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at the end of 1944, the us military sent b-29s to take off from saipan to bomb japan. because the distance is too far, there are no fighter jets that can escort the whole journey.

therefore, the u.s. army aviation needs a long-range fighter, preferably one that takes off from saipan together with the bomber, with two pilots taking turns flying it to reduce the burden.

▲the u.s. air force envisions using p-82s to escort b-29s, which can fully meet the huge range.

there were two aircraft options available at the time: the p-61e and the p-82 twin mustang. the latter was developed from the p-51d and looks like two p-51ds, with the middle wing and horizontal tail connected.

in fact, the p-82 is a brand-new design. the longer fuselage accommodates a large-capacity fuel tank. with auxiliary fuel tanks, the range can exceed 3,200 kilometers.

six 12.7mm machine guns are installed on the middle wing, which has very concentrated firepower. the outer wings can carry auxiliary fuel tanks or bombs. as soon as possible, it adopts a twin-fuselage configuration, but it is very fast and has excellent maneuverability.

▲structure diagram of the p-82. two pilots can take turns flying the aircraft to reduce the burden. the huge fuselage can accommodate large fuel tanks and has a range of more than 3,200 kilometers.

in august 1945, japan announced its surrender and the us military canceled a large number of fighter contracts. however, the p-82e could still be produced and converted into an all-weather fighter.

the top brass of the u.s. military plans to use the p-82 to escort the b-36 bombers. it is the only propeller aircraft that can keep up with this giant bomber. the u.s. military bases in japan and okinawa were the first units to receive the p-82.

in 1947, the united states air force was established. in mid-1949, the 4th fighter squadron in okinawa and the 68th and 339th fighter squadrons in japan received f-82g all-weather fighters.

the right side of the f-82g is a radar observer. in order to prevent signal interference from the propeller, a huge radar pod is mounted under the middle wing.

▲the f-82g fighter jet has a huge radar pod in the middle to avoid interference from the propeller. on the right side of the aircraft is the radar observer's seat.

on june 25, 1950, the korean war broke out. at this time, the three f-82g squadrons of the us military were fully manned and ready to attack at any time.

although the f-80 fighter jet was the backbone of the us military in the far east at that time, it had to take off from japan, which severely affected combat time. therefore, the only one suitable for long-range combat was the f-82g.

at that time, the north korean air force was equipped with a large number of soviet-made yak and la series fighter jets, as well as some il-10 attack aircraft and other models. for the us military, this is a big threat.

▲the il-10 attack aircraft of the north korean air force. the il-10 attack aircraft made its first flight on april 18, 1944 and was put into mass production in august. it still maintains the aerodynamic shape and geometric dimensions of the il-2, but has changed it has an all-metal structure, reinforced armor, and a more powerful engine to increase its flight speed.

the 68th squadron is stationed at the air force base in fukuoka, japan, the closest to north korea, but it has insufficient troops. so the 339th and 4th squadrons mobilized some f-82g reinforcements. at this time, there are 35 f-82gs in the theater, 27 of which can perform missions at any time.

on the night of the war on june 25, f-82g pilot lieutenant george deans and radar observer lieutenant marvin olson performed the first air mission of the korean war.

lieutenant deans recalled: "the weather in korea and the sea of ​​japan was terrible, and the radar detected an unknown target heading straight from korea to kyushu. after receiving the alert, we scrambled to intercept it."

"it was later found out that it was an sb-17 aircraft of the 3rd rescue squadron. in order to prevent the enemy from attacking, the pilots were ready for combat at any time."

▲the sb-17 rescue aircraft of the u.s. air force, pay attention to the rescue equipment under the belly.

early the next morning, lieutenant deans, lieutenant olson's crew, and lieutenant william hudson's crew conducted a combat patrol over the inchon area.

the weather in the incheon area is still bad, with cloud height below 1,000 meters. two f-82gs are mainly on alert over the roads in seoul and incheon.

on june 26, the f-82g encountered several north korean aircraft over seoul. a yak fighter fired at an f-82g of the 68th squadron, but missed. the two sides did not engage in combat for too long before disengagement, because they both had to cover their respective ground targets.

▲u.s. marines inspect an abandoned north korean yak-9 fighter jet.

on june 27th and 29th, il-10s of the north korean air force, escorted by yak-9s, yak-11s and la-7s, bombed seoul's gimpo airport.

f-80s and f-82gs patrolling the area participated in the battle. us pilots claimed to have shot down 7 enemy planes on the 27th and 5 on the 29th, without any losses. the f-82g shot down the first three: one yak-11 and two la-7s.

at noon on june 27, five north korean fighter jets attacked a four-plane f-82g formation. the pilot, lieutenant charlie moran, noticed the danger when he fired at the aircraft and quickly pushed to avoid it.

▲ lieutenant moran’s f-82g after returning home. note that the tail was damaged. it was injured by a sneak attack by a north korean fighter jet, but it did not affect the subsequent battle.

all f-82gs threw away their auxiliary fuel tanks and prepared for battle. the pilot, lieutenant skeet hudson, pushed the throttle to the maximum, first used high speed to get rid of the enemy plane, ran far away, and then turned around to fight back.

lieutenant carl fraser, the radar observer on the right, recalled: "the north korean army has approached seoul, and our task is to cover the c-47s and c-54s taking off and landing at gimpo airport."

"i saw lieutenant moran's plane being attacked by enemy planes, but fortunately it missed. the five enemy planes did not engage with us and instead attacked the transport aircraft that was taking off and landing."

"this is a good opportunity. the north korean pilots were not very vigilant. they thought we were beaten away. in fact, we came back in a circle."

▲two f-82g crew members surround a shirtless intelligence agent. the two on the left are lieutenant moran and lieutenant fred larkins, and the two on the right are hudson and fraser.

pilot lieutenant hudson quickly approached a yak-11. when the north korean pilot discovered the threat behind him and wanted to climb out in an emergency, it was already too late. the f-82g's six 12.7mm machine guns fired a salvo, hitting the tail and fuselage.

the yak-11 turned sharply to the right. lieutenant hudson held on tight and fired again, hitting its right wing and setting one of its fuel tanks on fire. two seconds later, the right aileron and flap fell off, almost hitting the f-82g behind.

the two planes were very close, radar observer lieutenant fraser recalled: "i clearly saw the north korean pilot looking back to check the situation in the back seat, which appeared to be dead."

"then the north korean pilot opened the canopy and parachuted to escape. we circled and observed the parachuting pilot. he did not surrender after landing. instead, he exchanged fire with nearby south korean soldiers and was killed as expected."

▲the downed yak-11 aircraft captured by fraser can clearly see the north korean military emblem and the observer in the rear cabin.

while the crews of hudson and fraser were observing the parachuting pilot, lieutenant moran successfully counterattacked and killed a la-7 fighter jet over gimpo airport.

both of these results were achieved over gimpo airport. there were a large number of witnesses and no camera gun was needed to confirm. shortly after lieutenant moran shot down the la-7, the f-82g of the 339th squadron shot down another la-7.

these battles are fought at low altitudes, leaving little room for error. in the battle further north, two f-82gs of the 339th squadron encountered north korean fighter jets.

▲the f-82g dropped its auxiliary fuel tanks and prepared for an air battle with the north korean air force fighter jets.

capt. david trexler, whose two-plane formation engaged the yak for several minutes, recalled: "the wingman attacked the nearest enemy aircraft, and the yak immediately turned left and hit the muzzle of my gun."

"i fired tentatively at a distance of about 900 meters, and the enemy plane suddenly turned right and dived. i continued to follow him and fired a second time, and the enemy plane turned and fled again."

"both aircraft were in a full-throttle dive, and the speedometer showed that they had reached 680km/h. i zoomed in to about 300 meters and fired for the third time, and it seemed to hit the target."

"i saw the enemy plane perform a breaking s maneuver and plunge into the clouds below. i immediately stopped pursuing because there were some mountain peaks protruding from the clouds. the terrain below was unknown and there was a high possibility of crashing into the mountains."

captain trexler did not see the yak crash and reported it as a possible downing. the f-80 fighters achieved 4 victories that day. due to their limited endurance, the f-80s had to take turns.

▲f-82g damaged a north korean fighter jet. because the terrain below was unclear, captain trexler did not follow rashly.

because the north korean air force is too weak and the frequency of sorties is not high, the u.s. air force has few opportunities to engage in combat, and the 4th squadron's combat time is also very short.

lieutenant colonel john sharp, who led a "provisional mixed squadron" of three f-82g squadrons, planned a night mission on july 4, but for the first time, a crew member was killed during this mission.

that night captain warren foley and crew ernest fibercom sortied out to scout for enemy ground movements.

after arriving at the fighting area, wingman captain fibercom tried to conduct reconnaissance under the clouds. after a few minutes, contact with his f-82g was lost. captain fibercom was an ace pilot in world war ii and achieved 9.5 victory points.

▲f-82g fighter jets of the 4th squadron off okinawa. in the early days of the korean war, the f-82g "mixed squadron" was commanded by lieutenant colonel sharp.

captain foley was always looking for his wingman and did not return until the fuel warning. captain foley reported that the clouds over the battle area were beginning to disperse, allowing for a night attack.

lieutenant colonel sharp decided to attack personally, with eight rockets mounted under the wings of his f-82g. he found the road 30 kilometers south of the 38th parallel filled with cars, most likely north korean troops.

to be on the safe side, lieutenant colonel sharp continued to fly north until he was sure that it was the territory of the north korean army. they spotted a convoy and destroyed several cars.

the u.s. military's air superiority could not stop the korean army on the ground. by august, the 68th squadron was the only f-82g squadron that insisted on attacking.

▲in november 1950, an f-82g prepared to perform a ground attack mission. pay attention to the rockets on the ground and the bombs mounted on the wings. the pilot was lieutenant hudson.

on august 7, lieutenant moran and his radar observer francis meyer, who had shot down the la-7, disappeared during a night mission without any radio messages.

it was not until the incheon landing in mid-september that the u.s. military discovered the wreckage of lieutenant moran's plane in a valley. this f-82g probably discovered the north korean troops on the road in the valley, but hit a cable and crashed during the attack.

at the end of 1950, the f-82g no longer performed combat missions and was responsible for weather reconnaissance over north korea. a pilot once flew from the mouth of the yalu river to vladivostok and then returned to gimpo airport.

at the end of 1951, the 68th squadron still had 8 f-82gs in service. by march of the following year, these aircraft were withdrawn from active service.

▲the f-82g of the 68th squadron prepares to take off from an airstrip in south korea. pay attention to the "oil picker" aircraft on the side.

the f-82 is a model that connects the past and the future. with its huge range and bomb load, it was able to find the right position in the early days of the korean war and achieved some results.