Today is the 60th anniversary of the first Marine Corps confirmed kill of a MiG during the Korean War. On 04 November, 1951, flying with the 336TH FIS, under the Fifth Air Force, Capt. William F. Guss USMC became the first Gyrene to shoot down a Russian built MiG-15. He was flying an F-86 Sabre. This was during a time when jet vs. jet combat was a relatively new thing. Close Air Support and other missions were still be flown by Marines in Corsairs and Skyraiders, a “night fighter” such as the Tigercat was a brand new idea and casualties were often flown out in TBM Avengers.

Here’s a list of all confirmed aircraft kills by the Navy and Marine Corps since 1950.

Soviet MiG15 in flight, undated. NHHC Photograph Collection, L-File, Aviation, Foreign.

F-86 airplanes on the flight line getting ready for combat. June 1951. Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force Photograph Collection

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