ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 84173
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| Date: | Sunday 21 January 1951 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Republic F-84E-15-RE Thunderjet |
| Owner/operator: | 522nd FES, 27th FEG, USAF |
| Registration: | 49-2340 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Chongchon River Railway Bridge, near Sinanju, South Pyongan Province -
 North Korea
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | K-2 Taeugu Airfield, South Korea (RKTN) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Republic F-84E-15-RE Thunderjet 49-2340, 522nd FES, 27th FEG, USAF: Written off (destroyed) January 21 1951 when shot down by MiG 15, pilot 1st Lt Grant Simpson ejected survived briefly to be taken as POW. The date was his 28th birthday.
21 January, 1951: A raid of eight Thunderjets against the Chongchon River Railway Bridge, near Sinanju, Anju City, South Pyongan Province, North Korea. was intercepted by two flights of MiGs of the 177th IAP. Major Mikhailov shot down the F-84E #49-2340 (1st Lt Grant Simpson POW). That was the first F-84 loss in combat with MiGs full admitted. Pilots Akulenko, Popov and Capt Li Han of the PLAAF in his first mission submitted also claims but only #49-2340 was destroyed and a second F-84 (pilot Lt Don Watt) damaged. Lt. Col. William Bertram (Commanding Officer of 523rd FBS) claimed one MiG shot down but actually there were no MiG losses this day.
According to the official USAF biography of the pilot (see link #6):
"Grant W Simpson 21 January 1923 - 21 January 1951, Joined USAF in 1947.
Captain Simpson was the pilot of a F-84E Thunderjet fighter with the 523rd Fighter Escort Squadron, 27th Fighter Escort Wing. On 21 January 1951, while on a combat mission, his flight of four F-84s was attacked by 12 MiG-15s. His aircraft was hit and he bailed out but was killed. His remains were recovered.
Simpson was awarded the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal."
The pilot died in captivity, and has body was repatriated to be buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, USA
Wrongly listed in some sources as "49-3240" [sic] and that it was written off on the same day (January 21 1951) in a crash at Itazuke AB (RJFF), Fukuoka, Japan.
Sources:
1. http://forgottenjets.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/F-84.html
2. https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1949.html
3. https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/dbSearchAF55.asp
4. http://www.accident-report.com/Yearly/1951/5101.html
5. http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/korea/reports/air/
6. https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=216693
7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1182653/grant-w-simpson
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinanju
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 31-Jul-2012 11:04 | Daniel Nole | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
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