The Most Underrated Flying Weapon of the Korean War

1952. The Korean War rages. Although the US Air Force has established air dominance, the Mig Valley, close to the Yalu River, remains under Chinese control thanks to the introduction of the utterly effective Soviet MIG-15 jet aircraft.

Still, a lone American aircraft ventures deep into enemy airspace plagued with these devastating Soviet fighters with one objective: gathering intelligence.

Marine pilot, Master Sergeant Lowell T. Truex flies a blue F2H Banshee, a reliable high-altitude fighter and successor to the Navy’s first pure jet, the Phantom.

Named after the mythological banshees due to the unique scream of its engines, Truex’s F2H was on a photo run of enemy installations when he felt something was off.

He was alone. Truex began to look around for his escort of Air Force F-86 Sabres, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Truex took a quick look at the Yalu River below and noticed a group of enemies of MIG-15s was taking off.

The sergeant felt uneasy. His four 20-millimeter cannons could help him stand a chance against the enemies, except this time, his aircraft was naked.

Instead of guns and bombs, Truex’s Banjo, as it was known to the Marines, was equipped with six state-of-the-art cameras that had no use against the superior enemy fighters. But he had a mission to finish…

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