Thread by @cqc_coffee_guns

Almost 65 years ago, Sept. 24th 1958, F-86 Sabres of RoCAF shot down 10 PLAAF MiG-17 Frescos in a single day.

MiG-17 jets flying at higher altitude & speed, supposedly immune to attack, suddenly found itself at the mercy of Taiwanese Sabres. The reason was the AIM-9 sidewinder.

A bit of background.

Around 1958, the PRC started building up its forces adjacent to Taiwan, while the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet patrolled the waters in the area.

In July, a ROCAF F-86 got shot down by a flight of PLAAF MiGs which forced ROCAF to step up patrols over the Strait.

ROCAF recon flights revealed an increased deployment of PLA MiGs on airfields within reach of Taiwan.

The aircraft comprised of the Soviet built MiG-15bis, the improved MiG-17F & also the J-5, a Chinese-built version of the MiG-17.

By August of 1958, the situation escalated, with the PLA launching massive artillery strikes on Kinmen and Matsu Islands, while ROCAF F-86s kept clashing with PLA MiGs over the Strait.

Soviet-made MiG-17 jets had an advantage over the F-86s, with a higher service ceiling and higher max speed. It also included an afterburner for extra thrust on demand.

The result was that the Taiwanese jets frequently failed to get within gun range of the PLAAF fighters.

These made US to hastily retrofit Taiwanese Sabres with the AIM-9 sidewinder missiles.

Taiwan was the first country to gets it’s hand on these revolutionary AA missiles. This gave a significant advantage to the Taiwanese pilots which they exploited to the fullest.

Sept 24th 1958, 4 RoCAF F-86Fs armed with sidewinders were flying top cover for an RF-84F recon jet when they spotted & engaged a flight of MiG-17s.

By the end of the day, 10 MiG-17s were shot down. This would be the world’s first successful use of air to air missile in combat.

Although one missile which hit a Chinese MiG-17 failed to explode and got stuck in the airframe.

This missile was passed to Soviets who examined it & were stunned by the innovative weapon system.

Soon it was reverse engineered, resulting in R-3 air to air missile, also known as K-13.

An interesting article on how KGB sent the missile to USSR

nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/…

According to Western & Taiwanese accounts, a total of 31 MiGs were shot down by ROCAF F-86s during the 1958 crisis, for the loss of only 2 F-86s in return.

Taiwan managed to fend off the attacks by PRC. The appearance of the Sidewinder was a total surprise for the PRC.

Here is a old video from 1958 showing Taiwanese forces during the Second Taiwan Strait crisis.



For more info on this-

taipeitimes.com/News/feat/arch…

thedrive.com/the-war-zone/4…

#Taiwan #PRC #RoCAF

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