The Spring Offensive

The first thing I do on starting a new mission period (there are three periods a day - morning, noon and afternoon) is cancel the automatic directives. I want to hit targets of my choice with flights of my choice. To allow the simulation to set this up for you is to miss out on half the fun.

Generally I try to hit supply dumps and other targets near to the front. There are a couple of reasons for this:

• Loss of supplies will hit the front line Red forces hardest and can influence who has the initiative in that sector of the war
• I can keep my aircraft within a short distance of safety. The AI likes to draw you into prolonged dogfights and burn off your fuel. If you are far from home you may win the fight only to find that you still don't make it home.

I have a number of options open to me, including the use of heavy bombers from Japan. At my direct disposal I have 2 squadrons of F-86 Sabres and one each of F-51 Mustangs, F-80C Shooting Stars and F-84E Thunderjets.

As an example we will look at an attack on Wonju supply dump. I have hit it before but repairs and resupply mean that it has continued to supply Red forces. This time I want to knock it out for longer. We will be using the Crack and Burn tactic, by which the first wave (8 F-84s) will destroy and damage the buildings with bombs, following which a second wave (8 F-51s) will attack with napalm to destroy the stores in the buildings.

In addition a flight of 4 Sabres will establish a BARCAP over the target in advance to engage enemy fighters, while another flight accompanies the first wave to the target. Look carefully at the Time on Target shown in the graphic. These can be set manually to allow a good deal of control over how the engagement develops.

Once the flights have been chosen and timed, you can arm them. Here we see the arming screen for the eight F-84 fighter-bombers that are going to conduct the first wave of strikes. These will be armed with bombs and will carry fuel tanks. They will attack individual warehouses in advance of Wave Two's napalm run. Armament options are pretty limited, as you would expect given the period. Most flights have a combination of rocket, bomb, napalm and fuel options.

Having set up this attack I went on to set up three others. One was a large B-29 run on another major supply dump, while the other two engaged forward airfields. The first was a strike at the facilities of an airfield on the west coast, whereas the second was a tactical strike at Chuncheon, the main Red fighter airbase on the central front. The aim here was to take a small fighter-bomber element to attack the field in order to force the Migs to take off in defence. This small force was to be accompanied by 12 Sabres to engage the Migs with the aim of reducing their numbers and of keeping them busy and away from the vulnerable main strike groups attacking the supply bases. It is this mission that is briefly described below.
 

Flying the Mission

The mission saw us crossing the border at 26000 feet, well above the clouds in clear late afternoon sunshine. We expected to find the Migs well below us, taking off to meet us, but as we approached the patrol area over the Chuncheon airbase we spotted what appeared to be a long snake in the sky.

This was one of the infamous Mig Trains, a whole squadron in close line astern formation. The formation was at 40000 feet, where the Mig has an advantage over the Sabre. It has a higher service ceiling, giving it a place of safe retreat which it can reach by using its greater climb rate. This was not a fight I wanted, but by engaging them here we would be keeping them away from the slower B-29s to our rear.

The fight started at about 32000 feet, a swirling mass of exhaust vapours and contrails, an impressive sight indeed. The squadrons merged and I ordered the flights and elements to engage at will. I began a wide turn to conserve as much energy as possible, as speed is very hard to regain at this altitude. I locked onto a Mig some three miles away, easily visible due to the long vapour trail streaming out behind him. He was at about the same height and speed and it took a long time and careful turning to close the distance. Aware of the other Migs I was frequently checking six (USING THE END KEY SO AS NOT TO LOSE PADLOCK) and asking my wingman Purple 2 to confirm I was clear. At long last I was in position behind him and managed to hit him with a good burst from my guns. He started smoking but was still flying. I reversed, got in behind him and finished him off.

I am not about to describe every encounter, burst of fire and overshoot of the battle. Suffice it to say we gradully got the upper hand and I remained unharmed, though the squadron suffered some losses. We disengaged and, having heard that the other flights had bombed their targets, we headed south at medium altitude.

At this stage we were jumped from the west by another squadron of Migs that had taken off from Seoul. Now however we were at an altitude that favoured the Sabre. The squadron engaged again and we managed to knock out a couple of their aircraft. Practice obviously helped, because not once did I enter a spin.

With the sun going down and the light fading fast it became harder and harder to see the targets as they dived below us. After a couple of victories and a loss we pulled away, short on fuel and ammunition, and headed south.

After the Mission

The mission was a success, although the loss of five Sabres was obviously of concern. We had knocked out eleven Migs. More importantly the attacks on the ground targets all succeeded, enabling the UN ground forces to advance against weakened opposition.