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The top-scoring ace of the Korean War was Capt. Joseph McConnell,
Jr. After being sent home, in 1954, he arrived at Edwards AFB to evaluate a new F-86H. During the
flight, the aircraft suffered a complete hydraulic failure caused by a
missing bolt. McConnell
had to fly the plane using the elevator trim. Rather than bailing out and
losing the airplane, he tried to fly it back to a landing at Edwards.
Several miles short of the lakebed, the attempt failed. McConnell bailed
out, but he was too low for his parachute to open. The story of his
life is depicted in the 1955 film, The
McConnell Story.
The death of Korean War Ace Joseph "Mac" McConnell Jr. was indeed a tragedy.
His combat skills over Korea and the
Yellow Sea were legendary. He became America's first triple jet ace while
flying an F-86F Sabre, tail no. 51-12971, which he named "Beautious Butch,"
(so named after his wife). On April 12, 1953, he shot down his eighth MiG, but
in the process was shot down himself! After a successful bailout in the
ocean, he was rescued by a H-19 helicopter from the U.S. base at K-16 in
Korea. The very next day, he retook to the skies , this time in a
shiny-new Sabre. named "Beautious Butch
II", resulting in a total of 16 confirmed kills. Upon
achieving these aerial victories, he was then pulled from flight status.
The commander of the Far East Air Force, General Glenn O. Barcus, did not want
to risk his top ace to any further risk, and was reported to have said, "I
want that man on his way back home to the U.S.A. before you hear the period at
the end of this sentence." Returning to the States as a hero, he was
reassigned to test flight duties at Edwards AFB. Living in the town of
Apple Valley, the citizens of that community built a house (known as the "Appreciation
House") for him and his family.
On August 25, 1954, his luck finally ran out when the F-86H, tail no.
52-1981, he was flying crashed in the desolate Mojave Desert, north of Edwards
AFB in California.
For more information about the crash site, click
here.
Included is a Certificate of Origin, certifying that your artifact came from
this historic site.
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