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They
flew the planes in a mixed formation of F-86 fighters and one RF up to
MiG Alley, took their pictures of POW sites which Hq badly needed, got
away with it and the generals liked the results. They now made six more
RF-86A's and flew them regularly (that is half the squadron flew the
RF-86 and half flew the normally assigned RF-80's).
The fighter fleet then transitioned to
better F-86's with better flight controls, better turning wing
configuration, etc. It was necessary to update the recce so they
modified a few F-86F's into a similar camera configuration. That plane,
the RF-86F, reached Korea in spring 1953 and flew until after the
armistice in July or August 1953. These planes did not have the chipmunk
cheek bulges on the upper gun doors like our plane does.
Some where along the line the generals
decided they needed better photos from the 86 and someone designed a
version with 40 inch split vertical cameras. These were bigger and the
film magazine at the top of the 40 inch lens caused a large bulge or
blister to be added to the side of the plane just below the canopy. That
version is our plane.
There is some controversy about when
and where that version was modified and when it went into combat. The
best expert today in the F-86 series is Larry Davis who is the editor of
Sabre Classics and author of several books on the 86. He thinks the
chubby cheek version went into combat in Korea in the early summer of
1953 just before the armistice. However, I have friends who were the
pilots flying then and say "Not so!" They say this version did
not start flying until spring 1954 when the 15th TRS moved from Korea to
Komaki, Japan.
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