The
S.A.A.F. entered the air war fray on November 16 of 1950. With No. 2
“Flying Cheetah’s” flying their Mustangs into airfield K-9 at Pusan.
The unit joined the
18th FBW as it made its move into North Korea and was therefore
attached to the 18th FBW for the duration of the war. The
Cheetah’s flew with great courage and bombing accuracy contributing to
the 18th’s overall effectiveness. Many F-51’s suffered
heavy battle damage and were able to fly or glide back to friendly
territory crash landing their fighters. U.S. ground crews were
always available to assist the South Africans with repairs. SAAF records
show 95 Mustangs were bought; with 74 lost to all causes… the greatest
cost were the 34 pilots killed or MIA.
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Conversion
to the F-86F
In
December of 1952 the “Cheetah’s” turned in there Mustangs at
Kisarazu AB. Starting in January new F-86-30’s arrived however initially
flying dual-controlled T-33’s until its pilots were considered ready to
solo. By March
31 the “Cheetah’s” received all there Sabres and once all squadron
pilots had soloed, the first order of business was to master
fighter-interceptor tactics. Maintenance
of the Sabres was truly a UN effort with all three squadron crewman
assisting each other. The “Cheetah’s” participated in the massive
May Day raid against the Pyongyang radio tower.
The SAAF
Sabres had the tri-colored chevron of the 18th FBW in the
colors of there air force.
The
F-51D is a 1/48 Hasegawa kit. It was an easy build, painted with Testors silver
spray paint. I utilized the kit decals which are a bit inaccurate, only in color
where the red should have been SAAF orange. This represents in 1952, No. 2
Squadrons #361
“Miss
Marunouchi” carrying rockets and napalm.
The
F-86F-30 is a 1/48 Academy kit. Was an easy build, although you have to mind the
fit as you marry both fuselage haves, watch it behind the cockpit. Secondly if
you like them buttoned up, you can get a better fit of the machine gun panels by
gluing the machine guns in place first. This will give you overall support of
the panel from sinking into the panel cut-out. Used the AreoMaster 48-711 SAAF
Sabres. This is from 1952 at
Osan
AB
, No 2 Squadron, “#611”,
“F”, “Danny Boy”. The SAAF orange is correct on these decals.
References:
-
Hasegawa Instruction Sheet
-
Osprey
Front Line Color #1 – F-51 Mustang Units over Korea
-
Osprey
Front Line Color #2 – F-86 Sabre Fighter-Bomber Units over Korea
Mark
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