[JoeB]

Very interesting indeed. The compilers and editor of that interview should be congratulated, and thanks for posting it. In case it's of use to them (if they come across it) or anyone else, I'd comment in detail on the appendix about confirmation of Zabelin's victories in Korea, as follows:

First, a general source for US losses in Korea, as many know already, is:
http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/pmkor/korwald.htm
I'll call it "K". But K can't be entirely relied on to do matching of claims because it doesn't give times usually, and it doesn't discuss the fate of damaged a/c, which some authors seem to assume were 'losses' but that was seldom true. Also a lot of incidents of damage are omitted or on the the wrong days, in contrast to outright loss info which is much more accurate.

March 16, 1952: the loss of 50-668 was definitely the 15th not 16th. It's clear from the 5th AF's Daily Loss Damaged and Abortive A/c File ("Loss Rep") and the a/c's Individual A/c Record Card ("IARC"), so the attribution to weather/operational makes sense: no air combats that day in poor weather. On the 16th there were 8 Soviet credits for F-86's, but no recorded losses.

April 2, 1952: 50-632 listed as Zabelin’s target was damaged April 1 per Loss Rep (served postwar per its IARC). On April 2, 50-592 was lost (1Lt Joe Cannon, rescued), in a combat at 1735I pre the 5th AF Periodic Intelligence Report (“Perintrep”) dated April 3, describing the combats of April 2. 50-602 was hit at 1020I by a 23mm shell causing hydraulic failure so major damage when the nose gear collapsed on landing (returned to service per IARC). Of the 5 Soviet credits this day, two were in the morning, but that of the 494th IAP was recorded at 1640 Beijing (ie. 1740I) and those of the 821st IAP (including Zabelin’s) in the window 1740-1805I, so one of the three probably corresponds to the loss, but there is no way to tell which, with any information I know.

April 6: as the editor says, 5 Soviet F-86 credits, no F-86 losses. 49-1218 suffered major damage from landing gear collapse (served postwar).

April 13: The editor says 2 F-86’s were downed of which one was 50-636, but actually 50-636, piloted by Maj. George Wendling, was the only F-86 lost that day, 1015-1030I, per the Perintrep. Wendling’s loss therefore matches the claim of the 494th IAP recorded at 1018-1025I, whereas Zabelin’s (826th IAP) and the 16th IAP’s claim were both recorded around 0640I. Separate actions with MiG’s around 0640I are mentioned in the Perintrep, and F-86A 49-1316 was damaged (returned to service) in still another combat around 0700I. No victory can be confirmed for Zabelin on this date.

May 17: the editor mentions 6 F-84 credits by the Soviets but I believe there were 7, 6 of them by the 821st IAP but all 7 were at around 0620-0630I. All 4 actual F-84 losses were at around that time (3 outright losses listed in K, and 50-1230’s IARC shows it was written off as a result of combat damage).

May 20: as the editor says, one Soviet credit, one US loss, and moreover Zabelin’s claim was recorded at 1320I and Lane’s loss in a combat starting at 1315I, so this is a pretty certain match.

May 21: The editor says 2 F-86’s were downed but 50-689 (1Lt Charles Kerr, POW) was the only one, in a combat starting at 1315I. The 3 credits of the 821st IAP were all in the period 1315-1330I so they all match, no way to tell who scored the victory.

July 20: Again the editor mentions 2 losses but only, 51-2828 (1st Lt John Ellis, POW) was lost, at 1706. All 4 Soviet credits are in the time range 1712-1725.

So reviewing the 9 credits by date:
March 16: no
April 2: possible, 1 loss w/ 3 closely matching claims, .333 on a pro-rated basis.
April 6 (2 credits): no
April 13: no
May 17: probable, 4 losses, 7 matching claims, .571 pro-rated
May 20: yes, 1 fully confirmed victory
May 21: possible, 1 loss, 3 matching claims, .333 pro-rated
July 20: possible, 1 loss, 4 matching claims, .25 pro-rated.

Max possible score: 5, min possible: 1, pro-rated:~2.5.

The possibility of PLAAF or NK claims or victories is being neglected, but my approximately half complete list of individual Chinese credits doesn’t include any on those particular dates.

Again, that's a very interesting and valuable article.

Joe