Description
Title: Lion Over Korea – 77 Fighter Squadron RAAF 1950 – 53
Author: Wilson, David
Condition: Very Good +
Edition: 1st Edition
Publication Date: 1994
ISBN: 1875593020
Cover: Hard Cover with Dust Jacket – 215 pages
Comments: An action-packed story of the men of the RAAF’s No 77 fighter squadron, the only RAAF squadron to take part in the Korean War; initially with propeller driven World War II vintage mustangs which were replaced by meteor jet fighters when the Chinese, with their MiG 15s, entered the war.
In June 1950, No 77 Squadron RAAF was in Japan, packed up and ready to go home. Instead, they went to Korea, flying Mustang fighters as part of a UN force aiding South Korea fight invading communists from the north. Early flights helped hold the crucial Pusan Perimeter, after which they moved north to fight both the enemy and the deep cold of the Korean winter.
When Chinese MiG-15 jet fighters entered the war the squadron re-equipped with twin-jet Meteors. The MiGs were controlled by Russian fighter experts who targeted the Meteors, driving them out of ‘MiG Alley’. Adopting ground attack with rockets as their main role, they still fought MiGs, ending the war with a five-all draw. It was valuable but very dangerous work and squadron pilots faced a one in four chance of death or capture for much of the war.
