Night Victory – Guy P. Bordelon

L/E of 1250
S/N by the Artist & One Pilot
Overall Print Size: 30" x 24"

Plane Type: F4U-5N Corsair

U.S. Air Force F-86 Sabres dominated the air war in Korea, destroying 857 Mig-15s in nearly three years of aerial combat. There was one mission the fast jets couldn’t handle, however – the defense against slow-moving Soviet prop-driven bombers and nuisance aircraft that flew between dawn and dusk. To combat the slow movers, the U.S. Navy loaned Fifth Air Force a detachment of radar-equipped F4U-5N Corsairs from Night Composite Squadron Three (VC-3). Flying from K-16, 30 miles south of Seoul, just past midnight on 17 July, 1953 detachment commander Lt. Guy P. Bordelon was scrambled to relieve one of his pilots whose radar was inoperative. Vectored to the target by the Joint Operations Center, he curved behind a Soviet-built La-11. As Bordelon described it, “I gave a “tally-ho” and reported that the contact was definitely an unfriendly aircraft. JOC gave me the clearance to fire, just as the enemy aircraft began to turn hard a port. Just as we passed Kaesong, he suddenly rolled level and I gave him a long burst of 20MM HEI cannon fire. I saw a wing coming off and pulled left as he blew with a tremendous explosion. Then, turning right and circling, I could see the bright splash of fire on the ground where the La-11 impacted.” With that victory, his fifth in 18 days, Guy Bordelon became the only Navy ace, and the only night fighter ace, in the Korean War. Additional Pilot "Ace" Signature:
Guy Bordelon


PLANE JUNKIE - "Night Victory" by Roy Grinnell (F4U-5N Corsair)