F-86A Sabre: Korea 1950–51 (Dogfight, 4)

This well-written Osprey Dogfight series book takes a close look at aerial combat in Korea during 1950-51. The emphasis is on the fighting near the Yalu River, the boundary between North Korea and China. Of interest, the passage of time has provided much more information on the Soviet Mig-15 pilots whom the U.S. pilots have long suspected they were facing.Facing competing requirements, the U.S. Air Force never managed to deploy large numbers of F-86 fighters to the Korean theater. Many of the F-86s in theater were flown by new pilots. Just to add interest, the F-86s fighting near the Yalu were at the limit of their range, while Mig-15s were flying out of airfields in adjacent (and out of bounds) Manchuria. Nevertheless, the author establishes that the F-86s achieved hard-fought favorable ratios in combat.The narrative has lots of details about the aircraft, the pilots, and the missions. The text is nicely supported by period photographs and modern illustrations and air combat diagrams. Well recommended to students of the air war during the Korean War.

While I was aware of many of the things touch upon in this book. It goes a long way to fleshing out what I knew or thought I knew. For one thing I wasn't aware of just how few F-86s there really were in the war. the comparison to the MiG-15 was very informative. I also found that reading about the F-86 from the Russian side of the conflict very enlightening.

Always a great read on the early months over MiG Alley!

These Dogfight books have all been good so far. The authors really dive into the details of these air combats.

An informative paperback on one of the two Korean air war combatants. The other was the Russian built MIG-15. Easy to read texts and enough black and white photos. Affordable price.