"US – Soviet Shoot Down Incidents in the Cold War" Topic

Always good fodder for scenarios. Robert

US – Soviet Shoot Down Incidents in the Cold War

"Between 1950 and 1970 there were a score of US military aircraft shot down by the military of the Soviet Union in undeclared war.

From the Berlin Airlift until the fall of the Berlin Wall the United States and Soviet Union faced each other in the air hundreds of times. The bloodiest period started in 1950 when Soviet fighters shot down a US Navy patrol craft over the Baltic Sea off of what is now Latvia. From then until 1970 the blood flowed as American aircraft penetrated Russian airspace and paid the price. In a twelve-year period 19 more US planes, mainly reconnaissance aircraft, were destroyed in one-sided fights with Russian MiGs. Below is a list of known losses during this very hot period of the cold war:

April 8th, 1950 A US Navy PB4Y-2 Privateer was shot down by 23mm cannon fire from a pair of Soviet Lavochkin La-11 fighters over the Baltic Sea near what is now Latvia. The ten man crew was presumed dead and has not been found. In 1993 retired Soviet General Fyodor Shinkarenko stated that he believed the wreckage was secretly salvaged and sent to Moscow.
December 4th 1950 A USAF RB-45C Tornado was shot down by 23mm cannon fire cannon fire from Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) 15's over China near the North Korean border. Two of the four crewmen died in the attack. The remaining two bailed out across the North Korean border and were captured. One was killed during interrogation and the second was hung.
December 26th, 1950 A USAF RB-29 Superfortress (converted from atom bomb dropper to photographic reconnaissance aircraft) was shot down by cannon fire from two MiG-15s over the Sea of Japan.
November 6th, 1951 A US Navy P2V-3 Neptune was shot down near Vladivostok by two Soviet La-11 fighters. The ten men crew was presumed dead.
June 13, 1952 A USAF RB-29 Superfortress was shot down by cannon fire from two MiG-15 fighters over the Sea of Japan. The American recon aircraft was intercepted nine miles off the coast and quickly destroyed. The 12-man crew was presumed dead however unconfirmed reports surfaced that one had survived long enough to be picked up by a Soviet ship in the area. Who this crewman was and his ultimate fate is unknown.
October 7, 1952 A USAF RB-29 Superfortress was shot down by machine gun fire from Soviet La-11 fighters over the Kurile Islands. The eight man crew was all presumed dead. In 1994 the remains of one of the crewmen, Captain John R Dunham was located and returned to the US after former Soviet documents related that a crewman had been found and was buried on nearby Yuri Island. Former Soviet KGB Maritime Border Guards sailor Vasili Saiko came forward in 1993 and gave the US Naval Academy a ring that he took from Captain Dunham's body in 1952. The ring was eventually given to Captain Dunham's widow.
July 29th, 1953 A USAF RB-50G Superfortress was shot down near Vladivostok by cannon fire from two MiG-17s. A single survivor of the 18-man crew was pulled from the sea by a destroyer. A week later the remains of two more of the crew washed up in the coast of Japan. Conflicting reports after the Cold War by former Soviet military personnel who were present at the event seem to indicate that others may have survived in Soviet custody but are unaccounted for.
September 4th, 1954 A US Navy P2V-5 flying from Atsugi Japan was shot down over water by cannon fire from two MiG-15s off the coast of Siberia. The pilot ditched in international waters and was rescued with the loss of one crewman.
November 7th 1954 USAF RB-29 Superfortress was shot down by cannon fire from two MiG-15 fighters near northern Japan. Ten of the eleven-man crew was rescued while one unlucky crewman drowned.
April 17th 1955 USAF RB-47E was shot down by a cannon fire from a pair of MiG-15s near Kamchatka off the Siberian coast. The three-man crew was presumed killed.
June 22nd, 1955 US Navy P2V-5 Neptune flying over the Bearing Strait in international waters was jumped by two Soviet MiG-15s. The pilots managed to crash land the stricken plane on US territory and the crew survived although most were injured.
Christmas Eve 1957 A USAF RB-57 was shot down over the Black Sea by Soviet fighters and its crew all died.
June27 1958 USAF C-118 Liftmaster transport (military version of a Douglas DC-6) reportedly used by the CIA at one time was shot down by rocket and cannon fire from two MiG-17s over Soviet Armenia. The aircraft was destroyed but the crews parachuted to safety and were given back by the Soviets a week later.
September 2nd, 1958 USAF C-130A Hercules transport modified for signals intelligence was shot down by cannon and rocket fire from two MiG-17s over Soviet Armenia. The entire crew died. Six of the bodies were given back by the Soviets that year and the remaining 11 were recovered by the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POWs/ MIAs in 1998.
May 1st 1960 CIA owned U-2 spy plane flown by Gary Powers a "sheep-dipped" Air Force officer flying as a civilian from a base in Pakistan was shot down by a lucky hit from one of at least 14 SA-2 surface to air missiles ripple fired at it over Sverdlosk (formerly called Yekaterinburg back in 1918 when the Tsar was killed there) in about the most absolute center of the Soviet Union. Powers was captured and embarrassingly placed on public trail before going home in 1962
July 1st 1960, USAF RB-47H Stratojet flying over the Barents Sea was shot down by 30mm cannon fire from a Soviet MiG-19. Four crewmembers were killed and two were captured and held for six months by the KGB.
October 27 1962 USAF U-2 of the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing shot down by another magic BB SA-2 Guideline surface to air missile over Cuba from a Soviet manned battery. The pilot was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross.
January 24, 1964 USAF T-39 Sabreliner flying from West Germany on a training mission crossed over East German airspace and was downed by a Soviet MiG-21, killing all three aboard.
March 10, 1964 USAF RB-66 Destroyer was shot down over East Germany by a Soviet MiG-21 on a flight from West Berlin when it crossed out of authorized airspace over East German airspace. The crew was rescued and repatriated.
October 21, 1970 US Army RU-8 Seminole flying from Turkey (military variant of a Beech craft twin engine) lost over Soviet Armenia

Sources

By Any Means Necessary: America‘s Secret Air War in the Cold War William E. Burrows

Military Aircraft of the Cold War Jim Winchester

The Official reports of the US-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs"

link

There's a good book on these, in paperback.

Can't recall the title, but it has detailed accounts of many, if not most of these.

Recommended.

…were destroyed in one-sided fights with Russian MiGs…

Not sure if those will make great scenarios…

Does the USA have any Soviet shoot downs to its credit not pertaining to proxie warfare like Korea or Vietnam?

Ahhhhhh…. but the fun would being in trying not to be destroyed and escape in certain situations . Robert

An RAF Lincoln was shot down in 1953 after straying over the East German border. According to this website the USAF lost an F-84 a fortnight earlier.

spyflight.co.uk/linc.htm

BTW this would seem to give a far more comprehensive overview of shootdowns:

spyflight.co.uk/main.htm

Too many MIA, R/BNR, and murdered …

Nice site for scenario ideas there Fodase. Some I knew about. But quite a few I didn't. Thanks. Robert

The 12 Migs Vs 8 F-86s on 10 May 55 seems more evenly matched. Especially with 2 Migs downed with no damage to the F-86s. Robert

'Incident at Sahkalin'(sp?) A book that claims the shoot
down of KAL flight 007 was actually full blown combat between a US electronic intelligence wing and Soviet fighters. An interesting read and a great idea for an air combat scenario.

hmmm… Interesting material – is the absence of Soviet losses an indication that they didn't run military overflights of 'our' airspace, or just the result of a more moderate response on our part? (by our I mean the 'West/Free World/NATO')

The Soviets certainly overflew Israeli and British airspace at times in the 60s and 70s, and "intercept and classify" missions were commonplace throughout the Cold War as Soviet bombers tested Western air defences. While they may not have made so many deep overflights as the USA did, it also seems unarguable that Western air defences were less vicious in their responses to intrusion.

All the best,

John.

Most of the accounts seem to be what some would consider "Unarmed" aircraft. Which of course could have been escorted out of Soviet territory. Robert

link

A list of "all" cold war engagements up thru 2005. I can think of at least two that are not included on this list that involved helicopters, one in Korea and the other in Europe, both from the late 1980's.

Thanks for that Mike. I had lost that link awhile ago and now have it again. Robert

I am surprised that the West didn't adopt a tit for tat policy. You shoot down one of ours, we shoot down one of yours.

Perhaps they did, and it has been just under-reported.

I'd certainly like to know, and suspect we've downed at least a few Russian-made aircraft.

Ah sovereignty issues ,reason why we have drones now,make the "mistake" of overflight or chance interception its just parts not lives.

Mako11 wrote:

Perhaps they did, and it has been just under-reported.

Why would the Russians wish to under-report it?

I'd certainly like to know, and suspect we've downed at least a few Russian-made aircraft.

And do you have any evidence for this suspicion?

All the best,

John.

Well the Russians have always been so forthcoming with information …

I note the Pakistanis shot down a number of Soviet aircraft.

Way to go!

Interesting that on "9 August 1950 Soviet pilot Kursonov shot down a People's Republic of China PLAAF Tu-2 Bat that he mistook for a B-25 Mitchell, after it had strayed over a restricted area near Shanghai." Great Job. Robert

"Well the Russians have always been so forthcoming with information"

LOL Legion 4. Robert

As far as I recall, there was a British flying boat shot in fifties, as well as several planes shot over Cuba prior to missile crisis.

During the war in Pakistan several Russian planes that chased mojaheddin into Pakistani territory were attacked and some shot by local airforce. Most known case was colonel Rutskoi, who was Russian vice-president in Yeltsin period.

I suppose English text might be a partial translation of this material:

Unfortunately in Russian:

link
link
link

and looks like it was swedish flying boat, not RAF.
Part 3 mentions some unaccounted losses of Soviet planes, too.
However the scale of constant breaking of the borders by NATO planes was huge indeed…

There was a Swedish flying boat (Catalina) shot down in 1952.

From the Propwashgang link above:
"16 June 1952 Soviet pilots N. Semernikov and I. Yatsenko-Kosenko shared in the downing of a Swedish PBY Catalina (Tp 47 47002) outside the island of Dagö. The PBY was looking for survivors of the Swedish SIGINT C-47 lost on June 13th. After taking hits in the fuselage and the engines the PBY was forced to land on the water with two of the crew of seven injured. The crew was rescued by a German merchant ship."

The wreckage of the C-47 (Tp for Transportplan in Swedish) was found a few years back and now resides in the Swedish Aircraft Museum:
flygvapenmuseum.se/en

As for one-for-one, we were neutral. We denied flying sigint for the US, the Soviet denied shooting down our planes. If the US shot down Soviets in retaliation, they of course denied that too.

From Barin's first link. Forgive Microsoft's translator LOL,

"Mindful of Allied relations of the USSR and the United States in the last war, the Americans allowed themselves a very frivol′no use of airspace in the area of combat, often flew over the ships and military bases PAC. Having said that, it should not be forgotten that American pilots are likely to wonder about the nuances of big policy, naively believing that the frontovoe brotherhood above all. But the political and military leadership of the two countries have already become necessary grounds for conflict, and a long search for them and they haven't.

Anti-aircraft artillery on May 20 was the Pacific fleet had been fired at the Kamchatka in two 24-United States AIR FORCE. A similar incident occurred in the same area July 11, 1945 with the American p-38. However, in both cases, the fire was not to kill, so aircraft United States unharmed. But in the opposite situation, unfortunately, turned out otherwise: August 7, 1945 two United States AIR FORCE aircraft in the region of island Stone Gavrűškin (Kamchatka) fired two weapons onboard the Soviet border boats, killing 8 and wounding 14 men from their crews. It is likely that Americans just took our boats for the Japanese, but one way or another, by the bloody victims of undeclared war was opened.

Immediately after the end of the second world war, in September 1945, the violations have continued, although many such incidents in the Russian Far East American command explained the war against Japan and the errors that allowed their pilots.
* So, from May to September 1945 he recorded 27 similar facts involving 86 SA. moletov of various types, mainly in-24 and 25. After the capitulation of Japan until the end of 1950, at least 46 of 63 vehicles. Only from June 27, 1950 on July 16, 1950 noted 15 violations.

The first air battle took place at the far East in 1945, when the landing was one of the American bombers. It happened in November over Korea, which at that time stood as the Soviet and American troops. Near the town of Hamhŭng (then it was called Kankō) was a SOVIET AIR FORCE airbase. Above it, violating an agreement on air corridor flying American aircraft on their way to Manchuria to work for his former prisoners. The Soviet command tolerate with this: fresh was the memory of the recent military cooperation, but arrived the next Commission demanded to take measures to stop the flights. One day in November, United States aircraft flying at once here, was intercepted by p-39 fighters Quartet "Ačrokobra" who were to have its landing.

First American bomber crew, and it was a b-29, refused, but when one of the fighters fired on him and set fire to one of the engines, he quickly complied, and sat down at the base. None of the crew were hurt in the shelling of bombers, as the fire was conducted only on motor aircraft. Americans interned and car transported to Moscow for testing. Objectivity's sake it is necessary to note, that the crew of the b-29 fire to Soviet fighters did not open. When the Commander of the "fortress" during interrogation was asked why he had done that genuinely surprised: "how to shoot on the Russians?!"*

* Revision has and other data on this occasion: August 29, 1945 near Kankō. where was 14 IAP AIR TOPH, at an altitude of 400-600 m has been detected in the United States AIR FORCE 29-. At its interception flew a pair of yak-9 (moderator-l-t Feofanov, slave-ml l-t Zizevskij). After 10 minutes the second raised a couple (senior-l-t Belik, slave-ml l-t Mdivani). Fire at "American" was opened by Zizevskij, on his own initiative, after which in-29 villages at Kankō with burning engine (ed.)."

A number of US aircraft were also downed by Chinese fighters during the Vietnam war, both over China and over the water off the Vietnamese coast. Quite often they were recon or command and control aircraft, including jamming aircraft, supporting larger operations.

I do like this encounter from the links above,

"The most serious incident occurred in the years adjustment over the Norwegian Sea. September 13, 1987 along the Soviet territorial waters flew p-SV Orion from 333 1st AE Norwegian air force. He was accompanied by the Su-27 CT. l-t Basil Tsymbal from 941 IAP-10 AIR DEFENCE army. "Norwegian" departed from Annejâ and has been SF ships movement exploration. During the reciprocal space planes clashed in the air. With out of order rightmost engine and damaged it blades, Orion still went so far as to their base. The Su-27 is also safely sat down at Kilp-Yar. ** While investigating the incident, the two sides acknowledged the fault as the Norwegian crew, and Soviet pilots, but it all ended up apologizing."

** According to some reports, the district sent Cimbala, which comply with the refinement of the combat task of our submarines and where a Norwegian anti-submarine Orion, who put the hydroacoustic buoys. Soviet pilot was ordered to prevent this. At first he tried pressing the Norwegians, then went back to "Orion" was directed by Su-27. "Norwegian" was trying to "shake off" an annoying neighbor, reducing speed, but even at its minimum speed "su" confidently charted number and even was able to manoeuvre. There is a version that Tsymbal, forward okatil "Orion" fuel, including accidental discharge. However, "Norwegian" persisted in patrolling. During a convergence of r-z made a sharp maneuver … App. Ed."

link

September 13, 1987, pilot 941 IAP b. Tsymbal, trying to prevent the actions of the Norwegian Orion ASW aircraft, performed manoeuvres rapprochement to the very small distances. High flexible qualities of the Su-27, it was next to the "Orionom" even after he flew at minimum speed.
Photo from journal Flugzeuge Dez 87/88 Jan.

One of the unsuccessful manoeuvres "Orion" meant that screw 4-th engine by logging into "contact" with the keel of the Su-27, lost part of the blade.
Photo from journal Flugzeuge Dez 87/88 Jan

The photo of the Su-27 reminds me of the ones taken by the local F4 squadron here when intercepting Tupolev Tu-95 Bears off the coast of Oregon. Robert

Nice to see the Bug still around LOL. Robert

"A number of US aircraft were also downed by Chinese fighters during the Vietnam war, both over China and over the water off the Vietnamese coast. Quite often they were recon or command and control aircraft, including jamming aircraft, supporting larger operations."

Any sources we can look those up? Robert

I have only seen a reference to 9th of April, 1965 epsiode when there was a fight between several Chinese- licensed MIGS (J5?) and F-4. Chinese version is that they've lost one of their fighters, and USAF pilot was taken down by friendly fire missile from another F-4. US version is that the plane was lost due to enemy fire.

Did find this on Wiki (take with salt please),

"The MiG-19 apparently was in front line service with the PLAAF, and saw limited combat against their common adversary, the Republic of China Air Force (Nationalist China). One major air battle between Red and Nationalist Chinese aircraft occurred in 1967, with 12 J-6s taking on four Lockheed F-104 Starfighters. Each side claimed one kill.

There were reports of People's Republic of China J-6s (MiG-19s) flying combat missions during infrequent border squabbles with the Soviets, though with no records of dogfights, and encounters during the Vietnam War with US aircraft that strayed into Chinese airspace. These confrontations resulted in a few shootdowns of US aircraft, with no recorded losses of Chinese planes, although the MiGs sometimes had to make a hasty retreat back into Chinese airspace when the Americans flew in reinforcements."

link

"On 9 April 1965, US Navy Phantoms mixed it up with Chinese MiG-17s over the Gulf of Tonkin. A Phantom may have shot down a MiG down with a Sparrow AAM, but the victorious Phantom was lost with both crewmen, apparently the victim of a "friendly fire" accident involving a Sparrow launched by their wingmates."
vectorsite.net/avf4_2.html

This is from Wiki,with a grain of salt,

List of United States – Soviet Union aircraft interception and shootdowns

1940s

April 22, 1945: Fighter, piloted by Soviet fighter ace Ivan Kozhedub, had been mistakenly identified as a Nazi aircraft and was attacked by two P-51 Mustangs. Kozhedub downed both, but only the pilot of the second Mustang managed to bail out.[1][2]
August 29, 1945: A Soviet piloted Yak-9, damaged a US Army Air Force B-29 Superfortress dropping supplies to a POW camp near Hamhung, Korea and forced it to land. The crew of the B-29 was not injured in the attack.[3]
October 15, 1945: A Soviet aircraft fired on a US Navy PBM Mariner patrol aircraft off the coast near Port Arthur-Dairen, Manchuria, China. The U.S. plane had overflown the land area controlled by the Soviets, but was 25 miles out to sea when fired upon. It survived the attack.[4]
November 28, 1945: Two Soviet fighter aircraft fired warning shots and forced a United States army transport aircraft to land near Dresden, Germany. The transport was enroute from Hanau, Germany to Prague, but was forced off course due to bad weather. The crew and passengers were searched and held for three days by the Soviets before being released.[5]
February 20, 1946: While on a training flight, a US Navy PBM Mariner from VP-26, based in Tsingtao China, made an unauthorized flight over Port Arthur Manchuria. As a result, Soviet fighters fired warning bursts at it, but no damage was inflicted.[4]
April 21, 1946: Soviet aircraft fired on a United States transport aircraft near Linz, Austria on Easter Sunday. It survived the attack.[6]
April 22, 1946: Four Soviet piloted P-39 lend-lease aircraft fired two to four 37-mm shots at a United States Army C-47 transport as it was landing at Tulln, near Vienna, Austria. The transport, with a crew of at least 5, was on a test flight and was not damaged.[7]
October 22, 1949: An US Air Force RB-29 Superfortress was attacked by Soviet fighters over the Sea of Japan. There were no injuries to the RB-29's crew.[3]

[edit] 1950s

April 8, 1950: Soviet La-11 "Fangs", piloted by Boris Dokin, Anatoliy Gerasimov, Tezyaev, and Sataev shot down a US Navy PB4Y-2 Privateer (BuNo 59645) "Turbulent Turtle" of VP-26, Det A. Based from Port Lyautey, French Morocco, the Privateer was on a patrol mission launched from Wiesbaden, West Germany. According the to the American account, this incident happened over the Baltic Sea off the coast of Lepija, Latvia. The Soviets claimed the aircraft was intercepted over Latvia and fired on the Soviet fighters during the interception. After the fighters engaged the Privateer, the Soviets report that it descended sharply before crashing into the sea 5–10 kilometers off the coast. All ten crew members were lost.[8]
July 14, 1950: A US Air Force RB-29 was shot at near Permskoye airfield in the USSR, but escaped.[3]
September 4, 1950: A US Navy F4U Corsair of VF-53, piloted by Ensign Edward V. Laney, shot down a Soviet Naval Aviation A-20 Havoc over the Yellow Sea, southeast of the Soviet-occupied Port Arthur naval base in China and west of the North Korean coast. Laney was one of a four-ship Combat Air Patrol from the carrier USS Valley Forge (CV-45) (part of Task Force 77), which was protecting US Navy air activity against North Korea not long before the Inchon landings.[3]
October 8, 1950: Two USAF F-80C Shooting Stars from 49 FG breached the USSR's border and attacked Sukhaya Rechka airfield, making two strafing runs before returning to their home base. Although Soviet sources claim the attack was intentional, the pilots claimed it was a result of a navigational error.[9] The airfield belonged to the VVS TOF, but it was occupied by the 821 IAP / 190 IAD. Mostly aircraft of the 1st Squadron of 821 IAP were hit with 12 P-63 "Freds" damaged, one P-63 burned to the ground while the other damaged aircraft were able to be repaired. No human losses were suffered.[10]
December 4, 1950: Soviet MiG-15s shot down an RB-45C Tornado of the US Air Force 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 45 miles east of Andung, People's Republic of China (just across the Yalu River from Sinuiju, North Korea). Soviet pilot Aleksandr F. Andrianov received credit for shooting down the aircraft. Co-pilot Jules E. Young and navigator James L. Picucci were killed in the crash. Pilot Charles E. McDonough and passenger John R. Lovell bailed out and landed south of the Yalu River. McDonough was badly burned when he landed on the Tornado's wreckage. Both were captured the next day by the North Koreans.[11]
December 26, 1950: An RB-29 Superfortress of the USAF was downed over Primore (Sea of Japan) by two MiG-15 pilots, Captain Stepan A. Bajaev and 1st Lieutenant N. Kotov.[3]
November 6, 1951: While conducting an intelligence gathering mission, later claimed to be a "weather reconnaissance mission under United Nations command", a US Navy P2V Neptune of VP-6 was shot down over the Sea of Japan, near Vladivostok, by Soviet La-11 "Fangs" flown by I. Ya. Lukashyev and M.K. Shchukin. The Soviet pilots reported that they intercepted the aircraft in the area of Cape Ostrovnoy approximately 7–8 miles from the shore. There were no survivors among the crew of ten.[3]
November 19, 1951: Soviet MiG-15 pilot, 1st Lieutenant. A. A. Kalugin forced a USAF C-47 Skytrain that had penetrated Hungarian airspace to land at the airbase at Pápa.[12]
May 11, 1952: A pair of Soviet MiG-15s intercepted a US Navy Martin P5M Marlin flying boat over the Sea of Japan. Despite attacking the flying boat six times, the MiGs inflicted only minor damage to the Marlin.[3]
June 4, 1952: An aircraft carrying the US Supreme Commissioner in Austria was forced down at a Soviet airbase by MiG-15s.[3]
June 13, 1952: Two MiG-15s flown by Captain Oleg Piotrovich Fedotov and 1st Lieutenant Ivan Petrovich Proskurin shot down a RB-29A Superfortress near Valentin Bay, over the Sea of Japan – all 12 crewmembers perished (their bodies were not recovered).[3]
July 15, 1952: A US Air Force Martin RB-26 Marauder weather reconnaissance aircraft was attacked over the Yellow Sea by Soviet MiG-15s.[3]
October 7, 1952: Two La-11 "Fangs" pilots, 1st Lieutenants Zeryakov and Lesnov shot down a USAF RB-29 Superfortress over the Kurile islands – all the crew of nine died (the remains of one of them, Captain John R. Durnham, was returned to the United States in 1993).[3]
October 8, 1952: Two Soviet MiG-15s fired on a US Air Force C-47 en route to Berlin, Germany. The C-47 escaped undamaged after taking evasive action and using cloud cover.[3]
November 18, 1952: Four MiG-15s engaged four F9F Panthers from the aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CV-37) near Vladivostok. One MiG-15 pilot, Captain Dmitriy Belyakov, manages to seriously damage Lieutenant Junior Grade David M. Rowlands' F9F-2, but seconds later he and 1st Lieutenant Vandalov were downed by Elmer Royce Williams and John Davidson Middleton; neither Soviet is found.[3]
February 16, 1953: Two Soviet LA-11 fighter aircraft made head-on firing passes at two U.S. Thunderjets. The Soviet planes were over the Japanese island of Hokkaido. They engaged the U.S. planes for 10 minutes before being chased out of Japanese airspace. One of the Soviet planes was hit and set on fire. The U.S. planes were not hit.[13]
March 15, 1953: A US Air Force WB-50 Superfortress reconnaissance plane of the 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was attacked by a pair of Soviet MiG-15s approximately 25 miles off the Kamchatka Peninsula, near Petropavlovsk. The WB-50 based at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas, was temporarily operating from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, while assigned to the 15th WRS. After escorting the WB-50 for a short time, one Soviet pilot opened fire on the WB-50. WB-50 gunner Jesse Prim returned fire and the MiG pilot quickly broke off his attack and returned to his base.[3]
July 27, 1953: An Aeroflot Il-12 "Coach" was shot down by US Air Force F-86 Sabre pilot Ralph Parr, near Kanggye, North Korea, shortly before the armistice went into effect. All 21 people on board were killed. The Soviets claimed that the aircraft was actually over the People's Republic of China when shot down.[3]
July 29, 1953: Two MiG-15s intercepted a RB-50G Superfortress near Gamov, in the Sea of Japan, and instructed them to land on their home base. The RB-50 gunners opened fire and hit the MiG of 1st Lieutenant Aleksandr D. Rybakov. Rybakov and his wingman 1st Lieutenant. Yuriy M. Yablonskiy then shot down the RB-50. One of the crewmemebers (John E. Roche) was rescued alive, and corpses of other three were recovered. The remaining 13 crew members became missing.[3]
May 8, 1954: Three US Air Force RB-47E Stratojets flying a photo reconnaissance mission over the Northern USSR in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk from RAF Fairford exchanged gunfire with MiG-17s. One MiG was able to hit one of the Stratojets with several rounds and caused moderate damage to the wing and fuselage. Before the MiGs were able to shoot down the USAF plane, it crossed the border into Finland and the MiGs broke off the attack. However, during the attack the RB-47's fuel tanks were hit and the plane nearly ran out of fuel before it was met by a KC-97 tanker for in-flight refueling. The RB-47E landed safely in England a short time later.[3]
September 4, 1954: A US Navy P2V Neptune of VP-19, operating from NAS Atsugi Japan was attacked 40 miles off the coast of Siberia by two Soviet MiG-15s. The aircraft ditched and one crew member, was lost with the others being rescued.[3]
November 7, 1954: A US Air Force RB-29 Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by Soviet MiG-15 fighters, flown by Kostin and Seberyakov, near Hokkaido Island in northern Japan. The plane carrying a crew of eleven was conducting routine photographic reconnaissance near Hokkaido and the southern most of the disputed Kuril islands. The plane was attacked and seriously damaged, forcing the crew to bail out. Ten crewmen were successfully rescued after landing in the sea; however, the eleventh man drowned when he became entangled in his parachute lines after landing.[3]
April 17, 1955: The MiG-15 pilots Korotkov and Sazhin shot down an RB-47E Stratojet flying from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, north of the Kamchatka peninsula – all three crewmembers perished.[3]
June 22, 1955: A US Navy P2V Neptune of VP-9 (BuNo 131515), flying a patrol mission from Kodiak, Alaska, was attacked over the Bering Strait by two Soviet MiG-15s. The aircraft crash-landed on St. Lawrence Island after an engine was set afire. Of the eleven crew members, including pilot Richard F. Fischer, co-pilot David M. Lockhard, Donald E. Sonnek, Thaddeus Maziarz, Martin E. Berg, Eddie Benko, David Assard and Charles Shields, four sustained injuries due to gunfire and six were injured during the landing. The USA demanded $724,947 USD in compensation; the USSR finally paid half this amount.[3]
June 27, 1958: A US Air Force C-118 Liftmaster, reportedly on a regular supply flight from Wiesbaden, West Germany to Karachi, Pakistan, via Cyprus and Iran, crossed the Soviet border near Yerevan, Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. Soviet MiG-17 pilots G.F. Svetlichnikov and B.F. Zakharov shot the aircraft down 30 km south of Yerevan. Five crew members parachuted to safety and four other survived the crash landing on a half-finished airstrip. The crew of Dale D. Brannon, Luther W. Lyles, Robert E. Crans, Bennie A. Shupe, James T. Kane, James N. Luther, James G. Holman, Earl H. Reamer and Peter N. Sabo were captured and later released by the Soviets on July 7, 1958. This aircraft was reported to be the personal aircraft of Allen Dulles, then director of the Central Intelligence Agency.[3]
July 26, 1958: A US Air Force RB-47E Stratojet, flying from Iran, was intercepted by Soviet fighters over the Caspian Sea 130 miles east-southeast of Astara. The RB-47 evaded the fighters and fled to safety.[3]
September 2, 1958: Soviet MiG-17 pilots shot down a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance-configured C-130 Hercules aircraft over the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic; All 17 crewman aboard were killed.[3]
October 31, 1958: A US Air Force RB-47E Stratojet was attacked by Soviet MiG-17 fighters, over the Black Sea. The crew of three were not injured and the aircraft returned safely to base.[3]
November 7, 1958: A US Air Force RB-47E Stratojet was attacked by Soviet MiG-17 fighters, east of Gotland Island over the Baltic Sea. The crew of three were not injured and the aircraft returned safely to base.[3]
November 17, 1958: A US Air Force RB-47E Stratojet was attacked by Soviet MiG-17 fighters, over the Sea of Japan. The crew of three were not injured and the aircraft returned safely to base.[3]

[edit] 1960s

May 1, 1960: A CIA Lockheed U-2A, 56-6693, Article 360, flown by Francis Gary Powers was shot down by a SA-2 (Guideline) missile near Degtyarsk in the Soviet Union during an overflight codenamed Operation Grand Slam, the twenty-fourth and most ambitious deep-penetration flight of the U-2 program. Powers parachutes down and is captured. A pursuing MiG-19 piloted by Sr. Lt. Sergei Safronov was also shot down in the missile barrage, killing the pilot. Safronov was later posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev announced on May 7 to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, and thus the world, that a "spyplane" had been shot down but intentionally made no reference to the pilot. Powers was later produced in a 'show trial'. On February 10, 1962, twenty-one months after his capture, Powers was exchanged along with American student Frederic Pryor in a spy swap for Soviet KGB Colonel Vilyam Fisher (aka Rudolf Abel) at the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin, Germany.[3]
May 20, 1960: A US Air Force C-47 returning home to Wheelus Air Base, Libya from a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark was forced to land 15 miles north of Grevesmühlen in East Germany by Soviet MiGs after straying 22 miles into the country. The nine crew members were held captive by Soviet forces until July 19, 1960, reporting good treatment by their captors. The pilot blamed an erroneous wind report from Copenhagen forecasters, which caused the plane to drift off course.[3]
July 1, 1960: A US Air Force RB-47E Stratojet (53–4281) of the 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, flying over the Barents Sea was downed by Soviet pilot Vasili Poliakov, flying a MiG-19. Co-pilot Bruce Olmstead and navigator John McKone survived and were taken captive. The pilot, Bill Palm and ELINT operators Eugene Posa, Oscar Goforth and Dean Phillips were killed. Olmstead and McKone were released from Soviet captivity on January 25, 1961. Bill Palm's remains were returned to the US on July 25, 1960.[14]
September 14, 1961: The US State Department protested that two US civil airliners had been harassed by Soviet aircraft over Germany. In one case, a Soviet fighter flew 20 feet off the wing of a Pan American airliner in the Berlin air corridor. In the second case, a Soviet fighter crossed 100 feet in front of another Pan American airliner.[3]
December 5, 1961: US Air Force F-102s out of Galena, Alaska made the first intercept of a Soviet aircraft in Alaskan air space, a Soviet Tu-16.[3]
July 17, 1962: A Soviet fighter jet crossed within 300–400 feet of the nose of a US Federal Aviation Administration DC-3 in the Berlin air corridor. The fighter then took up position on the wing tip of the US aircraft.
September 24, 1962: A US Air Force RB-47E, piloted by John Drost, was intercepted over the Baltic Sea by a Soviet MiG-19.[3]
October 27, 1962: During the Cuban Missile Crisis,Major Rudolf Anderson is shot down by a Soviet operated SA-2 (Guideline) missile battery while carrying out reconnaissance in his Lockheed U-2A.[3]
October 29, 1962: A US Air Force air sampling aircraft from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, intruded into Soviet Chukotka due to a navigational error. President Kennedy issued an apology.[3]
November 4, 1962: A Soviet piloted MiG-21 intercepted two US Air Force F-104 Starfighters from the 479th Tactical Fighter Wing on a reconnaissance sortie near Santa Clara, Cuba, but the F-104s disengaged and retired northward.[3]
March 15, 1963: Two Soviet reconnaissance aircraft intruded into US airspace over Alaska to a depth of 30 miles. The aircraft entered US airspace over Kuskokwim Bay and flew in US airspace for about 30 minutes.[3]
January 28, 1964: In the T-39 Aircraft Incident, A US Air Force T-39 Sabreliner, based in Wiesbaden, West Germany, was shot down by a Soviet MiG-19 fighter over Thuringia, about 60 miles inside East Germany while on a training flight. The crew of three, Gerald Hannaford, John Lorraine and Donald Millard were killed.[15]
March 10, 1964: A US Air Force RB-66 Destroyer from the 10 TRW, based at Toul-Rosieres, France, was shot down over East Germany by Soviet MiG-21s. The aircraft was shot down near Gardelegen, after straying out of one of the Berlin air corridors. The three crew members, David Holland, Melvin Kessler and Harold Welch parachuted to safety and were released several days later.[16]
May 25, 1968: A Soviet Tu-16 flew over a group of US Navy vessels, including the USS Essex (CVS-9), off the coast of northern Norway. Shortly after passing low over the Essex, the Soviet bomber banked and one wing tip hit the sea. The plane then cartwheeled and exploded. There were no survivors.[3]
July 1, 1968: Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253, a Douglas DC-8, is forced to land in the Soviet Union; on board are over 200 American troops bound for Vietnam.[3]

[edit] 1970s

October 21, 1970: A US Air Force U-8 Seminole was shot down over Soviet Armenia by Soviet MiG-17s. The crew of four were all rescued.[3]
November 17, 1970: A US Air Force RC-135, piloted by James W. Jones, was intercepted by Soviet MiG-17s, while conducting a SIGINT flight over international waters near Vaygach Island. One of the MiG-17s fired warning shots, but the RC-135 ignored them and continued on its mission. The MiGs continued to escort the RC-135, but did not fire on it again.[3]
October 4, 1973: A Soviet Naval Aviation Tu-16 overflew the USS John F. Kennedy (CVA-67) in the Norwegian Sea. While attempting to escort the bomber away from the area, a US Navy F-4 Phantom collided with it. The Tu-16 safely returned to its base and the F-4 landed at Bodř, Norway.[3]
November 28, 1973: Soviet MiG-21 pilot Gennadii N. Eliseev intercepted an Imperial Iranian Air Force RF-4E Phantom II in Soviet airspace. After an unsuccessful attempt at firing a AA-2 Atoll missile at the Phantom, Eliseev destroyed the Phantom by ramming it. The Phantom's crew of IIAF pilot Major Shokouhnia and USAF backseater Saunders parachuted to safety and were captured by Soviet border guards. They were released 16 days later.The flight was part of a secret joint United States-Iranian reconnaissance operation known as "Project Dark Gene" and the Phantom being used had been heavily modified for ELINT purposes. The Soviet pilot Eliseev was posthumously awarded as a Hero of the Soviet Union.[17]
February 27, 1974: In the An-24 incident at Gambell, Alaska, a Soviet An-24 aircraft, low on fuel, made an emergency landing in Gambell, Alaska. The crew remained on the aircraft overnight and were provided with space heaters and food. The next day they were refueled and departed for home.[3]
April 2, 1976: A Soviet Su-15 flown by P.S. Strizhak was scrambled from Sokol airbase on Sakhalin Island to intercept a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft that had intruded to within 100 km of the island. After take-off, the Su-15 was redirected by ground control to intercept a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force P-2 Neptune. The P-2 was flying over the Sea of Japan at 6,500 feet near the southern tip of Sakhalian Island. Approaching within 4 miles of the P-2, the Su-15 followed it on a parallel course. The Su-15 pilot inadvertently fired a missile at the P-2 and had to quickly break radar lock on the P-2. The missile passed near the P-2's right wing and self-destructed safely.[18]

[edit] 1980s

July 4, 1989: In the 1989 Belgian MiG-23 crash, a Soviet MiG-23, piloted by Colonel Skurigin, took off from an airbase near Kołobrzeg on the coast of the Baltic Sea in Poland, on a training flight. After take-off the pilot realized he was losing engine power. The pilot ejected and landed safely by parachute. The engine then regained power and the aircraft flew away to the West, guided by the autopilot. The fighter left the airspace of the East Germany and entered West German airspace where it was intercepted by a pair of USAF F-15 Eagles. The F-15s were denied permission to fire on the MiG and had to let it fly away. Eventually, after flying 900 km, the MiG-23 ran out of fuel and crashed into a house near Kortrijk, Belgium. An 18-year old man in the house was killed.[3]

link

Name: Phillip Eldon Smith
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 435th TFS
Date of Birth: (ca 1935)
Home City of Record: Roodhouse IL
Date of Loss: 20 September 1965
Country of Loss: China
Loss Coordinates: 190000N 1093000E (DN302116)
Status (in 1973): Released POW
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F104C
Missions: 75
Note: Only USAF pilot held captive and returned from China

Other Personnel in Incident: From F105D's: Dean A. Pogreba (missing); Bruce
G. Seeber (released POW); from USAF F4 near Pogreba/Seeber aircraft: James
O. Hivner; Thomas J. Barrett (both released POWs)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 June 1990 from one or more of the
following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with
POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK May 2010.

REMARKS: 730315 RELEASED BY CHINA

SYNOPSIS: On September 20, 1965 an American pilot named Capt. Phillip E.
Smith was shot down over the Chinese island of Hai Nan Tao. The case of
Capt. Smith ultimately became entwined with those of other American pilots
lost in North Vietnam the following month. Capt. Smith was flying an Air
Force F104C and his loss over Hai Nan island is perplexing.

The Lockheed F104 Starfighter was an unusual aircraft created in the
mid-1950's to fill a need for a more maneuverable, faster fighter aircraft.
The result was a Mach 2-speed aircraft thrust into a combat-aircraft world
of Mach 1 and below. The aircraft itself is spared looking like a rocket by
its thin and extremely short wings set far back on the long fuselage, and a
comparatively large tailplane carried almost at the top of an equally
enormous fin. One less apparent peculiarity was an ejection seat which shot
the pilot out downwards from under the fuselage rather than out the canopy
of the cockpit. The Starfighter was primarily a low-level attack aircraft
capable of flying all-weather electronically-guided missions at supersonic
speed.

Why Capt. Smith was flying a strike aircraft over 40 miles inland in Chinese
territory is a matter for speculation. While the flight path to certain
Pacific points from Vietnam may take a pilot in the general vicinity of the
island, China was denied territory. According to one pilot, "Hai Nan was on
the way to nowhere we were supposed to be, and on the way back from the same
place." Either Smith was unbelievably lost or was on a mission whose purpose
will never see the light of day. Capt. Smith was captured by the Chinese."

link

May 12 1966" The PRC protests the downing of a MiG-17 by USAF fighter-bombers working the NE railway. It is unclear whether an F-105 pursued a VPAF MiG-17 into Chinese air space and shot it down, or whether, as the Chinese claim, an F-105 shot down a Chinese MiG-17 on a training flight inside Chinese air space." Robert

Looks like the Chinese did shoot down quite a few AQM-34 Drones . Robert

"Perhaps they did, and it has been just under-reported".

"Why would the Russians wish to under-report it"?

I wasn't implying the Russians were under reporting the incidents. I meant that the USA, and/or the West was/has.

There are plenty of examples of incidents that have occurred, that have been kept out of the press, and/or that have gone unreported, for fear of overly alarming US citizens.

No doubt, that still goes on today.

In some cases, info comes out years, or decades later, but I imagine in some, the info will never see the light of day.

"1969 A Soviet Su-9 Fishpot, piloted by N. Kravets, fired two missiles at a US reconnaisance balloon, but only succeeded in shooting off the lower half of the sensor pod. Another Su-9 then destroyed the balloon."

link

In regards to the "October 8, 1950: Two USAF F-80C Shooting Stars from 49 FG breached the USSR's border and attacked Sukhaya Rechka airfield, making two strafing runs before returning to their home base." posted above ,

"Two hours before Ray's flight reached Pusan's K-9 base, we had been alerted to a problem by a Top Secret message from Far East Air Force Headquarters. The steaming message came straight from General MacArthur, with emphasis added by Gen. Stratemeyer the Far East Air Force Commander:

"Who in the bloody hell's been shooting up the Russian airplanes on the very outskirts of Vladivostock?!"

That "secret airfield" they'd strafed was at Sukhaya Rechka …sixty miles inside Soviet Siberia, and the Hotlines from Moscow to Washington were buzzing with indignation.

Washington was very apologetic, assuring the Soviets that it was a simple and understandable navigation error on the part of our pilots, and that they would be severely disciplined. Our government even offered to pay the Russians monetary damages for the loss of their equipment destroyed in the raid. They finally allowed the matter to drop, and a possible provocation of World War Three was allowed to pass almost unnoticed.

Ray Carter felt terrible about attracting so much adverse high-level attention to the Squadron. I consoled him by telling him that he was getting his wrist slapped for his error in navigation …he was grounded for a week, ' sent to Tokyo for high echelon interrogation, then placed on R & R Leave until things cooled down …but, as I told him before he left for Tokyo…

…he'd probably be awarded the Air Force Cross for having carried out the very first American air raid against Russian territory! "

link

"The Cold War wasn't always that cold. On a few occasions it got downright hot.

One of those instances occurred on Nov. 18, 1952 in the Sea of Japan when a brief but furious dogfight erupted between a flight of four Soviet MiG-15s and an equal number of F9F-5 Panther jets from the U.S. carrier Oriskany.

The incident, which was officially denied by both U.S. and Soviet governments for years afterwards, took place about 50 miles south of the Soviet port city of Vladivostok.

The encounter began as the USS Oriskany, part of the U.S. Navy's Task Force 77, steamed north along the east coast of North Korea. Since arriving in those waters a month before, aircraft aboard the 904-long Essex class carrier had been flying missions in support of UN troops operating on the Korean peninsula. But as the events of the day unfolded, it may have seemed seemed as if those fliers might be firing the first shots in a whole new conflict – World War 3.

As the vessels crawled northward towards the border between the Soviet Union and North Korea, on November 18, American radar operators picked up number of blips coming out of Soviet airspace 50 miles to the north and heading straight for the U.S. carrier.

Not taking any chances, the Americans scrambled four Panthers from the Navy squadron VF 781 "the Peacemakers" to fly a protective screen around the task force.

As the Soviet planes closed to within visual range, the Panther pilots identified them as MiG-15s. The intruders immediately began making aggressive passes on the much slower and less agile American jets defending the ships, perhaps in hopes of provoking the Panther pilots to shoot. Twenty minutes into the encounter, and without warning, two of the MiGs opened fire on the closest pair of the American aircraft. The other two U.S. jets quickly dove into the fray and suddenly a fight was on.

Over the next few minutes a furious eight-plane dogfight raged in the skies just north of the U.S. carrier. Despite the superiority of the MiGs, the American pilots managed to splash one of the Soviet aircraft, while another limped from the area trailing black smoke. The other two MiGs broke off and sped for home.

The entire incident was over as suddenly as it began.

A lookout on one of the American destroyer spotted a parachute from one of the Soviet jets, but no rescue was mounted. Instead, fearing some sort of retaliation, the U.S. vessels came about and began steaming south.

In the days that followed the encounter, neither country acknowledged the incident. It became what some have since referred to as "unhistory". By 1961, news of the encounter was declassified.

Surprisingly, the Sea of Japan incident was not the only time that Americans and Soviet aircraft engaged in combat. It's a well-known fact that during the Korean War and to a lesser extent, the war in Vietnam, U.S. pilots often went up against Soviet aviators who were in the cockpits of North Korean, Chinese or North Vietnamese MiGs. Then there were instances of American surveillance aircraft being fired at by Soviet air defences. In 1960, an American U-2 pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was actually shot down over Sverdlovsk in the U.S.S.R.

On 17 other occasions between 1950 and 1970, aircraft from either the U.S. Air Force or the Navy have fired at or been fired upon Soviet aircraft in the Far East, Western Europe or the Central Asia. One of the more serious of these incidents took place in January, 1964, when two Russian fighter jets brought down an unarmed military trainer on a run along the border between East and West Germany. The American aircraft, a USAF T-39 commuter jet, drifted into East German airspace and within minutes was destroyed by Soviet fighter jets. Three American personnel died. American officials condemned the attack; the Russians claimed that the American aircraft had ignored warning shots and that they were justified in shooting the aircraft down."

link

I wish to amend the information about an incident October 21, 1970.
Actually U-8 Seminole was not shot down.
According to Russian sources it happened differently:
October 21, 1970 Beechcraft U-8 United States Army flying between the Turkish cities of Erzurum and Kars strayed from the path, violated the border the Soviet Union and made an emergency landing at the air base near the town of Leninakan, in the territory of the Soviet Republic of Armenia.
Realizing their mistake, pilot tried to take off again. But Major Aleksandr Leonov by car with driver quickly pulled up and blocked the movement of aircraft.
Then forced the pilot of a U-8 switch off engines.
Pilot major James P. Russell and passengers, Maj.-Gen. Edward Scherrer, Brig.-Gen. Claude Monroe McCuarie (Americans, military attaché of the Embassy of United States in Turkey), Colonel Civat Danley (Turkish army) were arrested and sent to the headquarters of the airbase. After investigation, the pilot and all passengers were in November 1970 transferred to the diplomatic staff of United States.
Sorry for my English)))

We my brother who retired as a LtCol a few yers ago was a Cobra helicopter pilot in Korea in 1980-81. The week that the US officer was killed because of the tree cutting down incicent, he 'crashed' on our side of the border.
No I was familiar with Army inquiries when accidents occr. So I was amzaed that he was awarded the Army Commodation medal after the incident. So Strange.

In the 1970s is was not unusual for me to issue pruple hearts to soldiers wounded along the DMZ where the cavalry patroled. I remember two guys broke their legs when a tunnel under their position collapsed.

Not US on Soviets/Russians, but I've read anecdotes mentioning that the Swedes were able to "splash" a few Mig-21s in the Baltic Sea, without firing a shot, as they'd swirl in practice dogfights, low over the water there.

Turns out those Swedish Drakens with their canted wings, and/or Viggens had a bit better low-speed maneuverability than their Russian counterparts did.

Well there was also incident between ČSLA Airforce and US in 1953, When two F84s violaited Czechoslovak airspace, the Us planes were trying to evade CSLA Migs-15 bis and split their flight while the first managed to RTB the second were engaged by Migs in resulting dogfight migs fire warning shots to force American pilot to land, but instead american pilot make the run for it in resulting dogfight he was shot down and that was official only CSLA shot-down of American jetplane to this date.