After finishing his tour in Korea, Ted Williams returned to the major league and was later inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
On February 16, 1953, US Marine Corps ground crewmen at Suwon’s K-13 airfield spotted the crash and the fire and rescue crews rapidly manned their vehicles. They suspected there would be trouble.
It promptly arrived when a midnight blue F9F Panther fighter (BuNo 126109 of VMF-311) came in “heavy” and extremely quickly, as described by Warren Thompson in his book F9F Panther Units of the Korean War. It moved slowly, trailed smoke, and streamed a 30-foot-long ribbon of fire, all of which indicated a significant danger.
The pilot’s aircraft was clearly out of control, but he was too low to eject. His only choice was to attempt to land the damaged jet in an emergency situation. An explosion rocked the plane as it approached the airstrip, heightening the already stressful situation.
Sparks flew from the Panther as it made a wheels-up landing and skidded for nearly a mile along the runway on its belly. The cockpit was immediately in danger as the nose caught fire. The pilot tried to get out and blew off his canopy before limping off. The aircraft was a complete wreck and had only been in Korea since January 11, 1953, but the pilot managed to flee with only minor injuries.
The most renowned “flying leatherneck” in Korea, none other than Ted Williams, a star professional baseball player serving as a US Marine Corps reservist, made his daring escape in front of the airmen at Suwon but they only later discovered that. After finishing his tour, Williams returned to the major league and was later inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Future astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong were among the others who would go on to become well-known after flying Panthers in Korea. Together with VMF-311, Maj John Glenn participated in combat in Korea in 1953.
Glenn, a World War II combat veteran of 59 missions, flew an additional 63 sorties in Panthers. While serving with VMF-311, he earned the unsavory moniker “magnet ass” for his apparent propensity to attract enemy flak. With more than 250 flak holes in his aircraft, he twice returned to base.
After briefly flying with Ted Williams, Glenn finished a second combat tour in Korea as part of an interservice exchange program with the USAF’s 51st Fighter Wing. In the last days of the conflict, he flew 27 missions in the F-86F Sabre and downed three MiG-15s close to the Yalu River.
F9F Panther Units of the Korean War is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by Merv Corning via Worthpoint