Evening star., 1951-11-23
The Air Challenge in Korea

In his latest statement on the Korean ar
battle General vandenberg has struck much
somberer note than he did less than month
ago. At that time he declared that our flyers
were knocking the socks of" the Soviet-made
MIG Jet planes and that the latter would be
even harder hit if they few farther south or had
no Manchurian Sanctuary" to run back to.
Now, however, he has revised his views to the
extent of saying that our superiority in the
skies out there is being seriously challenged"
and that the situation could become Critical"
It has been clear for some time, of course,
that we no longer have anything like the absolute
air supremacy that was ours in the first year OF
the Korean war. During the past several months
the enemy has obviously been building up a
formidable force of fighters and bombers and
he has been hitting back at our planes with
mounting aggressiveness and ever-increasing
numbers, probably with the help of numerous
Russian pilots. But it has been widely assumed
all along-until General Vandenberg's sobering
remarks the other day-that the challenge was
pretty much limited in its potential dangers.
Apparently that assumption must now be
dismissed entirely. At any rate, speaking as
our Air Force Chief of Staff, General Vanden-
berg-who has just returned from Far East
inspection trip-has emphasized that possible
serious potentials" exist and that we cannot
take anything for granted, even though $50 far
the situation is in hand" The truth is that
the enemy has been exacting heavy toll OF
our big bombers and that our control of the
sky in crucial northwest Korea, although by
no means lost, is not as firm as it was" Nor is
there any guarantee-short Of an acceptable
armistice-that the threat, which is imposing "a
hard and bitter fight" on our airmen, will not
grow to very major and perhaps critical
proportions.
To appreciate the situation, according to
General Vandenberg, fact that must be un-
derstood (it is not really easy to understand) Is
that almost overnight China has become one OF
the major air powers of the world" with 600
Jets and 800 bombers available to throw against
our American and allied United Nations forces
in Korea Another fact that needs to be kept
in mind (this one is quite clear) Is that under
the rule forbidding our flyers to attack bases
in Manchuria eft Is impossible" for us to gain
undsputed mastery of the sky over the Chinese
Communists, whose planes, Of course, are being
supplied by the Soviet Union.
Nevertheless, strong as China may be IN the
sky lot Of Americans, having in mind the
scores OF billions spent on the United States Air
Force, will be hard put to understand why there
should be any doubt-if there really is any
doubt-about equipping that Air Force to shat
ter the challenge offered by the enemys 600
lets and 800 bombers Moreover, If that chal-
lenge cannot be adequately countered without
attacking north of the Yalu, If 1t continues to
grow and II nothing comes OF the latest truce
hopes lot of Americans will no longer see the
slightest sense In respecting the Manchurian
sanctuary" Certainly If the situation is wors-
ening, our flyers must have all the planes and
freedom of action they need to cope with It,