For several more days, Davis led relatively quiet patrols, until November 30, Davis' 22nd combat mission in Korea. Around 16:00, Davis' flight of eight F-86s spotted a large group of nine Tupolev Tu-2 bombers from the Chinese 8th Bomber Division, escorted by 16 Lavochkin La-11 fighters from the Chinese 2nd Fighter Division near Sahol along the Yalu River.[15] The force was en route to a bombing mission on Taehwado Island in the Pansong archipelago.[14][16] Davis maneuvered the patrol into position for a firing pass on the bombers. He completed four attack runs on the formation, being continuously attacked by the La-11 fighters, which were unable to hit his aircraft. In spite of being separated from his wingmen, he managed to destroy two of the bombers and cause the crew of a third to bail out. By this time, another group of F-86s arrived to continue the fight, as Davis' aircraft were low on ammunition and fuel.[14] As the flight attempted to withdraw, one of Davis' pilots, Raymond O. Barton, called for help. Davis flew to Barton's aid and found Barton's damaged aircraft under attack from 24 MiG-15s of the Chinese 3rd Fighter Division arriving as reinforcement.[14][17] As two MiG-15s prepared a final attack on Barton, Davis swooped through their pass and scored direct hits on one, killing the Chinese flight leader who commanded the MiG pack.[14][17] The second broke off its attack. Davis then escorted Barton's damaged aircraft back to base, landing with only 5 US gallons (19 l; 4.2 imp gal) of fuel left in his tanks. For the day's actions, Davis was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.[18] The Taehwado bombing mission forced the Chinese Air Force to end all bombing missions for the rest of the war,[17] while the "hat trick"-plus-one of downing four Chinese aircraft in the fight resulted in raising Davis' confirmed victory count in Korea to six,[6][7] making him the fifth jet ace of the war and the first man in the history of the US military to become an ace in two wars.[18] At this point, Davis wrote to his family that he expected to be home by Christmas, but then the Air Force extended his tour of duty.[1] On December 5, Davis flew his next combat mission, his 23rd of the war. While on a search-and-destroy patrol over Rinko-do, Davis spotted two MiG-15s, shooting one down and forcing the other to withdraw. Ten minutes later, he spotted ano |
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