80th Fighter Squadron
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Korean War Headhunter Photos
To view each photo in more detail, just click on each of these small "Thumbnails"
This is an e-mail I received from Gene Gould on 24 September 2008. His many great photos follow! "Hi Jay, It is always good to talk to the old gang, although there are not a lot of us left. No I always wanted to fly, and when I got back from Korea in July of 1953 I was stationed in Niagara Falls and was the supply officer for the 47th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. I had a friend who gave me flying lessons in a T-6 and also let me fly a Bell chopper (like the ones in Mash). I was in the 8th Fighter Bomber Wing HQ Squadron and then when they tossed me back into Base Supply I was reassigned to 8th Air Base Group. I was always into photography and had a darkroom before I was 20. I took my Zeiss Ikon 120 to Korea with me, The PX was sending film to Seoul to develop, but even there the water wasn't good. Just before Christmas of 1952 the PX got in a couple of Kodak Signet 35mm cameras. Sold them for $95, which on a 2nd Lt. Ground Pounder's pay was a whole weeks pay. But I had a camera to take Kodachrome. We mailed the film in to Honolulu for processing. Film and processing was about $4. One of the things about the jobs I had was I could always go to the Motor Pool and check out a Jeep. So I drove all over the countryside taking pictures, Kodachrome slides in those days had a film speed of 24. You needed steady hands. I also took quite a lot on the flight line. In addition, I knew the guys in the Hobo Photo quite well and they gave me some pictures. Black and White. They couldn't take color. I had my 80th birthday in August. I suppose you know there are not many of us around any more. The Koreans are building a new cultural museum at the Fortress. About 50 of my Korean pictures will be on permanent display there. They wanted me to come to the grand opening, but I have two artificial hips and I was sort of afraid to do a trip like that. I would be happy to send you all of the airplane pictures and also the ones from the base photo shop for your website. It would be easier for me to just burn them on a CD and mail it to you. Then you could choose which ones you wanted to put on the web. So send me your mailing address and I will get them to you in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, here is a loaded Blue Tail for you. I didn't take any pictures on the flight line after we got the F-86s. I'll attach a picture of me from Korea. I was dressed up to go to Japan to get books for the I&E classes and also stuff for the hobby shop as I remember, because we didn't wear "blues" around the base. I am Gene Gould"
Many thanks to Gene for this information and great photos from 1952-1953 K-13 Suwon below!
"The black and white of the 50,000th Sortie were all taken by the 8th Photo Group (HoboPhoto). There is also another color picture of the 50,000th Sortie. I don't know who took it. Probably one of the pilots. I found it on the internet. There was a stain on the nose where it had been folded. I restored it. I know the black and white is the official news release because the guys at HoboPhoto gave it to me. As I remember this took place in October 1952, and I didn't get to Suwon until November 52. The really interesting thing is there is two different crews. Sort of makes you think the guys were lining up to get their picture taken with the painted airplane. I couldn't put names on them, but I remember all of them. Particularly the one with the handlebar mustache."
Gene Gould continues to write: "General Comments Regarding Weather: During the time I was stationed at K-13 from November 1952 until July of 1953, the weather in the Suwon area was quite nice. In terms of flying weather, I have no recollection of any overcast days. I actually remember very little rain. During the winter of 1952-53, we had a few nights when the temperature dropped near zero, and the daytime highs were under 30 degrees. It was a great deal like a winter in the Washington, D.C. area as far as temperature goes. We had a couple of light snows. The most was around two inches. The Base Operations Officer at the time lived in the same Quonset that I did. I am certain that no mission was ever cancelled for weather. All of my photos show clear skies with occasional wispy clouds. June and July were warm but not uncomfortably so. I certainly do not remember being bothered by heat or humidity. My memory tells me that a warm day was in the mid-80s. At this time there was a big push in the air war to get North Korea to come to the table and sign an armistice. There was one period when they were sending the F-80s out at night. Considering the level of navigation instruments at that time it sounded a little dicey to me. The worst event that occurred was a C-46 hospital plane flown by a Greek crew with a very limited command of English had stopped at K-13 to pick up some of our people and take them to the hospital in Japan. One of the F-80 pilots had started his take off run from the South end of the runway when the C-46 pulled out onto the runway at about the middle right in front of the F-80. The control tower had been screaming at him to stop, but he didn’t understand. The pilot in the F-80 tried to get it off the ground and clear him, but with the two large wing tanks and two thousand pounds of bombs on an airplane that only had 3700 pounds of thrust he didn’t make it. He actually got the plane off the ground at about the 4,000 or 5,000 foot mark to almost clear, but he hit the top of the C-46 killing himself and everyone on board the C-46. We all spent most of the rest of the night picking up the pieces of airplanes, people and bombs. It was not a good night at K-13. I hope you enjoy the pictures that I took while I was there. I was only in Korea a little over eight months because my father, then 53, hit the end of the bridge over the Chetco River at Brookings, Oregon, nearly killing himself. He was not expected to live and the Red Cross took me home. Because I only had a little less than three months to serve on my one year tour, they elected not to spend the money to send my back. Instead I served the last two years of my service time as the Supply Officer of the 47th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (F-86Ds) at Niagara Falls AFB, NY. I was released from active duty on June 19th, 1955. I started work with Boeing in Seattle in 1957 and retired on December 31, 1990. So while I was not a pilot, I was around airplanes for just about all of my working life. I started saving airplane pictures when I was about 5 in 1933 and have among other things the original news release photos from Barrow Alaska when Wiley Post crashed killing himself and Will Rogers. I also have a photo my dad took when he took me to the airport in Rochester New York to see the Winnie Mae."
Gene as the PIO at Suwon in Jan 1953
Many thanks again to Gene for these outstanding photos from this era of our history. He not only captured our 80th FBS F-80's, but many of the other front line aircraft of that period--in rare color.
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These two photos sent in 1 September 2008 by Korean-era LTM Chuck Baisden:
John Shaw's painting "Tiger Shooting" (R) used Chuck Baisden photo (L) Thanks to Chuck for sending in these two pics. As a side note, before Chuck was in our 80th FBS during the Korean War, he was with Gen Claire Chennault and the Flying Tigers in 1940!
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Bill Grusy with the OpsO Jeep of our 80th FBS at K-13 in 1952
Two newspaper write-ups about our people from the Korean War era
This photo, one of many sent in by Milt Uzelac from Andy Andrews' daughter on 25 Feb 2005, shows many of our F-80 Crew Chiefs from Suwon (K-13) in 1951. They are identified as follows: (L-R Front Row) Creighton, Dunaway, Newton, Lester, Almy
Although marked May 1956, this photo of an 80th F-80 was probably taken in late 1952 or early 1953. Our Squadron transitioned to the F-86 in early 1953. Note 80th Sq yellow tail rays.
Pilots of the 80th FBS when this photo
was taken on 1 Dec 1953 at K-13 (Suwon). Lt Col George
Halliwell (second from right kneeling) was the outgoing Commander. Note the
non-standardized uniforms--even to the extent of which side to wear the Squadron
patch.
(Photos L-R): Lt Col Halliwell with his F-86; His F-86 #24444 (note 80th Sq yellow tail rays and fuselage stripe); Halliwell (center) with other Sq personnel.
The five photos above were sent in by John Halliwell, son of
Lt Col George Halliwell, on 13 April 2004.
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This article on Capt Jesse Allen of
the 80th FBS, from the December 1952 issue of Air Training Magazine, was sent in
on 26 March 2004 by Mr. Gerry Asher. He said he found it while leafing
through a stack of his Dad's old magazines. Capt Allen retired from the
Air Force as a Major General. Both Gerry Asher and Gen Allen are LifeTime
Members of our Association!
1952 F-80 picture from Korea
sent in 9 May 2003 by Brig Gen Dennis Sullivan.
E-mail received 2 September 2002: "I've attached a couple of photos that might be of interest to Korean War era "Headhunters". One is on my website and was given me by a pilot in my uncle's squadron (36th FBS) and shows three F-86F Sabres from the 80th FBS getting ready to take off down the runway at Suwon AB (K-13) in 1953. The other photo showing an 80th FBS F-80C with bombs was taken by a former Public Information Officer (PIO) at K-13 early in 1953. Regards, Jim Escalle" Our thanks to Jim for sending in these two great photos.
L-R: Standing--Ken Tallant, Ken Murley, Jack Gallagher, Angus
Saunders, Don Elston, Gene Zehr This photo, sent in by Gene Zehr (standing far right facing) was taken in the Squadron lounge in Suwon (K13), Korea, sometime between Oct 1952 and May 1953.
Don Brown's F-80
Ted Platz doing his pre-
Low Headhunter - Late 1953 Headhunter 5-minute alert - Late 1953 (These two photos by Al Shortt)
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