonderful sight. NARRATOR: The whole engagement
has lasted some five minutes. The MiG is destroyed, but
the mission is far from over. The Sabres must run a gauntlet
of deadly radar-controlled anti-aircraft artillery
to get across the Yalu and back to home base. [music playing] Throughout the war, crossing
into Chinese airspace was officially forbidden
except in cases of hot pursuit. But aggressive flight
leaders routinely violated orders so they
could engage the MiGs on their own turf. Cruising for MiGs in
Manchuria was conducted within a conspiracy of silence. Flight leaders chose wingmen
who would play along and keep quiet. Squadron commanders
didn't discuss it, and many rolls of
incriminating gun camera film mysteriously disappeared. Leaving a trail of flaming
MiG wreckage in their wake, Risner and his wingman
turned south out of China. ROBINSON RISNER: Joe
Logan got hit in the belly with anti-aircraft fire. He started losing fuel. And I ran over and got
under him to check him out. Well, it was evident he
was not going to make it, because he was really
pumping that fuel overboard. NARRATOR: The jets are
over hostile terrain. The closest rescue
point is Cho-Do Island, 100 miles to the south. It's too far away. Risner is going to do
something unprecedented. I had him throttle
back gradually and let the nose down. And I don't know where
I got the wild idea. Nobody had done it before. What I did was I hooked
my nose in his tail pipe. NARRATOR: In a display
of superb airmanship, for over half an hour,
Risner repeatedly nudges his wing man's lifeless
jet over the sea. With rescue planes
in sight, Logan tells Risner he'll
see him back at Kimpo. Then he ejects. ROBINSON RISNER: Now,
Joe landed in the water. The choppers and the amphibians
were having an argument who got to rescue him. Well, the choppers finally
won by saying, it's my turn. You got the last one. NARRATOR: The helicopter
attempts to use its rotor wash to fill Logan's parachute
and blow him to shore. The young pilot is ensnared
in his parachute lines. Some of the rip cords
tangled around Joe's neck, and he drowned. So after all that effort,
we lost Joe Logan. NARRATOR: There was
a war to be fought. Two days later, Robbie
Risner scores another kill in MiG Alley. He'll leave Korea with a total
of eight MiGs to his credit. Robbie Risner will return
to combat in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War,
flying F-105 Thunder Chiefs into the
heavily defended North. In September 1965, he
is shot down and sent to the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Seven years later, Risner
will emerge, battered but with spirit unbroken. It is the same
flight suit attitude that led him to vanquish his
enemies 20 years earlier in MiG Alley. [music playing] June 30, 1953, by now the
ground fighting in Korea has seesawed back and
forth for three years, grinding to a virtual stalemate. Cease fire talks have
dragged on for two years. There is a palpable sense
that peace could break out at any moment. The Communist air training
program in Manchuria is rotating as many
students and instructors through MiG Alley as possible
for combat experience. On this clear June day, Captain
Ralph Parr is only too willing to oblige. He's part of a four-ship Sabre
sweep into the hornet's nest. Today, on his very first
flight into MiG Alley, Parr will be locked into an
extended adrenaline-pumping duel with a MiG honcho. [music playing] The flight leader is
Vermont Gary Garrison, 335th Squadron commander. The flight moves
into combat spread. Parr sees movement at
his 1 o'clock position. RALPH PARR: They
called the flight out. And we had a flight of 16 MiGs
flying almost opposite us. NARRATOR: Undetected, the
four Sabres stalk the 16 MiGs, like cheetahs moving
through tall grass. The MiGs don't
know we're there. And we're closing
on them slowly. I'm doing everything but
pushing my airplane by hand, trying to get it to go faster. I'm quietly saying to myself,
don't shoot yet, Garry. Garry, don't shoot,
don't shoot yet. [music playing] NARRATOR: Sabre
tactics in MiG Alley emphasized the finger four,
two pairs of two Sabres, with each pair, or element,
providing mutual support and protection. FREDERICK "BOOTS" BLESSE: If
I spotted a MiG, my number two man, he knows that
from that call on, I'm not going to be
looking around at all. NARRATOR: Only the flight lead,
the most experienced pilot, would fire on a MiG. The second most
experienced pilot was number three,
or element lead. He was the alternate shooter in
case the flight got separated. Numbers two and four were
wingmen, newer pilots, who at all times, were to
protect the flight leads or element lead's rear end. The high-speed
combat of MiG Alley demanded hawk-like
awareness and concentration. The key to winning and
surviving was flight integrity. FREDERICK "BOOTS" BLESSE: When
we're talking about tactics integrity, it
doesn't have anything to do with telling lies
or things of that nature. This has to do with maintaining
a cohesive force of flight goes out, and it's trained
to go out and fight as a 4-ship flight. It sees the enemy, it
fights as a 4-ship flight, and it comes back
as a 4-ship flight. That's integrity. NARRATOR: Before they
arrived in Korea, new Sabre pilots went through
grueling F-86 training at the Air Force fighter
school at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. So many pilots were killed at
Nellis in simulated dogfights, that new arrivals
were told only half jokingly, if you see the flag
at full staff, take a picture. Even the greenest F-86
pilot arrived in Korea with a high level of training. Captain Ralph Parr
was more than ready. He knew Korea well, having
flown F-80s in support of ground troops in 1950. After his F-80 tour, Parr
returns to the States and to the cockpit of the F-86. He earns a reputation as one of
the most skilled and aggressive Sabre instructor pilots. [music playing] In fighter pilot lingo,
Parr is a good stick. And he's champing at
the bit to kill MiGs. In the summer of 1953, with
the fourth fighter wing, Parr will demonstrate
his deadly prowess. Four F-86s are tracking
16 unsuspecting MiGs. Vermont Garrison, the flight
leader, is the shooter. Ralph Parr is hoping
upon hope that Garrison will hold his fire. RALPH PARR: Wait'll
I get into position, and we'll get two
at the same time. And of course, I can't say
this on the open radio, because it would
tip the enemy off. NARRATOR: Garrison doesn't wait. He shoots. One MiG is hit, goes
inverted, dives away. Garrison stayed on
him, cut the corner, swung in behind him. NARRATOR: It's going
to be an easy kill. Garrison, followed
by his wingman, dives after the smoking MiG. [music playing] And the next thing I
hear, I hear a voice. And it's Garrison, and he
says, my guns won't fire. NARRATOR: The
stricken MiG is here. Garrison, whose guns
have jammed, is here. Suddenly, the MiG
leader, moving to protect one of his stricken flock,
jumps into the fight. The leader of the 16 MiGs
does a very fast turn reversal and heads straight for Garrison
and Garrison's wingman. NARRATOR: Parr is impressed
by this aggressive move. RALPH PARR: He's
done this before. He's pretty highly experienced. NARRATOR: Parr quickly
sizes up the situation. Garrison and his wingman are now
vulnerable to the MiG leader's guns. Parr maneuvers to cut
off the aggressive MiG. He slams the stick over
in a hard left turn. Blood rushes from his head. The G suit instantly inflates,
squeezes his abdomen and thighs in a Python grip. Though out of range,
Parr fires a short burst to scare the MiG
off Garrison's tail. It works. The MiG leader breaks away. [music playing] Parr gives chase and
maneuvers for a clean shot. I latched on to this guy at
about the ballpark of about 1,800 feet and
brought my pipper up and put the pipper
on his fuselage, getting ready to shoot him. And he started his maneuvering. And we had a dog fight
that lasted six minutes before the first shot was fired. NARRATOR: MiG lead is a honcho
and one hell of a pilot. He jinks frantically, turning
hard left, then right. He throws his jet around the
sky, rolling and twisting. The Red pilot tries
multiple split S reversals, anything to shake
Parr off his tail and turn the tables
on his attacker. The MiG leader is skilled
and not ready to die. Parr hangs in, but
can't draw a bead. This honcho may live
to fight another day. It had reached a point whereby
I didn't know whether I was going to let him go or not. NARRATOR: The MiG is
sliding out of reach. But the Sabre has a
technological edge that will decide the contest. [music playing] June 30, 1953, in
MiG Alley, the battle has turned into a giant swirling
furball, like something out of World War II, but
faster and higher. Captain Ralph Pass is
in the thick of it. We went into just a roaring
gunfight between 20 aircraft, four of them ours. NARRATOR: Fortunately for
Parr, the machine in which he's staking his very existence had
reached its ultimate expression by 1953. The F-86A models that first
went to Korea in December 1950 were excellent gun platforms. But they were heavier
than the MiGs, and their 5,400-pound thrust
engines couldn't get the Sabre up to the MiG's
50,000-foot altitude. They were also
outnumbered 8 to 1. In December 1951, the 51st
Fighter Interceptor Wing joins the fight in MiG Alley. It's now roughly 130
Sabres to 350-plus MiGs. The 51st arrives
with F-86Es, which introduced the so-called
flying tail to the Sabre. On earlier models of the F-86,
the elevator, or up and down control surface on the
tail, was unresponsive near supersonic speed. The force of air made it
impossible for the pilot to move the stick, a serious
handicap in air combat. The E model's totally new
flying tail is hydraulically boosted, providing
positive elevator control, even at maximum air speed. In August of 1952, yet another
and the most lethal version of the Sabre streaks into
MiG Alley, the F-86F. The F has a more powerful
6,090-pound thrust engine, bringing the Sabre nearly equal
to the MiG in two critical areas-- rate of climb, over 9,000 feet
a minute, and service ceiling, 49,000 feet. The Sabre's wing also
undergoes a significant change. The movable leading edge
slats, originally designed for greater control at
low air speed, disappear. Most jet combat,
not all, but most tended to occur at higher
speeds, where the slats were really of not much advantage. NARRATOR: The slats are replaced
with a new non-movable leading edge, that's extended six inches
at the wing root and three inches at wing tip. [music playing] The so-called hard, or 6-3
wing, increases the Sabre's maneuverability at high speeds. FREDERICK "BOOTS"
BLESSE: The F model was a tremendous improvement. It had a better
turning capability. It was faster, better climb,
and more closely assimilated those characteristics of the
MiG that we liked so much. NARRATOR: The MiG-15 was still
lighter and retained its power to weight advantage. But for the first
time, the F-86 could maneuver with the MiG on
equal terms up to 49,000 feet. On June 30, 1953, the added
thrust and maneuverability of the F-86F allows
captain Ralph Parr to stay with the MiG. But he can't get
into firing position against an experienced honcho. I could bring my gun sight
right up to the airplane, but I couldn't get
it on the airplane. NARRATOR: In an attempt
to get Parr off his tail, the MiG leader rolls into
another split S and dives. Parr goes inverted, pulls down. The move keeps him on the
MiG's tail, still in the chase. At 3,000 feet, the jets
pull out of the dive. Parr feels the crush
of G on his chest as the horizon slowly reappears. Then MiG leader raises his nose
and slams the throttle forward. He's counting on his airplane's
superior rate of climb to carry him clear
of the Sabre's fangs. All the right moves,
but the F model Sabre has the electronic advantage. Parr's radar-ranging gun sight
can reach out nearly two miles. So I just sat there and very
calmly let the gun sight settle down, gave him about
a four-second burst, and shot him to ribbons. NARRATOR: The Sabre's
650-caliber machine guns fire at a rate of 110
rounds per second. 28 pounds of lead have
just impacted the MiG. The airplane
burst into flames. Flames were trailing way back. I throttled back a little bit. And to get a close look at this
guy who'd been doing rather well, as I rolled up
to look down on him, and I could see that there were
slashes from those 50 calibers. And they were all burning, fire
coming out from just about all of them. The canopy was broken. There was blood in the front
end of the canopy and forward of the pilot. And the pilot was down, sort
of hanging over his stick. NARRATOR: Parr has scored
his first kill in MiG Alley. But there's no time
to savor the victory. About that time, I heard
the distinctive 37-millimeter cannon going thump,
thump, thump. If I could hear him, he
was close, too damn close. NARRATOR: Another MiG which
had been following the fight from a distance has moved in
to avenge his leader's demise. Parr instinctively pirouettes. He snaps the Sabre's
nose skyward into a hard, climbing turn. [music playing] The MiG pilot is surprised. He overshoots. Parr reverses his turn. The MiG is his. Parr's deft maneuver has put
him into a good firing position behind his adversary. He turned left
about 45 degrees. And when he rolled level, I
knocked him out of the sky. I hit him. So I couldn't miss. NARRATOR: Two MiGs
in rapid succession. Ralph Parr will
finish his Sabre tour with 10 victories, a double
ace, an achievement matched by only 10 other F-86 pilots. Remarkably, he does it
in only 30 missions, during the last seven
weeks of the war. Parr will stay in the
cockpit, winning the Air Force cross for heroism
during the Vietnam War. In Korea, the guns fell silent
at midnight July 27, 1953. The battle lines ended almost
exactly where they started. No formal truce officially
ended the hostilities. The F-86s scored an impressive
record in MiG Alley. Against a loss of
78 of their own, the Sabres shot down
almost 560 MiGs, 7 to 1 in favor of the F-86. In a war without
winners, the battle for air superiority
and MiG Alley was the only clear victory. The region remains a
powder keg to this day. The sound of jets
still reverberates through the mountains
of the Korean Peninsula. Mach 2 capable
F-15s and F-16s now take to the skies once
patrolled by the F-86. In the north, MiG-15s have given
way to MiG-21s and advanced MiG-29s. Long-range air-to-air
missiles are the weapons of choice for these
technological wonders. Should war return to Korea,
these modern-day adversaries will engage from miles away. They will never face off
in flashing dogfights that were the hallmark of MiG Alley.
