NARRATOR: In the skies
above North Korea, a new kind of air war is
raging at 500 miles per hour. Jet versus jet, dog fighting
for the first time in history. At the knife edge of
the speed of sound, life or death is decided
in fractions of a second. [RAPID FIRE] Now, you're in the
cockpit as American pilots pit their F-86 Sabre's
against communist MiG-15s, redefining air combat in pursuit
of a previously unknown glory, the title of jet ace. Experience the battle. Dissect the tactics. [BOOM] Relive the dog fights. [THEME MUSIC] May 20, 1951, American
F-86 Sabre jets ripped through enemy airspace
above Sinuiju, North Korea at over 500 miles per hour. [ENGINES BLARING] Their objective is simple,
lure enemy MiGs into a fight and kill as many as possible. These pilots are
pioneers of a new age. Air combat is now driven
by the jet engine. [ENGINES BLARING] DAVID KENNEDY: These guys
went into a very unknown environment. They went into a very tough war. This wasn't World War 2. They took airplanes that
were flying twice the speed of any fighter combat
before, and they showed us how it was done. NARRATOR: James Jabara
flies element lead in a flight of six. The 27-year-old captain
is one of the best. A Mustang pilot
during World War 2, he's become a master of
jet-versus-jet combat. With four MiG-15
kills to his credit, he's one away from becoming the
first American ace of the jet age. [ENGINES BLARING] Jabara is so close. I mean, he's got four MiG kills. The Air Force
desperately wants an ace, and he's the guy that can do it. NARRATOR: After only
minutes in enemy territory, he'll get his chance. [ENGINES BLARING] 50 gleaming MiG-15s scream
across the Yalu River to take on the Americans. Jabara punches his tanks
to streamline his fighter for combat, but
something goes wrong. He loses only
one of his tanks. He gets a huge asymmetric
rocking motion on the aircraft, probably bangs his
head off the canopy, has a difficult time
controlling the airplane. NARRATOR: The pins securing the
tanks to the wing have frozen, a common problem in the
frigid skies of North Korea. Standing orders dictate
that he must return to base. He puts both
hands on the stick, steadies it, and gets the
aircraft back under control. And then in a very
short amount of time, has to make that
critical combat decision. Can I still fight
with this airplane? Now, his judgment is weighed
with his aggressiveness, and his aggressiveness wins out. NARRATOR: Jabara, and the
rest of the Americans, pull a right break into
the oncoming enemy. Approaching head
on, the fighters close at over 1,600
feet per second. At this speed, it's
next to impossible to get an accurate shot. [RAPID FIRE] The MiGs thunder past. Jabara jerks the stick
hard left to pursue. The hung wing tank turns his
F-86 into a bucking bronco. TERRY DEITZ: He's probably
pulling 30, 40, 50 pounds of stick force right
there and trying to control his jet as he's
pulling lead out in front. NARRATOR: Jabara's
wingman, Salvadore Kemp, calls out three more MiGs
diving fast from behind. The MiGs are here. They've gained a 100 mile
per hour speed advantage in the dive. Jabara and Kemp are
here with only a split second to counter them. The MiGs hurdle in. Jabara pulls up
and to the right. He's using the MiGs
diving speed against them, forcing an overshoot. Jabara's break
turn up to the right forces two MiGs to go right
by and continue to go. One MiG, for one
reason or another, decides to peel off to the left,
exposing his belly to Jabara. NARRATOR: Jabara pounces. He snaps his plane to
the left and locks on to tail-end Charlie. Not only is that the sign
of a good fighter pilot, but it's a sign of a good
fighter pilot in the new jet age. Things happen extremely fast. And those that are
able to react, almost before it happens, are
able to take advantage. NARRATOR: The bandit stays
in a diving left turn. Jabara pulls the stick in
tight to stay in trail. At this altitude,
the F-86 and MiG-15 are evenly matched
in a turning fight. But Jabara's got something
his foe lacks, a g-suit. It's a World War 2 invention
that came into its own as an essential tool of dog
fighting in the jet age. The g-suit constricts around
Jabara's legs and abdomen, keeping blood from pooling
in his extremities. Jabara is able to pull
tighter than the MiG pilot without blacking out. He closes the gap. His coveted fifth kill is
now in perfect position, dead center in his gunsight. [RAPID FIRE] Jabara opens fire. .50-caliber rounds
impact the MiG. [BOOM] The pilot ejects. Seconds later, the
empty fuselage explodes. [BOOM] [RAPID FIRE] DAVID KENNEDY: This is
what he's been working for. This is why he's been in Korea. So he has got to be
elated at this point. NARRATOR: It's a confirmed kill. America has its first jet ace. [ENGINES BLARING] James Jabara honed his skills
in the prop driven fighters of World War 2. After the war, he became one
of the first American pilots to fly the next generation
of combat aircraft, the jet fighter. In a turbo jet engine,
air enters an intake and is compressed into a
combustion chamber, where fuel is added and ignited. The rapidly expanding gas
forces its way through a turbine and out the exhaust port,
creating a massive amount of forward thrust. The jet engine was pioneered
by British and German engineers during World War 2. In the waning months
of the war, the Germans were the first to send a
jet fighter into combat, the ME-262. Twin turbo jet engines gave
it a 100 mile per hour speed advantage over prop fighters. The ME-262 combined
jet technology with an innovative
swept wing design. The swept wing created less drag
than a conventional straight wing, allowing for
higher top speeds. During the war years, both
the Russians and Americans developed their own
first generation jet fighters, the MiG-9
and the P-59 Airacomet. But these underpowered
straight-wing designs never saw combat. In 1947, when German
technology became available, both the Americans
and the Russians adopted the swept wing. The result was the F-86
Sabre and the MiG-15. The F-86 had
exceptional visibility and a strong airframe designed
for air-to-air combat. The MiG was lighter with
a faster rate of climb and a higher service ceiling. In the skies above North
Korea, these fighters would square off in the first
large-scale jet-versus-jet dogfights in history. [RAPID FIRE] [BOOM] May 20, 1951, after six months
of high-speed air combat, James Jabara has just become
America's first jet ace. But a massive air battle
is still raging above him. LARRY DAVIS: There was never
an inclination in his mind to break off and go home
just because he made ace. His job, in Korea,
was to kill MiGs. NARRATOR: Jabara coaxes
his Sabre to 20,000 feet. His wingman is nowhere in sight. With a hung tank and
nobody watching his six, he has two strikes against him. [ENGINES BLARING] There's a swirl of activity. There are MiGs. There are Sabres in the air. He looks forward and he sees
six MiGs in the air above him. He immediately goes
into attack mode, just as you would expect him to. And he immediately goes for
the trail aircraft, which is the smart thing to
do, to pick them off one by one from behind. NARRATOR: Jabara's gun
thwarts are blazing. [RAPID FIRE] The MiG formation scatters,
but number six climbs straight ahead. Jim was trying to close
the gap, but of course, the F-86 was slower than the
MiG in the climb to begin with. With the hung tank,
it was very slow. And this MiG could have
easily gotten away. NARRATOR: But the MiG pilot
makes a critical mistake and suddenly dives to the left. The maneuver plays right
into the Sabre's strength. It's faster in a dive. [ENGINES BLARING] [INTENSE MUSIC] Jabara draws a bead
and pulls the trigger-- [RAPID FIRE] --shredding his enemy's engine. The powerless jet tumbles. His sixth kill. Suddenly tracer fire
envelops Jabara's canopy. [RAPID FIRE] The tables have turned. MiG's are on his
6:00, closing in to avenge their fallen comrade. [RAPID FIRE] DAVID KENNEDY: Well,
now Jabara has committed a couple of cardinal sins. Don't engage if you
can't drop your tank. Don't engage if you
don't have a wingman. Don't fixate on the target. And that's exactly what
he's done in this case. NARRATOR: James Jabara realizes
that his quest to become a jet ace could cost him his life. May 20, 1951, Captain James
Jabara is running for his life from two MiG-15s. He pulls hard to
the left, attempting to throw his attackers off. [RAPID FIRE] Glowing 37 and
23-millimeter tracers smoke past the right
side of his F-86. Jabara pushes his
J-47 jet engine to full power, 5,200
pounds of thrust. But the hung wing
tank limits his speed to 500 miles per hour, 100 miles
per hour less than the MiGs. What's worse? It handicaps his
turning ability. With that tank in the slower
speed, Jim was a sitting duck. DAVID KENNEDY: He pulls hard. Hits his speed brakes. Pulls his speed brakes in. Reverses. Turns hard the other way. Rolls out. Accelerates. Turns. Doing this just to momentarily
break up the gun firing solution from the mix. NARRATOR: The enemy pilots
are padlocked on his tail. DAVID KENNEDY: He is
meat on the table. And unless something
happens, Jabara's sixth kill will be his last kill. NARRATOR: Luckily, for
Jabara, something does happen. American pilots, Mo
Pitts and Rudy Holley happen upon the scene. The Sabres are here. The MiGs are here behind Jabara. The Americans will dive
quickly to close the gap and knock the MiGs
off Jabara's tail. At jet speeds, they'll
have mere seconds to accomplish their goal. DAVID KENNEDY: Pitts and
Holley roll in behind the MiGs. [RAPID FIRE] One of the MiGs pulls off. But the flight leader MiG is not
so eager to get out of there. NARRATOR: MiG leader
lines up his shot, but Holley is in position. His M-3 machine
guns roar to life. [RAPID FIRE] The MiG smokes, breaks for home. The Americans slashing
attack has worked. Pitts and Holley form up with
Jabara and escort him home. As Jabara taxis in, he finds
a crowd waiting for him. HOOT GIBSON: It was a great day. We had our first jet ace. And we had a big celebration on
the ramp, carried him around. NARRATOR: Jabara is awarded
the Distinguished Flying Cross. After his 123rd mission, he is
sent home to a hero's welcome. He returns to Korea in 1953 and
adds an astonishing nine more MiG kills to his tally, becoming
one of only two triple aces during the war. DAVID KENNEDY: Jabara
was the first jet ace that the US Air Force had. And this was a major triumph
and a major accomplishment. He would be the first
of many during that war, and he led the way. NARRATOR: Jabara's
historic achievement sets the bar for every American
fighter pilot in Korea. With each new fighter
sweep, Sabre pilots clamor for enemy encounters. They can't be the first jet
ace, but with a little luck, they can be the second. [RAPID FIRE] [BOOM] First Lieutenant Hoot
Gibson is one of these men. I could hardly wait. I was ready to go fight. I trained for six
years to do this. NARRATOR: June 18, 1951. Less than one month after James
Jabara's ace-making encounter, First Lieutenant Hoot Gibson
heads into North Korea on combat air patrol. The confident 26-year-old
fighter has yet to be credited with
a confirmed kill, but he's aggressive and has
superb mastery of jet combat tactics. [ENGINES BLARING] HOOT GIBSON: I had a
lot of fighter time and a lot of experience
simulating dogfighting. We thought we could
whip anything, anybody in any airplane. NARRATOR: Heading West
toward the China Sea, Gibson spots glints
at 3:00 high, MiGs. Gibson is here with a formation
of 18 American Sabres. 50 MiGs are here, 3,000
feet above at 3:00. The MiGs higher
service ceiling means they can choose when and
where they want to fight. Outnumbering the Sabres nearly
three to one, the MiGs dive in. [INTENSE MUSIC] The Americans turn to
engage the enemy head on. Gibson throttles up. His Sabre covers one
mile every seven seconds. The jets merge in
the blink of an eye. [RAPID FIRE] I started climbing right
turn to try to be above them and maneuver to
the rear of them. NARRATOR: Hoot and his wingman
swing in behind the enemy formation and single
out a straggling MiG. The MiG breaks hard to the left. Gibson maintains track and
centers his Sabre's A1C radar ranging gunsight. A radar unit in the nose
calculates the distance. And the gunsight determines
the necessary lead to put rounds on target. Gibson pulls the trigger. With each burst, 60 .50-caliber
rounds tear into the enemy jet. The MiG pilot tightens his
turn and dives toward the deck, trying to throw
off Gibson's aim. They had their nose below the
horizon, and I was behind them, but I was on the
inside of the turn. And they were turning
about two to three degrees, and I couldn't quite
stay with them. NARRATOR: Straining
at over 5g's, Gibson is pulling so hard that he can't
keep an angle on his target. The MiG drifts out
of his gunsight. Gibson's wingman, Jim
Heckman, has a better angle on the enemy. My wingman was in
position to take him, so I told him to go ahead
and shoot at him, and he did. NARRATOR: Heckman
scores devastating hits, but Gibson must do something
to regain a firing angle. He'll call on a tried and true
air combat maneuver, the barrel roll. He'll pitch up, roll
around his wingman, and position himself
on the outside. He's not only out of
his wingman's bullets, but he is also putting
himself back in position to take another shot
without hitting his wingman. [ENGINES BLARING] I maneuvered in behind them
and got a good burst on him. [RAPID FIRE] And then he ejected. [RAPID FIRE] [BOOM] [RAPID FIRE] One down. But since Heckman
scored the most damage, he'll get the credit. He made the right choice. The instinctive maneuver to
stop his downrange travel, roll back into another
firing solution while giving his wingman the
shot, and then also the wingman got the kill. That's a hell of a guy. NARRATOR: With so
many MiGs in the sky, it takes only seconds
for Hoot to tally a new target, another pair of
MiGs 2000 feet below at 2:00. Easy pickings. But Gibson's gunsight
suddenly goes blank. It was probably dirt in the
circuit breaker or something. I just reset it with my
hand, but it wouldn't reset. It kept popping out. NARRATOR: No guts, no glory. Gunsight or no gunsight, Hoot
Gibson is going on the attack. June 18, 1951. In a wild
jet-versus-jet dogfight, F-86 pilot, Hoot Gibson,
has seen one MiG-15 go down in flames. He's now in position
to attack two more. The enemy jets are here. Gibson and his wingman are here. He has two options. He can nose down into a
dive, but he may overshoot. His best option
is to barrel roll. The maneuver will put him
squarely on the MiGs tail. Gibson pitches up, a blind
right rudder and aileron. So as they roll over and lose
altitude and roll back down in front of the MiGs, they're
in perfect firing position. [ENGINES BLARING] NARRATOR: Hoot
rolls, wings level, with two MiGs at his 12:00. The enemy jets pitch up. The lighter MiGs can climb
faster than the Sabres. Gibson must act quickly
before they get away. [RAPID FIRE] I don't have a
gunsight anymore, so I had to stay close, at,
I'd say, 400 or 500 feet. And I put the airplane
in my windscreen at about where I thought
the pipper would be. [RAPID FIRE] This guy's a good shot. He doesn't necessarily
need a radar in order to be able to
figure out what the range is. He knows, from his
experience, how big that MiG looks in his
windscreen to be at the range where he wants to fire. NARRATOR: Hoot fires
two dead-center bursts into the communist jet. [RAPID FIRE] The MiG pilot ejects as his
entire right wing rips off. It's Gibson's first
official kill. As the enemy plane
spirals from view, Hoot catches sight of his
commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ben Emmert,
below him at his 2:00. He's chasing a MiG,
but he's not alone. There's another MiG on his
tail closing in for the kill. He had tunnel
vision for that MiG. And I called him and told
him a MiG was on his tail, but I would be able
to take care of him. NARRATOR: Hoot acts quickly. Yet again, he barrel
rolls to the right. Gibson levels out with
the MiG dead ahead. The MiG spots Gibson
and jinks violently in a desperate attempt
to shake his pursuer. He turned to the left and
maybe lowered the nose three or four degrees
below the horizon. I stayed right with him. He turned back to the
right, and he just helped me stay in position. I got two more good
bursts into him. [RAPID FIRE] [BOOM] NARRATOR: The MiG
bursts into flames. [RAPID FIRE] [BOOM] At 3,000 feet, the jet explodes. [BOOM] [RAPID FIRE] [BOOM] [RAPID FIRE] [BOOM] In a matter of
minutes, Hoot Gibson has seen three MiGs down,
scoring two confirmed kills for himself, putting
him in the running to become America's next jet ace. He claims his third kill three
weeks later on July 11th. His fourth on September 2nd. And on September 9, 1951,
Gibson downs a fifth, realizing his dream
of becoming a jet ace. But the kill comes just minutes
after Captain Dick Becker shoots down his fifth MiG. Officially, Becker is credited
as the second jet ace. Hoot Gibson is the third. I felt good. That's what we were
supposed to be doing, and I felt like that
we were getting payback for all the training
that I'd been given. NARRATOR: The early jet aces
used the same principles of air combat developed for
piston engine fighters of World War 2. But techniques and tactics had
to adapt to the new realities of high-altitude,
high-speed jet combat. Fuel management became the
overriding consideration in Korean War jet combat. Instead of the large
squadron-sized formations of World War 2,
it was determined that flights of four Sabres
continuously streaming in and out of the combat zone
was the most efficient use of resources. This necessitated strict
adherence to flight integrity and keeping the basic
finger-four formation intact. At jet speeds, any
sudden maneuver could easily split
a flight of four or cause a lead to be
separated from his wingman. An American fighter left
alone was vulnerable. The rule was singles' go South. Just weeks before
the air war ends, 28-year-old Captain Ralph Parr
will face this danger firsthand in one of the most harrowing
dogfights of the new jet age. June 7, 1953, 20 miles
South of the Yalu River, Sabres of the 335th Fighter
Squadron soar at 43,000 feet, hunting for enemy aircraft. Second Lieutenant Al
Cox is element lead. On Cox's wing is
Captain Ralph Parr. RALPH PARR: The weather
was absolutely beautiful. If it had been just
slightly clearer and you could have
got slightly higher, you could have seen Paris,
the visibility was so good. NARRATOR: But the stillness
is shattered in an instant. [RAPID FIRE] A flight of MiGs bounces
them from 9:00 high. [RAPID FIRE] Parr spots the attackers
and calls a left break, but the lead element
breaks right. In an instant, flight
integrity is compromised. Flight lead orders Cox and
Parr to withdraw and form up. Parr keeps his eyes peeled. RALPH PARR: As I was
sweeping with my eyes to the lower right, I spotted a
movement against the coloration of the ground. I called it out as a bogey,
and Cox came right back and he says, I don't have it. You take it, I've
got you covered. NARRATOR: The MiG is heading
in the opposite direction, far below him, at treetop level. It's Parr's first
chance for a kill. He wings over to intercept
the MiG with a Split S. In the maneuver, Parr will dive,
reverse direction, and drop in behind the MiG. The speed his jet
builds in the dive will easily allow him to close
the distance on his enemy. Parr snaps his plane over
and firewall's the throttle. The move is so sudden
that Cox doesn't see where Parr is headed. RALPH PARR: He called me
and he said, I've lost you. Which way did you go? I said I went straight down. Come on down. See if you can find me. NARRATOR: He rapidly accelerates
past 670 miles per hour, cracking the sound barrier. It's not uncommon for the
Sabre to pass Mach 1 in a dive, but its flight controls
are ill equipped to deal with these speeds. DAVID KENNEDY: F-86
came around in an era when we were breaking
the sound barrier and understanding transonics
and what went on with airplanes when they did go supersonic. And in a dive approaching
supersonic speeds, the flight control surfaces
will be far less responsive. And it may be not possible
to recover from a dive. NARRATOR: Parr knows that the
Sabre needs 14,500 feet to pull out of a vertical
dive, but he's already dropped below 10,000 feet. TERRY DEITZ: In the new jet age,
things just get away from you. The speed builds up and there's
no way you can dissipate it because you don't have
the aircraft control ability to slow your
airplane down at that point. Even with idle boards,
he's rocketing this jet at the ground at roughly 600
knots, 700 miles an hour. And he's there, and
he's about to die. NARRATOR: June 7, 1953. Captain Ralph Parr is
diving towards a MiG-15 that is hugging the treetops. Parr's biggest concern
isn't the bandit, but terra firma rushing up at
him at 1,000 feet per second. Self-preservation is now
the only thing that matters. Parr pulls back
on the stick hard. He grunts like a weightlifter
to keep from blacking out. The pull of nine times
the force of gravity instantly inflates the g-suit,
gripping his abdomen and legs. For a moment, his body
weighs 1,400 pounds. I suddenly realized, breathe. You're not breathing. Well, the reason
I wasn't breathing is my g-suit had swollen up due
to the g-load and the pull out, and I couldn't get
any air in my lungs. NARRATOR: The horizon
slowly slides into view outside his windscreen. Parr is alive by only inches. He's probably bent the
airplane, but he's still flying. The MiG is now directly
in front of him, still hugging the ground. Parr is gaining rapidly. Then a shattering realization. RALPH PARR: I looked
straight ahead, and I could see one aircraft. Within a split second,
I could see two. I could see four. The multiplied
into another four. And then the other four
multiplied in another eight. NARRATOR: Parr discovers
that there are 16 bandits off his nose. He's on his own. The usual tactics don't apply. He'll rely on skill and pure
guts to get out of this alive. He singles out the leader of
the eight MiGs out in front. I'm gonna take the lead
aircraft because he's got the most experience and
cut the Indians loose rather than the other way around. NARRATOR: Still carrying a 100
mile per hour speed advantage from his hair raising
dive, Parr closes quickly within 3,000 feet, gun range. [RAPID FIRE] He squeezes the trigger. [RAPID FIRE] The MiGs scatter. The MiG leader lifts his
nose and breaks hard right. Parr throws the stick
over to stay with him. TERRY DEITZ: With the
onset of G, the speed, it's a very athletic endeavor
to get yourself into a dogfight. To go from weighing 190 pounds
to 1,300 pounds in a split second and having that 1,300
pounds of weight on you for 30 seconds is unbelievable. NARRATOR: Parr strains to
keep his head upright and eyes outside. I was somewhere between
9, 9 and 1/2 g's, and my-- [SNAP] [RAPID FIRE] --my light on my gunsight,
the reticle and the pipper, disappeared. NARRATOR: Either
a fuse has blown or a circuit breaker tripped. Not surprising given the
abuse thrown at the Sabre in the last 60 seconds. It was irritating. [CHUCKLES] You're
expecting to use it. You're depending on having it
there, and all of a sudden, it quits. NARRATOR: There's no
time to dwell on it. Parr is on the verge
of overtaking the MiG. His worst mistake
would be to overshoot. He cuts the throttle to
idle, pops his speed brakes, and does a half roll
to bleed off air speed. To keep from
over shooting him, I came up and lifted
in close to him. So we wound up pretty much
canopy to canopy like this. NARRATOR: MiG leader
counters Parr's move. He's no slouch. The two silver Jets begin
an incredible aerial ballet, twisting around each
other, barely 500 feet from the ground. It's called a rolling scissors. The object is to bring your
guns to bear on your opponent by forcing him to
slip out front. The only way to do that is by
gradually reducing air speed to the razor's edge
of sustained flight. RALPH PARR: And I'm looking
down through his canopy, and I can see his feet. I can even see the
laces in his boots. NARRATOR: Parr uses
stick and rudder with just enough throttle. The MiG does the same. It's energy management
in the extreme. Coordination is key. Someone is bound to slip up. It's the MiG pilot. He adds a little too
much throttle in the roll and moves ahead of Parr. I thought, friend
that costs you. And I booted the outside
rudder, outside aileron, and tried to slide
in behind him. The next thing that
went through my mind is I'm going to hit him. NARRATOR: Parr's heart is
about to leap out of his chest. He slides the Sabre's
nose just inches from the MiG's sharp-like tail. It's too close for comfort. The F-86 is thumped hard
by the MiG's jet wash. A new hazard in the jet age. Parr controls the
buffeting Sabre, reduces power, and backs off. I pulled the trigger. I hit him. [RAPID FIRE] He zigged off to one side,
and I latched onto him and climbed into the saddle. NARRATOR: But MiG leader is not
about to throw in the towel. RALPH PARR: He rolled
underneath, which caught me totally by surprise. I hadn't anticipated
that at all. NARRATOR: The MiG snap rolls
to quickly change direction, attempting to
regain the advantage and use his jet wash
to keep Parr at bay. Parr stays on him
like glue, but he must avoid the MiG's exhaust. The hot blast could flip
the Sabre at any moment. And as low as they are,
there's no room to recover, but Ralph Parr is not
about to give up now. June 7, 1953. F-86 Sabre pilot, Ralph Parr,
is in hot pursuit of a MiG-15, literally. The MiG has already forced
him into a death-defying roll. As I was following him,
he started to do it again. This time I thought you're
not going to catch me on that. NARRATOR: Parr will pitch
up and roll over the top. It's a bold move that will
put him in firing position and clear of the MiGs jet wash. I went over the top, and I
was sitting there waiting on him when he came out of
tucking it under. And he was right in front of me. Then I let him have it. [RAPID FIRE] NARRATOR: The MiG lights
up like a Roman candle. [INTENSE MUSIC] [BOOM] [BOOM] After an exhausting
contest, Parr tastes victory for
the first time. But there's no time to gloat. A quick glance over his left
shoulder, more MiGs diving on him from 8:00. [RAPID FIRE] Parr adds power while
snapping the stick hard left. The Sabre responds instantly. Orange tracers drift
menacingly close to his tail. The MiGs try to stay with
him, but they're too fast. The first MiG
overshoots, followed by the second and the third. But the number four
MiG stays in trail. The experienced
Sabre pilot senses his enemy is about to bug out. He got disheartened
a little bit, and he didn't think he
was going to make it. NARRATOR: If he can trick the
MiG and draw it in closer, Parr can force an overshoot
and then go on the attack. What I had to do,
then, was to back off on my turn to make it easier
for him to get a shot at me. NARRATOR: Parr widens his
turn, allowing the MiG to think he has a chance. The MiG pilot takes the bait
and maneuvers for a shot. Parr will wait until the
last second then load up and increase his turn rate. If the MiG overshoots, Parr
will be able to reverse his turn and drop in on the MiG's tail. The MiG begins pulling lead. Parr pulls the stick back,
adding power and throwing in more aileron. [ENGINES BLARING] The MiG flashes by. Parr reverses, rolling
in behind his target. [ENGINES BLARING] [INTENSE MUSIC] [RAPID FIRE] Then I took the tracer's
and just very slowly, walked them up through
his [INAUDIBLE].. [RAPID FIRE] [BOOM] NARRATOR: Splash
two for Ralph Parr. [RAPID FIRE] But almost instantly, another
MiG streaks in, cannon blazing. [RAPID FIRE] Again, Parr puts the
Sabre into a crushing turn to force another overshoot. The MiG-15 screams past
him, too fast to engage. The MiG climbs to
rejoin his comrades. They've had enough. During eight sweat-drenched
minutes of jet-on-jet combat, Ralph Parr has engaged 16
MiGs and shot down two. [ENGINES BLARING] [RAPID FIRE] This won't be Ralph Parr's last
encounter with the enemy in MiG alley. [BOOM] He scores eight more
kills in record time, proving himself to be one of
the most aggressive fighter pilots in US Air Force history. [ENGINES BLARING] Parr joins James Jabara
as one of only 11 pilots to claim 10 or more
victories over Korea. [ENGINES BLARING] The jet aces of the Korean War
were the pioneers of the sky. They were very much
a no-excuses bunch, and they showed us the way. They provided us with some
tremendous uplifting victories in that war. TERRY DEITZ: These are the
guys that have mastered the speed, the new dogfight. They've used tactics
of old, but they're doing it at breakneck speed. [RAPID FIRE] NARRATOR: In the crucible
of air combat over Korea, these elite few
fought the battles and wrote the textbook on
jet-versus-jet warfare. Many of these veteran
pilots stayed in the cockpit to take the next
generation of jet fighters to war, shattering the sound
barrier above Southeast Asia and ushering in the missile age. [RAPID FIRE] The modern era of
air warfare was born, owing to the intrepid
young aviators who stared down a communist onslaught and won. [BOOM] The legacy of the jet aces. [ENGINES BLARING] [MUSIC PLAYING]
