----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2004 1:46
PM
Subject: Re: Korea War List of Aces
I think as Cookie said verification of ace scores
in Korea is not doable in general. So I'd fall back to, the US aces
probably shot down around 70-75% as many planes as credited with on average
(remembering some of their "probable" and "damaged" represented MiG losses
though less then 70% of their "confirmed destroyed" might be correct), the
Communist aces around 10-15% of what they were credited with, because that was
the accuracy rate of their AF's as a whole.
As mentioned the US scores except early on are
hard to verify because day by day Chinese and NK losses aren't known. However
even Russia scores are difficult to nail down for a different statistical
reason. Overall the Communist AF's heavily overclaimed. However the claims are
not random but correlate with real engagements very closely, and with real
losses to a degree. So when a lot of claims were made often one or some US
planes were actually downed. The problem is how to apportion the losses among
the more usually much more numerous claims for the same combat. One
method seems to be if a famous ace claimed, credit him first, but I think
that's false accuracy.
An example, July 21 1951. Pepelyaev's unit claimed 7 F-94's; 1 to him generally said. They
actually engaged USMC F9F's. One F9F was lost, not more, unless there's clever
and extensive fraud in USMC records up to and including "Top Secret"
classification. I don't believe there is. Why should even the one be credited
to Pep rather than anyone else who claimed? He had gun camera film but it just
shows an F9F (not an F-94) breaking hard left in published frames of the
film. Unknowable,but treating as
"Pepelyaev's victory" is misleading, IMO. And more so if one article
says "Pepelyaev claimed an F-94 July 21 [US records indeed show at least 1 F9F
was lost]" and then another article about Boris Abakumov says "Abakumov
claimed x F-94's July 21 [US records indeed show at least 1 F9F
lost]".
Because that phenomenon recurs for the Russian
aces, at best a wide range is possible IMO for their scores in general. One
can theorize that as aces they were more accurate than lower scoring pilots
and so should get priority for credit for the actual US losses. Or one
could theorize the opposite: they had high scores partly because they were
bigger overclaimers.
One other point that list seems to be a multi
transliteration, does a number on the Chinese and Korean names. The more
common spelling of first three Chinese are Chao Bao-Tun, Wang Hai, and Li
Han. Other lists have several others of similar scores, somewhat academic
IMO.
On Korean side an early Yak pilot Kim Gi-Ok is
usually listed higher than the other two guys. The first on this list is
probably Kang Jung-Duk, I've never seen a correct name for the second. "Di
San" is not a Korean given name AFAIK. Kim Gi-Ok's actual victories are
quoted as high as 17 but couldn't have been more than a handful
really.
Joe
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 5:02
PM
Subject: Korea War List of Aces
I dug these
up..http://www.tgplanes.com/pilots.asp
Nicolai V.
Sutyagin
22
Korea USSR
Yevgeny
G.
Pepelyaev
19(23?)
Korea USSR
Alexandr
P.
Smortzkow
15
Korea USSR
L. K.
Schukin
15
Korea USSR
D. P.
Oskin
14(11?)
Korea USSR
M. S.
Ponomaryov
14(11?)
Korea USSR
S. M.
Kramarenko
13
Korea
USSR
Sutzkow
12
Korea USSR
N. K.
Sheberotov
12
Korea USSR
S. A.
Bakhayev
11
Korea USSR
N. G.
Dokashenko
11
Korea USSR
G. U.
Ohay
17(6 WW2)
Korea
USSR
Pomaz
11
Korea USSR
D. A.
Samoylov
10
Korea USSR
M. S.
Milaushkin
10
Korea USSR
G. I.
Pulov
10(8?)
Korea USSR
Mikhail
I.
Mihin
9
Korea USSR
S. P.
Subbotin
9
Korea USSR
H. V.
Zabelin
9
Korea USSR
G. I.
Ges
8(9?)
Korea USSR
S. A.
Fedorets
7(8?)
Korea USSR
N. N.
Babonin
7
Korea USSR
I. M.
Zaplavnev
7
Korea USSR
L. M.
Ivanov
7
Korea USSR
A. S.
Boitsov
6
Korea USSR
B. V.
Bokatz
6
Korea USSR
V. M.
Hvostontsev
6
Korea USSR
Nikolai
Ivanov
6
Korea USSR
A. P.
Nikolayev
6
Korea USSR
P. F.
Nikulin
6
Korea USSR
F. A.
Shebanov
6
Korea USSR
S. F.
Vesshnyakov
6
Korea USSR
N. M.
Zameskin
6
Korea USSR
B. S.
Abakumov
5
Korea USSR
A. T.
Bashman
5
Korea USSR
V. I.
Belousov
5
Korea USSR
G. N.
Berelidze
5
Korea USSR
G. I.
Bogdanov
5
Korea USSR
N. I.
Gerasimenko
5
Korea USSR
S. D.
Danilov
5
Korea USSR
G. F.
Dmitryuk
5
Korea USSR
Anatoli
M.
Karelin
5
Korea USSR
N. L.
Korniyenko
5
Korea USSR
A. M.
Kochegarov
5
Korea USSR
V. L.
Lepikov
5
Korea USSR
S. I.
Naumenko
5
Korea USSR
B. A.
Obraztsov
5
Korea
USSR
Olenitsa
5
Korea
USSR
Prudnikov
5
Korea USSR
B. N.
Siskov
5
Korea USSR
N. K.
Shelamanov
5
Korea USSR
N. I.
Shkodin
5(3?)
Korea
USSR
Joseph
McConnell
16
Korea USA
James
Jabara
16.5(1.5 WWII) Korea
USA
Manuel J.
Fernandez
14.5
Korea USA
George
Davis
Jr.
21(7 WWII)
Korea USA
Royal N.
Baker
16.5(3.5 WWII) Korea
USA
Fredrick
Blesse
10
Korea USA
Harold E.
Fischer
10
Korea USA
Vermont
Garrison
17.33(7.33 WWII) Korea
USA
James
Johnson
10(1 WWII)
Korea USA
Lonnie R.
Moore
10
Korea USA
Ralph S.
Parr
Jr.
10
Korea USA
Cecil G.
Foster
9
Korea USA
James F.
Low
9
Korea USA
James P.
Hagerstrom
14.5(6 WWII)
Korea USA
Robinson
Risner
8
Korea USA
George I.
Ruddell
8
Korea USA
Clifford
D.
Jolley
7
Korea USA
Francis
Gabreski
34.5(28 WWII)
Korea USA
Donald E.
Adams
6.5
Korea USA
Geroge L.
Jones
6.5
Korea USA
Winton W.
Marshall
6.5
Korea USA
John F.
Bolt
Jr.
12(6 WWII)
Korea USA
James H.
Kasler
6
Korea USA
Edwin L.
Heller
9(3.5 WWII)
Korea USA
William
T.
Whisner
21(15.5 WWII)
Korea USA
Robert P.
Baldwin
5
Korea USA
Richard
S.
Becker
5
Korea USA
Stephen
L.
Bettinger
5
Korea USA
John F.
Bolt
12(5 WWII)
Korea USA
Guy P.
Bordelon
5
Korea USA
Clyde A.
Curtin
5
Korea USA
Ralph D.
Gibson
5
Korea USA
Iven C.
Kinchloe
5(10?)
Korea USA
Robert T.
Latshaw
5
Korea USA
Robert H.
Moore
5
Korea USA
Dolphin
D. Overton
III
5
Korea USA
William
H.
Wescott
5
Korea USA
Guy
Bordelon
5
Korea USA
Harrison
R.
Thyng
10(5 WWII)
Korea USA
Philip E.
Colman
9(5 WWII)
Korea USA
Walker M.
Mahurin
23.5(20 WWII)
Korea USA
Van E.
Chandler
8(5 WWII)
Korea USA
John C.
Meyer
26(24 WWII)
Korea USA
John W.
Andre
5(4 WWII)
Korea USA
John W.
Mitchell
11(7 WWII)
Korea USA
Glenn T.
Eagleston
2(18.5 WWII)
Korea USA
Lowell K.
Brueland
12.5(10.5 WWII) Korea
USA
Philip Cunliffe De
Long
11.17(9.17 WWII) Korea USA
William J.
Hovde
10.5(9.5 WWII) Korea
USA
John J.
Hockery
7(6 WWII)
Korea USA
Robert
Wade
8(7.5 WWII)
Korea USA
Benjamin
H. Emmert
Jr.
6(5 WWII)
Korea USA
William
E.
Lamb
6(5 WWII)
Korea USA
James W.
Little
6(5 WWII)
Korea USA
Herman
W.
Visscher
6(5 WWII)
Korea USA
Dewey F.
Durnford
6.83(6.33 WWII) Korea
USA
John
MacKay
12.2(11.2 WWII) Korea
Canada
J.
Lindsay
9(7 WWII)
Korea
Canada
Chszao
Bao-tun
9
Korea China
Van
Hai
9
Korea China
Lee
Khan
8
Korea China
Lu
Min
8
Korea China
Fan
Vanchszou
8
Korea China
Sun
Shanku
6
Korea
China
Kam Den
Dek
8
Korea North
Korea
Kim Di
San
6
Korea North
Korea