June 1953: 77:0 kill ratio?

["Diego Zampini" <dzampini@hotmail.com>]

Cookie:
Few time after the end of the Korean War, USAF claimed that in June 1953 the 
F-86E/F Sabres of the 4th and 51st Wings (and also some of the 
fighter-bombing wings) shot down 77 MiGs without any loss in air combat, 
despite it admitts the loss of 14 Sabres due to AAA. From my point of view, 
even taking into account that the poorly trained Chinese MiGs were which had 
most the battles with the Sabres, and the Soviet units in Korea at that time 
(518, 676 and 878 IAP of 216 IAD, plus the 224, 535 and 913 IAP of the 32 
IAD, I think) perhaps were not the best ones, the score 77:0 seems inflated 
to me. What do you think about this 77:0 kill ratio?
Apparently the ´0´ was at least one: the F-86E BuNo 51-2905 shot-up by the 
MiG-15 of Capt. Andreyev on June 7 1953. But according to ´Red Devils over 
the 38th Parallel´ other Sabre losses of the month could be actually caused 
by MiGs:
On June 5 1953 the Russians admitted the loss of 4 MiGs of 676 IAP, the ones 
piloted by Capt. Solovyov and Sr.Lts. Tzarenko, Pushkarev and Kucherenko 
(KIA), which were surprised and shot down by Sabres while were trying to 
land in Andung. Seidov and German credited these MiG kills to Lt.Col. Julian 
Harvey, 1st lt. Frank Frasier, Capt. Lonnie Moore and 2nd Lt. William 
Schrimsher. But they also asserted that at least one of those Sabres was 
shot down by the MiG-15 of Sr.Lt. A.Kutzigin, and later that same day Sr.Lt. 
Grigorii Berelidze was credited with another Sabre kill. USAF admitts the 
loss of a F-86E of 16 FIS piloted a RAF exchange pilot (Flt.Lt. James Ryan) 
near the mouth of Yalu, but credited it to an engine explosion !!!!
On June 10 1953 the MiG-15 pilots of 913 IAP claimed 3 F-86s (one by the ace 
Semyen Fedorets and other by his wingman, A. Popov) and a pilot of the 224 
IAP, Sr.Lt. Vassilyev, claimed a fourth one, which pilot bailed out and 
Vassilyev asserted he could see his face and identified him as a black 
pilot. USAF admitts the loss of the F-86Fs of Robert Coury (12 FBS, MIA) and 
Flyod Salze (25 FIS, KIA) but credited it to the Communist AAA and to a 
flame-out (!!!!).
On June 16 1953 I know that the Russains claimed 3 F-86s and 4 F-84s. USAF 
admitts the loss of 3 F-86s (John Giraudo, William Hummer and Don Forbes) 
plus 2 F-84Gs and 1 F-84E. But none due to MiGs!! Three days later USAF 
admitts the loss of a F-86F (Allan Rudolph, MIA) over the MiG Alley but 
credited it to an engine trouble, and do not provide info about the loss of 
Charles Gunther. What say the Russians about those two days (June 16 and 19 
1953)? Do you think some of those American pilots could have been actually 
shot down by MiGs?
Finally on June 29 1953, a MiG-15 pilot of 518 IAP, 216 IAD (Sr.Lt. 
M.Sapegin) claimed a Sabre kill, and USAF admitt the loss of Major Flamm 
Harper (rescued), but did not mention a cause for the loss!!
Summarizing: Even admitting a logical Russian overclaiming rate of 50%, a 
best air-to-*air training of the US pilots and the fact that the F-86Fs of 
the 8 and 18 FBW were performing most of the ground attacks (so the losses 
by AAA logically would raise), it is hard to believe to me that none of the 
Russian claims actually happened, specially taking into account the very 
high rate of ´flame-out/engine trouble´ experienced that month by the 
Sabres. It is a little bit weird, aint it?
What do you think about all that?
Regards,
Diego.

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