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America Accidentally Attacked the Soviet Union and Other Lesser Known History Moments

Khalid Elhassan February 27, 2020 34 min

Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star - Aircraft — American F-80s in action during the Korean War. Squdron

38. Overcoming Doubts

Considering his airspeed, Alton Quanbeck had only a few seconds to decide what to do about the airfield below him. Between his low altitude and low-hanging clouds, he could not see more than a mile or two in any direction. Even if he could have spotted any distinctive terrain features, it was unlikely he could have related them to the crude maps carried on this mission.

Quanbeck was bothered by a few uncertainties. First, no P-39 airplanes had been seen in North Korea. Second, he was not absolutely certain just where he was. Finally, the airfield below did not match the description of the Chongjin airfield he had been sent to attack. However, Intelligence reports had predicted a movement of aircraft into northeast Korea, and the markings on the planes below were nearly identical to those used by North Koreans. According to Quanbeck’s dead reckoning, he had hit the coast well south of the Soviet border, so he overcame his doubts and decided to attack.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.