Korean War Air-Ground Glossary
Letters: A-Al ♦ Am-Az ♦ B-Bi ♦ Bi-Bz ♦ C-Cl♦ Co-Cz ♦ D ♦ E ♦ F-Fl ♦ Fm-Fz ♦ G ♦ Ha-Hf ♦ Hg-Hz ♦ I ♦ J ♦ K ♦ L ♦ M-Me ♦ Mf-Mz ♦ N ♦ O ♦ Pa-Pi ♦ Pj-Pz ♦ Q ♦ Ra-Ri ♦ Rj-Rz ♦ Sa-Sh ♦ Si-Sz ♦ Ta-Tg ♦ Th-Tz ♦ U ♦ V ♦ W ♦ X ♦ Y ♦ Z
Note: the Korean-War Air-Ground Glossary is under construction. New pages and images are being added daily. Find terms or phrases more easily by using the Google Search Engine above. Click on the Truckbusters From Dogpatch web site button.We welcome your suggestions for new slang or terms from the Korean War. Use the Contact link above to submit your term.
The Korean War Air Combat Glossary includes military terms, slang and definitions used by the Korean War veterans to whom Truckbusters From Dogpatch is dedicated.
To help establish additional military and air force history resources about the so-called "Forgotten War," the Glossary also includes biographical information, Korean War stories and photographs of many leaders of the 18th Fighter-Wing, Fifth Air Force and other senior military leaders whose decisions affected the missions and operations of the 18th Wing, 18th Fighter-Bomber Group and the Wing's associated squadrons. The Glossary includes many photographs and video of 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing Korean War air combat operations when they were flying the P-51 Mustang and the F-86 Sabrejet aircraft.
The list includes the names and where known, biographical information about those pilots and Airmen who lost their lives during 37 months of Korean War combat. The information is far from complete and will certainly be expanded through the efforts of the 18th Fighter Bomber Wing Association and others.
The names of Two Squadron, South African Air Force (SAAF) fliers are also included.
Information on American pilots is drawn from the files of the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing Association, family records and recollections, and, where possible, from unit history reports. Sadly, even the unit histories were often incomplete or hasty in recording the status or circumstances of a pilot and his loss to the unit. When the unit history does mention the pilot, however briefly, that notation is included.
Excerpted from over 3,500 terms and definitions found in Truckbusters From Dogpatch
Letters: A-Al ♦ Am-Az ♦ B-Bi ♦ Bi-Bz ♦ C-Cl♦ Co-Cz ♦ D ♦ E ♦ F-Fl ♦ Fm-Fz ♦ G ♦ Ha-Hf ♦ Hg-Hz ♦ I ♦ J ♦ K ♦ L ♦ M-Me ♦ Mf-Mz ♦ N ♦ O ♦ Pa-Pi ♦ Pj-Pz ♦ Q ♦ Ra-Ri ♦ Rj-Rz ♦ Sa-Sh ♦ Si-Sz ♦ Ta-Tg ♦ Th-Tz ♦ U ♦ V ♦ W ♦ X ♦ Y ♦ Z
- Ha-Hf -
H/A (S) - High Angle Strafe
H-19 - Helicopter
H-5 - Helicopter
HAB - High Angle Bomb
Major James Hagerstrom, Commander, 67th Fighter-Bomber Squadron uses pilot hand gestures to show how he positioned his F-86 Sabrejet behind a Mig-15 prior to shooting it down during the Korean War.
Hagerstrom, Maj. James P. - Major Hagerstrom assumed command of the 67th Squadron on 3 February 1953, succeeding Major Max J. King, and “started the transition program to train pilots to fly the F-86 Sabre jets. “The transition in a combat zone was very difficult and with only a few experienced jet pilots, was accomplished very efficiently,” the 67th reported. “The Squadron received very few of the new F-86 aircraft and time was critical. Most of the pilots had never flown a jet aircraft and this made the job seem almost impossible.” On 25 February 1953, the 67th flew its first combat mission in the F-86F type aircraft was flown by 18th FBW pilots during a four plane flight on a Yalu sweep. Major Hagerstrom, Commander of the 67th Squadron and flight leader, “shot down one MIG-15 type aircraft,” the Group reported. Maj. Hagerstrom, destroyed his fifth MiG on 27 March 1953, to become the twenty-eighth Korean War jet air ace—the first 18th Fighter -omber Group jet ace. Completed combat tour with 8.5 MIG’s destroyed and two damaged.
Hammer mission - Name given by 18th Fighter-Bomber Group to missions in which group Mustangs were teamed with 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing aircraft to attack “specific enemy artillery positions, supply and troop areas” following the completion of the primary mission in late 1951—rail interdiction.
Hammer, 1st Lt. Robert H. - 39th FIS pilot KIA 18 February 1952. “Lt. Robert H. Haner (sic) flying Number Two position in Put Put William Flight was reported Missing in Action on the 18th of February 1952. Put Put Willie Flight was on a mission searching for a downed pilot when he called Willie leader and stated that his aircraft was leaking coolant. Lt. Haner climbed his ship to an altitude of approximately 4,500 feet and bailed out. Willie leader observed him reach the ground safely and 100 feet to a drainage ditch. Lt. Haner contacted William leader on his bailout radio and informed him that he was all right. A helicopter was in the area at the time and came over Lt. Haner at 7,00 feet and remained there for about 20 minutes. Due to intensive ground fire he was unable to pick up the pilot. Soon afterwards five enemy troops were observed at the position of the downed pilot. The CAP was called off at approximately 1750 hours and all aircraft returned to K-46.”
Hangar flying - Pilot slang for anecdotal experience passed along pilot-to-pilot. “The combination of pilots new to jet aircraft but with a great deal of combat experience and pilots with jet training but no combat experience proved very good,” the 67th reported. “By exchanging knowledge and much ‘hangar flying’, a very effective team developed as the squadron combat record proves,” the 67th reported in March 1953.
Hangul - The Korean phonetic writing system, developed by scholars in the court of King Sejong in the fifteenth century, which is used either by itself or in conjunction with Chinese characters. The Korean language is one of the oldest in the world and belongs to the Ural-Altaic family, which includes Finnish and Hungarian. It does not belong to the tonal family of languages such as Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese, in which meanings change depending on tonal inflection. Korean was written in Chinese ideographs (i.e., characters that represents ideas instead of sounds) until the 15th century. In 1443 Emperor Sejong devised a simple phonetic alphabet called Hangul and consisting of 24 easily learned characters—roughly equivalent to the 26-character Western ABCs.
Harburn, Capt. R. A. - 2nd Squadron SAAF pilot KIA in February 1951. Pre-briefed to bomb a target at CT062459, Captain Dicky Harburn flew as No. 2 with ‘C’ Flight led by Lt. Baransky. During the flight, Harburn radioed that his aircraft was leaking fluid, a fact that Baransky confirmed—the entire starboard side of the fuselage was covered in oil. After sending the other element to complete the mission, Baransky and Harburn turned back towards K-46. They were instructed to salvo their ordnance prior to landing. Harburn was directed to drop his bombs into the river, which he did, then asked Baransky whether or not the bombs had left his aircraft. Since Baransky had not seen the bombs fall, he suggested that Harburn do a fly-by of the Control Tower for a visual inspection. Soon after, the Tower reported that Captain Harburn’s aircraft had crashed. The accident report concluded that his engine had finally seized from insufficient oil pressure, and that Harburn had been struck in the head by the canopy as he prepared to bail out. His body was recovered and buried at the UN Cemetery at Pusan, SK.
Harper, Major Flamm E. - 12th FBS pilot. Major Harper, Number 2 man of mission Expire 01 in mid-June 1953, was airborne at 1601 from K-55 on an interdiction mission to skip-bomb a rail bridge at YC423963. After pulling off the target, he experienced a “definite vibration in the nose section” and noted high tailpipe temperature readings. While he reported that he was not positive his aircraft had been hit by ground fire, in view of the events that followed, the Air Force investigation noted, “it can be assumed that he was definitely hit.” He reduced power to approximately 80%, but the tailpipe temperature remained at 700 degrees centigrade. Major Harper then climbed to approximately 16,000 feet where the engine froze at which time the throttle jerked back to the rear stop and the wing flaps went to the full down position. He retracted the wing flaps and established a glide path to the west. However, smoke filled the cockpit and he wingman reported fire was coming from the underside of both wing roots. At approximately 8,000 feet Major Harper elected to bail out due to the extensive smoke and fire. He suffered a painful back injury received when he struck a rock upon landing. Air Rescue reported that the pilot was on the ground approximately 30 minutes before being picked up by an H-19 Helicopter. Major Harper was taken to Chodo Island and from there to the 121st Evacuation Hospital. On July 3rd he was transferred to the 18th Medical Group Hospital for further treatment.
Harper, 1st Lt. Lee A. - 39th FIS pilot, who on 19 June 1951, “received ground fire hits in his planes coolant system while on armed reconnaissance in the B-1 area. Lt. Harper had sufficient altitude for a safe bail out, but for some unknown reason did not and attempted to belly-land his plane on the island of Kyondong-do. Just before his ship crashed, the flight leader observed an object leave the ship, which was believed to be Lt. Harper but he was at such low altitude the parachute did not have an opportunity to open. A rescue helicopter arrived over the area shortly thereafter and Lt. Harper’s body was returned to K-16.”
Harwood, Major Vernon - Commanding Officer, 12th Squadron. A major change occurred in the 12th on 21 November 1952, when Colonel [Albert J.] Freund “was elevated to Group Commanding Officer and Major [Vernon] Harwood assumed leadership of the Foxey Few.” Harwood had been the 18th Group Training Officer and had been attached to the 67th Squadron. On 3 February 1953, Major Evans assumed command of the 12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron from Major Harwood, who was reassigned to the Wing Staff as Inspector General.
Haskett, Capt. William T. Jr. - 67th FBS pilot who, on 14 April 1951, “abandoned his aircraft successfully north of Sohung, North Korea. It had been struck by enemy ground fire during a strafing attack, resulting in the loss of coolant. His wingman saw him parachute into a wooded section on a hill, followed by a star flare from the same area. A helicopter was immediately dispatched to the scene and searched the area thoroughly. No contact could be established and the helicopter had to withdraw due to heavy ground fire. Numerous reconnaissance flights “were made for the rest of the day and during the following day but no signs of life were observed.”
Heagney, 1st. Lt. Gerald - 67th FBS pilot who “crashed into a hillside deep inside of enemy territory when his heavily laden aircraft mushed into the ground following a strafing attack upon enemy positions.”Hawley, Major Jack - Flew the last combat mission with the F-51 Mustang on January 23, 1953. Awarded the Silver Star. Departed for the Z.I. on 1 May 1953. Major Jack Hawley, Executive Officer of the 67th Squadron, “won the distinction of completing the last combat sortie.” Hawley “was given the honor of leading the last F-51 mission because he had been a member of the Squadron longer than anyone else. This ended the era of the famed Mustang. The Mustang was gone but would never be forgotten,” the 67th accurately predicted.
HC - High capacity
Hdg - Heading. The direction in which an aircraft’s nose points in flight in the horizontal plane, expressed in compass degrees.
HDG - Heading
HE - High explosive
Heara, S/Sgt Howard T. - Two airmen of the 39th FIS armament section “were hurt quite seriously on 24 June 1951 at K-16 when one of the [Korean] laborers dropped a box of napalm igniters. S/Sgt Howard T. Heara and S/Sgt Niel D. Irving attempted to pull the exploding box of phosphorus igniters from the hangar to save the aircraft and other ammunition stored in the general area and received severe burns about their face, neck and arms. Both were immediately evacuated to a nearby hospital and are now in the Tokyo Army Hospital where they are reported to be doing very well. Both airmen are being recommended for the Soldier’s Medal.”
Heartbreak Ridge - Named by news correspondents covering the action, “Heartbreak Ridge” was an extension of Bloody Ridge three miles to the south and was located in the eastern sector of the Eighth U.S. Army defensive line in the Punchbowl area.
HEAT - High explosive, antitank
Hess, Maj. Dean E. - At the beginning of WWII, Hess was an ordained minister of the Christian Church, living in Cleveland, Ohio. Deciding that he could not expect his parishioners to bear arms for the U.S. if he was not willing to do so, he enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program and became a pilot. Eventually, he was sent to France in 1944, where he flew P-47’s on 63 combat missions. After the war he briefly returned to the pulpit, but was recalled to active duty in 1948 and stationed in Japan. In June 1950, when South Korea was invaded by North Korea, he was immediately assigned as commanding officer of a detachment of USAF personnel training South Korean pilots to fly F-51 type fighters. As Commander of Detachment “1” of 36th Fighter Bomber Squadron (8th Grp) designated “Bout-One” organized at Itazuke, his assigned mission was to train South Korean pilots in F-51s. “Bout One” arrived at Taegu in the evening of 30 June 1950, when Hess reported for duty to KMAG headquarters. Despite numerous obstacles, Hess was able to expand this training into operational flights, which he often led. By June 1951 when he left Korea, he had flown 250 combat missions. During this period, Hess launched an unofficial program that provided food and shelter to the real victims of the war, children who had lost their parents and their homes. So many children were given shelter that Hess’ airfield could no longer accommodate them and they were taken to a central orphanage in Seoul. When the Communists began to overrun the city, Hess persuaded the Air Force to lend assistance and, in the midst of last ditch defensive holding actions by U.N. troops, 15 C-54s were flown to Seoul under “Operation Kiddy Car” to evacuate hundreds of children to Cheju Island off the southern coast of Korea where Hess had established an orphanage. With contributions from U.N. soldiers, the orphanage was gradually able to accept more and more children. By the time Hess was transferred from Korea, his orphanage had taken in more than 1,054 Korean children who most likely would otherwise have died. In 1957, Hess published his story in a book entitled “Battle Hymn” which was made into a motion picture which starred Rock Hudson as Dean Hess. Hess’ royalties from both the book and the movie were used to construct a new orphanage near Seoul, Korea. Colonel Hess retired from the USAF in 1969.
HF - High Frequency