History

Korea: 1950 to 1953

By the end of the 1940s, the Blue Angels were flying their first jet aircraft, the Grumman F9F-2 Panther. In response to the demands placed on Naval Aviation in the Korean Conflict, the team reported to the aircraft carrier USS Princeton as the nucleus of Fighter Squadron 191 (VF-191), "Satan's Kittens", in 1950.

As soon as Princeton arrived (5th dec?), Air Group 19 went into action, flying 248 sorties against targets in the Hagaru area. For the next six days, Air Group 19 gave support to the Marines fighting their way to Hungnam. By the 11th, all units had reached the staging area on the coast. Princeton's planes, with other Navy, Marine, and Air Force squadrons, then covered the evacuation from Hungnam through its completion on the 24th December, 1950.

1951 saw the Navy use jet fighters in a bombing role, when two F9F-2B Panthers of VF-191, attacked a railroad bridge near Songjin. They were each loaded with four 250- and two 100-pound general purpose bombs

Interdiction missions followed and by 4 April 1951, Princeton's planes had rendered 54 rail and 37 highway bridges inoperable and damaged 44 more. In May, they flew against the railroad bridges connecting Pyongyang with Sunchon, Sinanju, Kachon, and the transpeninsula line. Next, they combined close air support with raids on power sources in the Hwachon Reservoir area and, with the stabilization of the front there, resumed interdiction. For much of the summer they pounded supply arteries, concentrating on highways, and in August Princeton got underway for the United States, arriving at San Diego on 21 August 1951.

During this time, ten F9Fs failed to return to a friendly base. Among these loses were LCDR John J. Magda, who was killed when his plane crashed into the sea off Tanchon on the 8th March, 1951. ENS Gerald J. Sullivan was killed when his F9F exploded in mid-air after being hit by AA fire at Koto-ri on the 6th May, 1951.

The Princeton rejoined TF 77 on the 30th April, 1952. For 138 days, her planes flew against the enemy. They sank small craft to prevent the recapture of offshore islands; blasted concentrations of supplies, facilities, and equipment behind enemy lines, participated in air-gun strikes on coastal cities, pounded the enemy's hydroelectric complex at Suiho on the Yalu to turn off power on both sides of that river, destroyed gun positions and supply areas in Pyongyan; and closed mineral processing plants and munitions factories at Sindok, Musan, Aoji, and Najin.

On the 14th June, 1952, the F9F-2 of LTJG R. CROSS, was hit by enemy ground fire while on a rail interdiction mission. He was killed when his plane dived into the ground and exploded on impact.

Deployments

From	To	Carrier	Aircraft Type	Tailcode	Theatre
Nov 1950	May 1951	USS Princeton (CV-37)	Grumman F9F-2B Panther	B1	Korea
Mar 1952	Nov 1952	USS Princeton (CV-37)	Grumman F9F-2B Panther	B	Korea