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Joseph McConnell Jr. was born on 30 January 1922 in Dover, New Hampshire. Like many boys of his generation, he grew up reading about the air aces of World War I, which engendered in him a desire to follow in their footsteps and become a fighter pilot. Despite the difficulties of the Depression, McConnell graduated from high school in 1940 and immediately joined the US Army, intending to apply for flight training as soon as possible, though he initially served as a hospital orderly for three years. Finally reaching flight training, he graduated and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in September 1944, but to his disgust, he was not allowed into fighter training: instead, he was made a navigator on B-24 Liberators, as the need for those crews was greater than that of fighter pilots. Assigned to the 448th Bomber Group in England, McConnell completed a 60-mission tour before war’s end in May 1945. He applied again for fighter training in 1946 and finally made it to a fighter unit in 1948, flying F-86 Sabres. He also met and married Pearl “Butch” Brown and started a family.

   When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, McConnell saw his chance to fly in combat as a fighter pilot. He applied to be sent to Korea, and was initially rejected—at 28, he was considered “too old” for combat duty, and he had a family. McConnell eventually prevailed, and joined the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Suwon, South Korea, in August 1952. Within weeks, he was flying combat over the Yalu River—the famous “MiG Alley.” While MiG Alley was never easy, 1952 was one of the more difficult years. Though matters had improved from 1951, when the USAF had only 44 F-86s in all of Korea to face nearly 800 Communist MiG-15s, many of the MiGs were being flown by Russian pilots. The pilots of the 51st were aware of this fact, referring to the more skilled MiG pilots as “honchos.” The Sabres were also limited by range over the Yalu, and were restricted from crossing the river while Communist pilots took off, formed up, and climbed to altitude safely above the F-86s, where they had the advantage. MiGs could also avoid combat if they wished: their target was the ground attack aircraft of the UN forces trying to halt the supplies of the Chinese Army north of Seoul. McConnell therefore did not get his first kill until 14 January 1953.

   After that, he never looked back. By the end of the month, he was an ace. During that spring, bad weather made further kills hard to come by, but McConnell had raised his score to eight by 12 April. On that date, as he pursued another MiG, he felt his F-86 get hit by a cannon shell. Despite having a tough time controlling his mortally wounded Sabre, McConnell forced the attacking MiG-15 out in front and shot him down. He then managed to get out to the Yellow Sea, where he ejected. He was only in the water for two minutes before a USAF helicopter picked him up.   McConnell got a new F-86—the second aircraft he would name Beauteous Butch for his wife—and went back to war. By the end of April, he had ten kills.

    McConnell found himself in the thick of the “ace race” in Korea. Besides himself, he had three other rivals angling for the title of top ace: James Jabara, who had been the first Sabre ace of the war; Manuel Fernandez, who occasionally flew as McConnell’s wingman; and Royal Baker, the commander of the 4th FIW. By May, Fernandez had gone into the lead, with McConnell second and Jabara just behind. On 18 May, McConnell, flying as element lead with another F-86, spotted a formation of 30 MiG-15s over MiG Alley. Despite the odds, he climbed into a position. When his wingman pointed out that there were 30 MiGs, McConnell radioed, “Yeah, and we’ve got them all to ourselves.” He dived into the formation, shooting down one MiG, then shot another off the tail of his wingman. Not knowing if there were more Sabres lurking around, the remaining 28 MiGs retreated back to Chinese airspace. McConnell and his wingman returned to Suwon; that afternoon, McConnell scored another kill, bringing his total to 16, two ahead of Fernandez and well ahead of Jabara.

   At that point, General Glenn Barcus, who commanded the Far East Air Force, ordered McConnell and Fernandez out of combat and back home. Both men were infuriated at the decision, but Barcus was worried that either or both would get shot down because of “buck fever,” taking unnecessary chances to become the top ace.  McConnell turned his flight over to John Bolt, who would become the only US Marine ace of the war, and returned home. McConnell’s 16 victories would stand, making him the top American ace of the war.

   McConnell was assigned to flight test at Edwards AFB, alongside already legendary pilots, such as Charles “Chuck” Yeager, and soon to be legends, such as Virgil “Gus” Grissom. On 25 August 1954, while testing the newest variant of the Sabre, the F-86H, the aircraft suffered hydraulic failure. McConnell attempted to glide the Sabre back to Edwards, but was forced to eject at low level. His parachute failed to open in time and Joseph McConnell was killed at the age of 32. At the time, a movie about his life, The Joseph McConnell Story, was in post-production in Hollywood; it was released a few months later.

   “Mac” McConnell had achieved his childhood dream and become the top ace of the Korean War, his score exceeded only by three Russian pilots. Postwar and more recent research has brought the Russian claims into question, and similarly so has the American claims. However, even the most conservative estimate puts McConnell with 14 kills, while the Russian claims have been downgraded—in the case of Soviet top ace Yevgeni Pepelayev, anywhere between eight and 12. If the latter is true, it would make McConnell the top ace of the war. In any case, he remains the top scoring jet ace of the United States.

Like John Bolt's F-86F, McConnell's Sabre is finished in bare metal with yellow recognition stripes, and carries the checkerboard tail insignia of the 51st FIW. Also like Bolt, Beauteous Butch II was named for McConnell's wife.

Description

Joseph McConnell Jr. was born on 30 January 1922 in Dover, New Hampshire. Like many boys of his generation, he grew up reading about the air aces of World War I, which engendered in him a desire to follow in their footsteps and become a fighter pilot. Despite the difficulties of the Depression, McConnell graduated from high school in 1940 and immediately joined the US Army, intending to apply for flight training as soon as possible, though he initially served as a hospital orderly for three years. Finally reaching flight training, he graduated and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in September 1944, but to his disgust, he was not allowed into fighter training: instead, he was made a navigator on B-24 Liberators, as the need for those crews was greater than that of fighter pilots. Assigned to the 448th Bomber Group in England, McConnell completed a 60-mission tour before war’s end in May 1945. He applied again for fighter training in 1946 and finally made it to a fighter unit in 1948, flying F-86 Sabres. He also met and married Pearl “Butch” Brown and started a family.

   When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, McConnell saw his chance to fly in combat as a fighter pilot. He applied to be sent to Korea, and was initially rejected—at 28, he was considered “too old” for combat duty, and he had a family. McConnell eventually prevailed, and joined the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Suwon, South Korea, in August 1952. Within weeks, he was flying combat over the Yalu River—the famous “MiG Alley.” While MiG Alley was never easy, 1952 was one of the more difficult years. Though matters had improved from 1951, when the USAF had only 44 F-86s in all of Korea to face nearly 800 Communist MiG-15s, many of the MiGs were being flown by Russian pilots. The pilots of the 51st were aware of this fact, referring to the more skilled MiG pilots as “honchos.” The Sabres were also limited by range over the Yalu, and were restricted from crossing the river while Communist pilots took off, formed up, and climbed to altitude safely above the F-86s, where they had the advantage. MiGs could also avoid combat if they wished: their target was the ground attack aircraft of the UN forces trying to halt the supplies of the Chinese Army north of Seoul. McConnell therefore did not get his first kill until 14 January 1953.

   After that, he never looked back. By the end of the month, he was an ace. During that spring, bad weather made further kills hard to come by, but McConnell had raised his score to eight by 12 April. On that date, as he pursued another MiG, he felt his F-86 get hit by a cannon shell. Despite having a tough time controlling his mortally wounded Sabre, McConnell forced the attacking MiG-15 out in front and shot him down. He then managed to get out to the Yellow Sea, where he ejected. He was only in the water for two minutes before a USAF helicopter picked him up.   McConnell got a new F-86—the second aircraft he would name Beauteous Butch for his wife—and went back to war. By the end of April, he had ten kills.

    McConnell found himself in the thick of the “ace race” in Korea. Besides himself, he had three other rivals angling for the title of top ace: James Jabara, who had been the first Sabre ace of the war; Manuel Fernandez, who occasionally flew as McConnell’s wingman; and Royal Baker, the commander of the 4th FIW. By May, Fernandez had gone into the lead, with McConnell second and Jabara just behind. On 18 May, McConnell, flying as element lead with another F-86, spotted a formation of 30 MiG-15s over MiG Alley. Despite the odds, he climbed into a position. When his wingman pointed out that there were 30 MiGs, McConnell radioed, “Yeah, and we’ve got them all to ourselves.” He dived into the formation, shooting down one MiG, then shot another off the tail of his wingman. Not knowing if there were more Sabres lurking around, the remaining 28 MiGs retreated back to Chinese airspace. McConnell and his wingman returned to Suwon; that afternoon, McConnell scored another kill, bringing his total to 16, two ahead of Fernandez and well ahead of Jabara.

   At that point, General Glenn Barcus, who commanded the Far East Air Force, ordered McConnell and Fernandez out of combat and back home. Both men were infuriated at the decision, but Barcus was worried that either or both would get shot down because of “buck fever,” taking unnecessary chances to become the top ace.  McConnell turned his flight over to John Bolt, who would become the only US Marine ace of the war, and returned home. McConnell’s 16 victories would stand, making him the top American ace of the war.

   McConnell was assigned to flight test at Edwards AFB, alongside already legendary pilots, such as Charles “Chuck” Yeager, and soon to be legends, such as Virgil “Gus” Grissom. On 25 August 1954, while testing the newest variant of the Sabre, the F-86H, the aircraft suffered hydraulic failure. McConnell attempted to glide the Sabre back to Edwards, but was forced to eject at low level. His parachute failed to open in time and Joseph McConnell was killed at the age of 32. At the time, a movie about his life, The Joseph McConnell Story, was in post-production in Hollywood; it was released a few months later.

   “Mac” McConnell had achieved his childhood dream and become the top ace of the Korean War, his score exceeded only by three Russian pilots. Postwar and more recent research has brought the Russian claims into question, and similarly so has the American claims. However, even the most conservative estimate puts McConnell with 14 kills, while the Russian claims have been downgraded—in the case of Soviet top ace Yevgeni Pepelayev, anywhere between eight and 12. If the latter is true, it would make McConnell the top ace of the war. In any case, he remains the top scoring jet ace of the United States.

Like John Bolt's F-86F, McConnell's Sabre is finished in bare metal with yellow recognition stripes, and carries the checkerboard tail insignia of the 51st FIW. Also like Bolt, Beauteous Butch II was named for McConnell's wife.