Crimson Sky: The Air Battle for Korea. . - Net Assessment - book review

Air & Space Power Journal,  Winter, 2002  by Kevin D. Smith

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Crimson Sky: The Air Battle for Korea by John R. Bruning. Brassey's Inc. (http://www.brasseysinc.com), 22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, Virginia 20166, 2000, 224 pages, $18.95 (softcover).

In Crimson Sky, John R. Bruning gives us a glimpse into the lives of US Air Force and Navy pilots who fought against North Korean, Chinese, and Soviet pilots during the Korean War (1950-53). At its heart, the book is about people rather than the strategy and tactics they used. The author's research and interviews with Korean War veterans and their families allow him to describe in detail many different individuals and their actions in 20 of the most interesting aerial operations during the war. These include the first kill by an American jet fighter and the first combat search and rescue mission by a helicopter. Bruning also answers many of the questions regarding the involvement of the Soviet Union in this conflict.

Although Crimson Sky covers some of the classic F-86 and MiG-15 battles over MiG Alley, it delves further into many of the lesser known, but no less important, aspects of the air battle over Korea. Bruning does an excellent job of detailing just how rapidly aerial combat changed between World War II and the Korean War. Fighters and bombers that were the best in the air in 1945 found themselves outclassed by the new jet aircraft in 1950. Particularly interesting is the fact that aircraft from three different eras of aviation all flew and fought in Korea--propeller-driven biplanes from the 1920s, fighters and bombers from World War II, and the first generation of jet aircraft.

My one criticism is that, rather than describing the aerial battles in chronological order, some chapters present an air battle from the perspective of one unit and then again from that of a different unit--a technique that I found rather disjointed. Nevertheless, Crimson Sky should be a welcome addition to any collection on the history of military aviation. I recommend it to anyone interested in the personal stories, rather than technical details, of the air battles in the Korean War.

COPYRIGHT 2002 U.S. Air Force
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