RE: Korean War Aerial Losses and Claims - Interim Look

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

Hi, Danz:

>Many of the serial numbers that the Russians reported
>were from nomenclature plates that they found in the
>wreckage.  For instance, they would peel a data plate
>off a hydraulic pump and report the serial number
>for the hydraulic pump as the serial number for the
>aircraft. I have come to the soft conclusion that Soviet
>search groups, when they did find a downed aircraft, would
>collect as many of these data plates for future use in
>confirming other shoot downs. This would help support the
>1000+ shoot down claims that they made.

You are probably right in such matter. I had been thinking in such 
possibility and you took the words from my mouth. I agree with your 
conclusion because it certainly explains a lot of cases where the format of 
the serial numbers claimed by the Russians do not match with the USAF 
format.
But not neccesarily all. In my example, the serial ´15-24001´ could be 
actually ´51-24001´ (or in simple words, a simple transcription mistake in 
the Soviet records) which match with USAF format. On September 9 1952 the 
MiG-15 pilots of 726 IAP claimed to shot down 14 F-84s. Initially I thought 
in a huge overclaim because USAF admitt the loss of 3 F-84s by MiGs (the 
ones piloted by Jimmy Alkire, William Suffern and Warren O’Brien) but 
the 9 serial numbers given by the Russians (51-766, 52-798, 51-113, 51-464, 
51-451, 51-441, 47-551, 51-318 and 52-191) match with USAF format but did 
not match with any of the reported Thunderjets lost that day. Certainly it 
seems to me that the MiGs perhaps shot down 12 Thunderjets (more than the 3 
admitted F-84s but less than 14 claimed) that day. Few days later, on 
September 14 1952 the Soviet pilots Chumachenko (878 IAP), Karatun, 
Gnezdilov and Vorkov (676 IAP) claimed a Sabre kill each. The victim of 
Chumachenko seems to be Paul Turner (POW), and the Soviets asserted they 
found three wreckages more, with the serials ´FU-727´, ´FU-725´ and 
´FU-555´, which matched perfectly with USAF format for tail codes, despite 
no addittional Sabre losses were reported that day.
Russian usage of fake serial numbers? Probably. I even would say true in 
many cases. But it is also possible that many other cases have a different 
explanation, which origin was not in Moskow, but Washington.
Respectfully yours,
Diego.

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