Evening star., 1950-07-20
Allied Planes Destroy
50 Enemy Aircraft in
Two Days Of Attack
by the Associated Pres. Z

we elusive North Korean ali
q force in the open and destroyed
cat least so planes in two days.
4 The figure was reported today
sby the Far East Air Forces, which
9said the enemy's total war losses
sare 78. 1t added that Allied plane
losses total 81, a big majority o1
them lost in operational acct.
dents.
Z washington reported an
even higher Red loss. The De-
tense Department said so North
Korean planes were destroyed
-on Tuesday alone.)
Weather Cuts Flying.
i Bad flying weather over Kores
to-day cut Air Force missions tt
d 20, the lowest number In two
Z weeks.
Planes able to break through
the murk hit trucks and troop
{ communications. Results were de-
h scribed as satisfactory"
Z Jet fighters hit an oil dump
near Kongju, northwest of Tae-
/ Jon.
4 Pilots said enemy troops took
4 cover in combat zone buildings.
4 Fighters raked the buildings.
7 Belated reports from fighter
base in South Korea said F-51
i Mustangs flew 81 sorties yester-
stday, destroying is trucks and
2gun emplacements in the Taejon
sarea.
4 One Mustang damaged by
aground fire returned safely.
{. All But 3 Caught on Ground.
3 All but 3 of the so Red planes
(which the FEAT said were knocked
fout Tuesday and yesterday were
caught on the ground by Amer
5acan and British fighters and
shombers at airfields north of the
sS8th parallel. These fields had
been deserted for days., There
was no explanation of the sudden
Feappearance of enemy planes.
I The Navy said American and
British carrier planes destroyed
80 Red aircraft and damaged
eight others in their two-day as
sault. The pilots, operating from
carriers near the Korean shore,
did not report meeting aerial op-
position.
and-based F-80 jets destroyed
lS Communist planes and dam
aged seven others yesterday
Three Yak fighters were shot
down in air battles over Taejon.
The remainder were caught
aground.
Most of these kills were made
by rocket and machinegun fire
from Jets flying at tree-top Level
onsafrdelds near Pyonggang. about
rs miles north of the 38th Parallel
Land-based jets have hit North
Korea before, but not frequently
They use extra gas tanks for the
long flight from Japan.
- W0nsan Reanery Hit.
Carrier planes, including F9F
Panther Jets, hit the WonSan re-
5nery area on the east coast. They
set it afire Tuesday and the smoke
could be seen so miles at sea. The
refinery still was burning yester-
day when the planes returned.
This time they set. a chemical
plant on fire. blasted rail yards
and trains and damaged a power
station.
They also struck the main Red
airbase at Yonpo. up the East
coast from Wonsan, yesterday
hnd knocked out nine locomotives
While Navy planes blasted the
Red East coast industrial area
aand-based F-80 jets destroyed Is
planes on the ground near Pyong-
yang, the Red capital.
While shooting up rear-area
Red targets behind the Taejon
front they encountered four Yak
. fighters. They shot three down
and damaged the other. One F-8C
was damaged and made ar
Emergency landing near Taejon.
{ In the frontal zone the jets
FOUND poor hunting. The COM
munique said:
1.-The heavy toll taken by fighter
and light bomber strikes in the
past three weeks was shown in a
diminished number of suitable
targets for ground attack. Ground
and air observers again called at
tention to growing North Korean
policy Of keeping under cover
during daylight hours in the hope
of escaping air attacks.
Because of the scarcity OF
ground targets behind the North
Korean lines, damage and de-
struction for the day was low.
"Only three tanks were dam
aged by American fighters, and
the totals for other types of We
hicles and ground installations
were also well below previous fig
ures. Damage to 10 trucks, two
locomotives, eight railroad cars
and nine miscellaneous vehicles
was reported by pilots"
B-26 light bombers hit bridges
and road targets on the west coast
area near Taejon.
B-29s continued bombing
bridges and rail targets around
Seoul.
An F-80 jet was confirmed al
lost Tuesday near Yechon on the
central front when it pulled out
Of dive too steeply and made 9
belly landing in Red-held terri.