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Sabres, MiGs and Meteors: The Air War Over Korea
From acclaimed aviation historian Michael Napier, this is a highly illustrated survey of the air war over Korea.
The aerial aspect of the Korean War was the first large-scale combat between high-performance jet aircraft. It marked the transition between the piston-engined aircraft of WW2 and the jet aircraft of modern times and it established tactics and doctrine that are still valid today.
There have been no major accounts written about the air war over Korea for about 20 years and those that were written in earlier decades have tended to describe only one side or aspect of the conflict. Sabres, MiGs and Meteors draws all the threads together to provide a comprehensive account of the Air War over Korea, including the parts played by the North Korean, Chinese and Soviet air forces as well as the US Air Force, US Navy, US Marine Corps and the air forces of the UK (including the Fleet Air Arm), Australia, Canada and South Africa.
The book examines the course of the Korean War chronologically, following the course of the major campaigns of the land war. It begins with the initial operations by the North Korean People's Army Air Force (KPAF) and continues with details of the campaigns and sorties by the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF), the USAF fighter, ground attack and interdiction units, as well as the USN, RN and USMC (and later RAN) units of the naval Task Force 77. It also looks at flying boat operations by the RAF and USN will be covered. As the war developed, reinforcements came from the USA, Australia and South Africa on one side and China and the USSR on the other and US forces were also augmented by aircrew from both the UK and Canada. The introduction of the MiG-15 in late 1950 was countered by the F-86 and the story of jet versus jet combat became a central theme of the conflict over Korea. However, the air war was also notable for the introduction of the Forward Air Controller (known in Korea as 'Mosquito') who directed air attacks close to the front line and the widespread use of Napalm. The parts played by each participating unit are described in detail both in the context of the war in general and of the air campaign in particular.
The aerial aspect of the Korean War was the first large-scale combat between high-performance jet aircraft. It marked the transition between the piston-engined aircraft of WW2 and the jet aircraft of modern times and it established tactics and doctrine that are still valid today.
There have been no major accounts written about the air war over Korea for about 20 years and those that were written in earlier decades have tended to describe only one side or aspect of the conflict. Sabres, MiGs and Meteors draws all the threads together to provide a comprehensive account of the Air War over Korea, including the parts played by the North Korean, Chinese and Soviet air forces as well as the US Air Force, US Navy, US Marine Corps and the air forces of the UK (including the Fleet Air Arm), Australia, Canada and South Africa.
The book examines the course of the Korean War chronologically, following the course of the major campaigns of the land war. It begins with the initial operations by the North Korean People's Army Air Force (KPAF) and continues with details of the campaigns and sorties by the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF), the USAF fighter, ground attack and interdiction units, as well as the USN, RN and USMC (and later RAN) units of the naval Task Force 77. It also looks at flying boat operations by the RAF and USN will be covered. As the war developed, reinforcements came from the USA, Australia and South Africa on one side and China and the USSR on the other and US forces were also augmented by aircrew from both the UK and Canada. The introduction of the MiG-15 in late 1950 was countered by the F-86 and the story of jet versus jet combat became a central theme of the conflict over Korea. However, the air war was also notable for the introduction of the Forward Air Controller (known in Korea as 'Mosquito') who directed air attacks close to the front line and the widespread use of Napalm. The parts played by each participating unit are described in detail both in the context of the war in general and of the air campaign in particular.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published March 23, 2021
11 people want to read
About the author
Michael Napier
26 books2 followersMichael Napier qualified as an RAF strike/attack pilot in 1985 and was based in Germany during the Cold War. He flew operations over Iraq after the first Gulf War and left the RAF in 1997 for a second career as an airline pilot. He has written articles for various aviation magazines including Flypast and The Aviation Historian as well as numerous books for Osprey focusing on modern airpower.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
research
February 20, 2021For the first time, my arc requests have crossed paths with my research needs. HUZZAH! I'm definitely going to be coming back to this one as I dip in and out of research books to read relevant sections and return to passages later.
I don't know much about aviation history, as gender studies is my jam (and focus), but I really love illustrated history books and seeing different perspectives is always important. We can all agree that history books with pictures and illustrations and maps are awesome, right? \o/
The photographs in this are simply stunning, by the by. Old photography was so cool, man. And all the archival pictures really makes me miss going to the archives ;_; Bloody pandemic!!
➵ thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review ♡
I don't know much about aviation history, as gender studies is my jam (and focus), but I really love illustrated history books and seeing different perspectives is always important. We can all agree that history books with pictures and illustrations and maps are awesome, right? \o/
The photographs in this are simply stunning, by the by. Old photography was so cool, man. And all the archival pictures really makes me miss going to the archives ;_; Bloody pandemic!!
➵ thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review ♡
February 20, 2022
In America, we love reading about wars that we won. We’re talking those times U.S. soldiers went in, guns blazing, and fought the evil cartoonishly scary bad guys for freedom! This, of course, is basically describing how many people see World War II, and a lot of it ends there for the simple reason being that we haven’t really “won” a war ever since. That’s not even how WWII was, but that’s another discussion altogether. Perhaps the most overlooked of these post-WWII military conflicts is The Korean War. Long ignored by pretty much everyone, and usually even further brushed away as a “police operation”, it exists to many only in MASH reruns late at night on network television.
I have a sincere interest in learning about The Korean War because my own grandfather served in The United Sates Army during the war, and hope this book is the first step of many of me growing my knowledge of it. Even more obscure than the war itself is an entire book about Korean War air power, and that’s the topic for today. Korean Air War – Sabres, MiGs and Meteors, 1950–53 by Michael Napier pulls together more information than I ever expected on that topic, showing that the origins of air combat, as we know it today, started in those early 1950’s skies over Korea.
I think one of the more interesting parts of the book was reading about some of the growing pains involved in the switchover from propeller based planes to jet planes during the war. At times, many of the parallel-developed planes from various countries had similar shapes and colors resulting in many cases of unfortunate friendly fire and other accidents. Pilots were still not used to the power of such planes, and many early dogfights were won by antiquated World War II planes.
The book does a great job of giving a broad overall history of the war itself, and is perhaps one of the most well-researched aviation books I’ve ever read. It can get a bit repetitive at times, but honestly, there’s only so many ways you can describe an airplane battle so I wasn’t worried about it. I feel like I now need to search out a solid book on the ground offensive, and I might have a working knowledge of the war far surpassing most of my peers. Great book overall, solid for aviation, military, and history buffs.
I have a sincere interest in learning about The Korean War because my own grandfather served in The United Sates Army during the war, and hope this book is the first step of many of me growing my knowledge of it. Even more obscure than the war itself is an entire book about Korean War air power, and that’s the topic for today. Korean Air War – Sabres, MiGs and Meteors, 1950–53 by Michael Napier pulls together more information than I ever expected on that topic, showing that the origins of air combat, as we know it today, started in those early 1950’s skies over Korea.
I think one of the more interesting parts of the book was reading about some of the growing pains involved in the switchover from propeller based planes to jet planes during the war. At times, many of the parallel-developed planes from various countries had similar shapes and colors resulting in many cases of unfortunate friendly fire and other accidents. Pilots were still not used to the power of such planes, and many early dogfights were won by antiquated World War II planes.
The book does a great job of giving a broad overall history of the war itself, and is perhaps one of the most well-researched aviation books I’ve ever read. It can get a bit repetitive at times, but honestly, there’s only so many ways you can describe an airplane battle so I wasn’t worried about it. I feel like I now need to search out a solid book on the ground offensive, and I might have a working knowledge of the war far surpassing most of my peers. Great book overall, solid for aviation, military, and history buffs.
April 18, 2021
A great read for aviation lovers and military history buffs. The book is thoroughly researched and covers a significant, but little known, air war between North and South Korea.
One of the most interesting aspects the author has covered is the transition from propellor to jet-powered aircraft. Both aircraft types had a significant role to play trading off the high speed and short range of a jet, against the relatively low speed and long-range of propellor-driven aircraft.
The author discusses the fact that the first three air kills by the US was by a propellor-driven aircraft, the F82 Twin Mustang - one of the most unusual aircraft developed during WW2. As an aside, the only surviving aircraft of this type was recently up for sale for $12 million!
The Korean War was perhaps the first post-WW2 proxy war between the US and the USSR, with a number of countries participating, including North & South Korea, China, South Africa, the UK, and Australia.. From a military history perspective, the collection of photographs were amazing and brought the air war to life.
My only criticism is that the book could have been improved by more personal stories from the participants.
One of the most interesting aspects the author has covered is the transition from propellor to jet-powered aircraft. Both aircraft types had a significant role to play trading off the high speed and short range of a jet, against the relatively low speed and long-range of propellor-driven aircraft.
The author discusses the fact that the first three air kills by the US was by a propellor-driven aircraft, the F82 Twin Mustang - one of the most unusual aircraft developed during WW2. As an aside, the only surviving aircraft of this type was recently up for sale for $12 million!
The Korean War was perhaps the first post-WW2 proxy war between the US and the USSR, with a number of countries participating, including North & South Korea, China, South Africa, the UK, and Australia.. From a military history perspective, the collection of photographs were amazing and brought the air war to life.
My only criticism is that the book could have been improved by more personal stories from the participants.
April 19, 2021
Michael Napier has thoroughly and fairly covered the air battles of the Korean Air War. Covering not just the US side but also those of America's allies and the North Korean-Chinese-Russian side, this book is a must have for aviation history buffs. Many good rare historical pictures also..
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews