The real-life Maverick who took on 7 Soviet jets in a classified Korean War dogfight

[DGUtley]

The real-life Maverick who took on 7 Soviet jets in a classified Korean War dogfight

The existence of the improbable dogfight remained under wraps for decades, yet the details of what happened are the stuff of legends.


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On Nov. 18, 1952, during the Korean War, Navy Lt. Royce Williams, along with three other pilots from his fighter squadron, VF-781, launched from the USS Oriskany into the stormy skies over the Sea of Japan. There were more than 250,000 sorties flown by the Navy during the conflict, but the ensuing engagement would end in one of the great feats of aerial combat, even if it was covered up for decades due to the tense political environment of the Cold War.
On this mission, Williams squared off against seven pilots from the Soviet Air Force, flying one of the most advanced jet fighters of the time, and walked away with three confirmed kills and one probable that was later confirmed. While Williams kept the incident under wraps at the behest of the Navy, there is now an effort underway to see him awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day. And while Top Gun: Maverick is in the news these days for breaking box office records, this is the actual story of one real-life Maverick and a dogfight that would seem improbable if it hadn’t actually happened.

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https://taskandpurpose.com/history/r...fighter-pilot/

[carolina73]

So what do you report back to Stalin. Surely you can't tell him that one American took half of the squadron out.

[DGUtley]

That would earn you a trip to Siberia