Evening star., 1951-11-02

Far Eastern Air Forces, who few
to the United States as the Korean
air war was reaching unprece-
dented flerceneSS, made it evident
the grave problem had high prior
ity in the discussions.
The three-day. periodic session
Of commanders from headquarters
and from all domestic and over
seas field commands. was conclud-
ed yesterday at Colorado Springs
this time given unusual signif1-
canoe by the Korean air war situ-
alton. Presiding at the conference
was Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg, Air
Force chief of staff. who plans to
make another inspection-confer-
ence trip to the battle area soon.
The intensification of Commu-
mist air activity, with increased
losses of United States planes, can
reopen the old question::
Should a new effort be made to
lift the ban on bombing Red air
bases in Manchuria from which
the Soviet-manufactured MIG-15
jet fighters are slashing at Amer
ican bombers and fighters operat-
ing over Korea?
For Private Discussion.
The question Is a touchy one
which Air Force officials prefer to
discuss only in private and among
themselves - remembering what
happened to one advocate Of the
plan, Gen. Macarthur.
They speak somberly Of the diff
ficulty of fighting an air war
with one arm tied behind you"
The only opportunity United Ma
ton air forces in Korea have to
strike at Red air power mustered
in Asia is the few fleeting seconds
when enemy jets dart within
range of United Nation plane
guns. The strategy used IN the
European air campaign of World
War II. destroying enemy planes
ION the ground together with the
air fields, is the other arm which
the Nnited Nations air force hasn't
been able to use.
Airmen feel that this is only
nibbling at the fringes of Red air
power.
In more than a half year of
fighting the MICS. fewer than 100
are known definitely to have been
destroyed. Against this is the fact
that the number Of these entirely
modern enemy jets, equal to the
best Of United States fighters, is
estimated at between 600 and 800.
They are based on Manchurian air
fields, some of them within less
than a minutes flight to the Yalu
river boundary.
Pilots Who Speak Russian.
Moreover, there is a deep sus-
Ipicion that not all of the
jet planes bearing the insignia
Of the Chinese Communist Air
Force are flown by Chinese or
North Korean Communists. Gen.
Vandenberg said. in a cautious
comment the other day, that
people who speak Russian" are
flying MICS against his airmen.
The United States is known to
have advised the United Nations
that II mass air attacks by the
enemy on ground forces in Korea
occur. the prohibition against
striking into the Manchurian
sanctuary will be lifted.
Some air strategists see in the
upsurge of Red air activity in
Korea a definite indication that
the first steps toward such air
attack on ground troops may be in
the making. Their reasoning goes
like this:
The Red commanders want to
establish forward bases from
which their planes can reach the
battlefront. with enough fuel to
remain over that target for more
than two or three minutes. The
MIG-15s. with the high fuel con-
sumption that goes with jet planes,
are too far away to be really USE
full when based back in Manchuria.
Therefore the Reds are striving
desperately to build forward, stag
ing bases in North Korea, among
other places at Namsi and Tae-
chon.
But B-29s and light bombersI
are hammering at the fields.
The reaction of the Communists
to these bombing attacks on the
new air strips apparently is one of
the primary things which have set
of the bitter battles between the
MIG-15s and the B-29s and their
escorts of F-86s, F-84s and
British Meteors.
Previously, Red pilots had