The Battle of Sunchon was an air battle fought near the city of Sunchon, North Korea on 1 December 1951, during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Up to 14

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...

jets of the

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

's No. 77 Squadron were attacked by at least 20

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

s of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

's 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (''176 GIAP'').Doug Hurst, 2008, ''The Forgotten Few: 77 RAAF Squadron in Korea''. Sydney; Allen & Unwin, p. 171Igor Seidov & Stuart Britton, 2014, ''Red Devils over the Yalu: A Chronicle of Soviet Aerial Operations in the Korean War, 1950–53'', Solihull, England; Helion & Company, pp. 272–276. The MiGs carried

Chinese air force The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...

markings, as the USSR was not officially a combatant in the Korean War. Its experience in the battle led to No. 77 Squadron's being redeployed to ground attack duties. No. 77 Squadron was engaged in an offensive sweep, at 19,000 feet (5,800 metres) when the action commenced, at about 0900 hours. During the ensuing 10 minute action, air combat ranged across North Korean air space, at altitudes of 20,000 to 33,000 feet (6,100 to 10,000 metres). Pilots on both sides were veterans of World War II, with several years experience flying fighters. However, the Meteor was a World War II-era design that was outclassed by the new MiG-15. Soviet pilots, according to the RAAF, destroyed three Meteors. A total of nine kill claims were made by Soviet pilots, including one by a future ace, Captain Sergei Kramarenko. Officially, no aircraft from ''176 GIAP'' were lost on this occasion, according to Soviet records. Lieutenant Stepa Kirichenko reportedly lost control of his MiG, but recovered at an altitude of about 500 metres and returned to base. Flying Officer Bruce Gogerly claimed hits on two MiGs and RAAF records claimed one MiG destroyed and one damaged or "probable". Two Australian pilots, Flying Officer Bruce Thompson and Pilot Officer

Vance Drummond Vance Drummond, (22 February 1927 – 17 May 1967) was a New Zealand–born Australian pilot who fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He initially saw service in the New Zealand military, but joined the Royal Australian Air Force in ...

managed to eject and landed in North Korea where they became prisoners of war, while Pilot Officer E. D. (Don) Armit was reported missing in action, presumed killed.Coulthard-Clark 1998, p. 268. This encounter, along with previous actions between the Meteors and MiGs, highlighted the inferiority of the Meteor in aerial combat against the newer Soviet aircraft and No. 77 Squadron was subsequently reassigned to ground attack. It was also the only engagement during the course of the war in which Australia and the Soviet Union directly clashed in battle.

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References

External links

Soviet Pilots in KoreaADF Serials website
1951 in aviation Air-to-air combat operations and battles Battles of the Korean War Battles of the Korean War involving Australia Australia–Soviet Union relations Gloster Meteor December 1951 events in Asia Battles and operations of the Korean War in 1951 Battles of the Korean War involving China Battles of the Korean War involving the Soviet Union Aerial operations and battles of the Korean War {{Korea-War-stub