Korea. Naval aviator Royce Williams (US Navy) downed four Soviet fighter planes and became a legend unheard of for over 50 years. In 2022, at 97, he will be awarded the Navy Cross, the service’s second-highest military honor. On November 8, 1952, Williams was piloting his F9F Panther, the US Navy’s first jet fighter, on a mission during the Korean War. He took off from the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany, which was operating with three other aircraft carriers in a task force in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, 100 miles off the coast of North Korea. Williams, then 27, set out on an air patrol over the northernmost tip of the Korean Peninsula, near the Yalu River, which separates North Korea from China. To the northeast lies Russia, then part of the Soviet Union, which supported North Korea in the conflict. Then, to their surprise, seven Soviet MiG-15 fighters were spotted heading toward the U.S. task force. The cautious task force commanders ordered the two U.S. Navy jets to get between the MiGs and the U.S. warships. As they did so, four of the Soviet MiGs turned toward Williams and opened fire, he recalled. He said he fired on the trailing MiG, which then dropped from the four-plane Soviet formation, with Williams’s wingman following the Soviet jet downward. At that point, the U.S. commanders on the carrier ordered him not to engage the Soviets, he said. “At that time, the MiG-15 was the best fighter in the world,” faster and capable of climbing and diving faster than the American jets, he said. His plane was suited to air-to-ground combat, not dogfights. Now six Soviet jets engaged it while the other three MiGs that had separated earlier turned back. During the engagement, Williams fired all 760 rounds of 20mm cannon shells carried by the F9F, according to an account of the engagement on the U.S. Navy Memorial website. But the Soviets also hit Williams, with 263 hits, disabling his rudder and wing control surfaces. Fortunately, he said, by this point he was heading toward the American task force off the coast. But one of the remaining Soviet jets was still hot on his heels. Williams’s wingman rejoined the fight at this point, placing himself on the Soviet’s tail and scaring it off. Nevertheless, Williams had to bring his jet onto the carrier’s deck, which he usually did at a speed of 105 knots (120 mph). But he already knew that if he dropped below 170 knots (195 mph), his plane would stall and plunge into the sea ice. And he couldn’t turn to align with the carrier. So the ship’s captain decided to take the extraordinary step of turning the carrier to align with the Williams. It worked. He hit the bridge and hit the third and final arresting wire. He was in such dire straits that he was pushed off the ship into the sea. Fear of further escalation toward a direct war with the Soviets, and the desire to conceal a new interception technique being tested that day, led the United States to keep the air combat secret for 50 years.
