[AT YOUR SERVICE]
Taking off with IT MAY HAVE started out looking like "there were opihis growing all over it," but by the time John Puu's maintenance crew at Hickam Air Force Base gets through refurbishing it next month, the Korean War vintage F-86 Saber jet warbird will look like it is ready for combat.
vintage war birds
An F-86 and a MiG-15
are being spruced up to help
commemorate the Korean WarBy Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-BulletinAnd that's how it will be displayed in June when it is placed nose tip-to-nose tip with a Cold War adversary, a Russian built MiG-15, during a special Pacific Air Forces Korean War Symposium June 25-29.
J.C. Sullivan, Pacific Forces historian, said more than 400 Korean War veterans will attend a special social function at Hickam's massive Hanger 7 where the two Korean conflict warbirds will be on display.
"We call the Korean War the forgotten war," Sullivan said, "but we remember. We are going to honor those veterans."
The MiG-15, which was built in 1953, was stored in Arizona at the Air Force's aircraft maintenance and recovery center. It is now without its wings and tail section in a Hickam maintenance hanger, but with the help of 160 volunteers it should be looking like it, too, is ready for a flight over the Korean peninsula in two months.
The F-86 is intact, but may be in worse shape because of Hawaii's climate, which has had a devastating effect on it. The jet has been on display at various locations at Hickam since 1979. Its latest home was between Hickam's flight line and O'Malley Boulevard.
Corrosion has set in, said Puu, who supervises Hickam's aircraft maintenance shop, and it will take at least 1,000 man hours to restore the F-86."We're going to scuff it, refinish it, and then put all the markers back in place," said Puu, a 23-year Air Force maintenance expert before he retired and went to work at Hickam.
"Basically, we are going to cherry it out."
The refurbishing work will be done in between the regular maintenance activity that occupies Hickam's busy flight line.
Brian Gomes, head of Hickam's aircraft maintenance division, said the F-86 is one of six warbirds that Hickam has on display. His hope is to develop a schedule where each one of them will periodically be rolled into the maintenance hangers for body work and repainting.
The oldest of the six are a B-25 Mitchell and a B-26 Marauder -- propellor driven bombers from World War II. The rest are jet fighters: an F-102 Delta, an F-4 Phantom and an F-15 Eagle.
Puu, a 1973 Kalani High School graduate, said that the F-86 is a special job because no aircraft would ever be allowed to get into such bad shape in the active Air Force.
"We would never allow any our aircraft to get so corroded," said Puu, pulling out a frame to show how easily it crumbles when a little pressure is applied.
His team of metal experts will take sheets of aluminum just 0.040 of an inch thick and work it over areas of the F-86 that are so badly corroded that they cannot be patched.
Gomes, a 1973 Castle High School graduate, said his team of 78 civilians works in two shifts each day to maintain the many jets and transport aircraft that transit through Hickam.
"We average anywhere from 400 to 600 landings a month here," said Gomes, whose section is part of the 15th Air Base Wing's logistical support team, "and we perform everything from jet engine mechanics to repairing fuel systems and electronics and avionics."
The MiG-15 was acquired from the Polish air force. It is the same model flown by Russian, North Korean and Chinese pilots during the Korean War.
The F-86 jet fighter was involved in at least four MiG kills, Sullivan said. It was placed into service in 1950 and was assigned to the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing at Suwon Air Base from 1951-1953.
The jet later was assigned to the Hawaii Air National Guard's 199th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. It was taken out of service in 1957 and placed into storage where it remained until 1979.
Sullivan has asked the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, which owns both aircraft, for permission to paint the F-86 with the colors of Korean War ace Capt. Joe McConnell.
"He is still one of our leading aces, with 16 kills," Sullivan said.
McConnell was a member of the 39th Fighter Interceptor Squadron during the Korean War.
The June 25-28 symposium is one of two departments of the Defense Air Force commemorative events. The other Korean War commemoration will be held Sept. 22 at Osan Air Base in South Korea.
The Hanger 7 reception will be held on June 26.
"This will be a comprehensive symposium to discuss all aspects of the war and humanize it," Sullivan said.
There will be a series of panel discussion featuring Korean War scholars, veterans, spouses of veterans, and military historians.
"Our goal for this symposium is to provide an opportunity for a multidimensional discussion of the air war in Korea in one comprehensive package," said Timothy Peck, Pacific Air Forces command historian. "We believe it will be an event like no other that has been done on the Korean War."
For more information, contact the Pacific Air Forces history office at (808) 449-3936.
Gregg K. Kakesako can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.