Issue: Description

THE USE OF AVIATION IN THE KOREAN WAR ON THE PAGES OF YUGOSLAV AERONAUTICAL JOURNALS

Authors:
Ilija Kukobat

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The Korean War (1950-1953) became the first great armed conflict of the Cold War era that saw the USSR and USA support the warring factions. It was also the first conflict to see the wide-scale use of jet aviation on both sides. This fact attracted the interest of both military aviators and the general aviation public throughout the world, including Yugoslavia. As Yugoslav relations with the rest of the Eastern bloc were low since 1948, Yugoslavia turned to the West to modernise its army, especially the air force. This made information on aerial warfare in Korea very valuable, as the jet aircraft used by the United States in Korea were also operated by the Yugoslav Air Force from 1953. A total of five aeronautical journals, published by the Air Force Command and the Aeronautical Union of Yugoslavia (the na tional aeroclub) followed technological advances, developments in tactics and doctrine, and the exploits and experiences of aviators in Korea. Articles can be divided into expert analyses and informative pieces, both of which were published by the military and the Aeronautical Union. It must be noted that practically all information was supplied by Western sources, that Soviet data was unavailable to Yugoslav authors at the time, and that Yugoslavia’s political position affected the stance of the informative pieces, making them pro-Western