Operation Moolah
Operation Moolah was a United States Air Force (USAF) effort during the Korean War to obtain through defection a fully capable Soviet MiG-15 jet fighter.
However, on September 21, 1953, North Korean pilot Lieutenant No Kum-Sok flew his MiG-15 to the Kimpo Air Base, South Korea, unaware of Operation Moolah.
[4] The appearance of the MiG-15 Soviet fighter over the Korean peninsula in November 1950 was initially thought to have placed United Nations aircraft, especially the USAF F-86, at a disadvantage.
United States military planners at the Strategic Air Command (SAC) were aware of the cannon but knew little more about the technical aspects of the aircraft, including flight performance.
Prior to the November 1950 sighting of the MiG-15s by USAF pilots, Soviet MiG-15 regiments were stationed at the Moscow Air Defence District to protect the capital against a possible NATO bombing.
The Soviets had gone to great lengths to hide their involvement in the war, including painting Chinese and North Korean insignia on their planes.
According to then-Captain Alan Abner, the idea of the operation originated from his office at the Army's Psychological Warfare Branch, in Washington DC.
According to him, the origin of Operation Moolah was from a war correspondent closely associated with the general but was not identified in Clark's book, From the Danube to the Yalu.
He then developed and wrote a fictitious interview between an "anonymous" and a nonexistent Air Force general suggesting the MiG reward.
[12] Another source attributes the idea to Major Donald Nichols, commanding officer of the 6004th Air Intelligence Service Squadron.
Clark stated: "To all brave pilots who wish to free themselves from the Communist yoke and start a new, better life with proper honor ... you are guaranteed refuge, protection, humane care and attention.
If pilots so desire, their names will be kept secret forever ..."[17] On the night of April 26, 1953, two B-29 Superfortress bombers dropped 1.2 million leaflets over Communist bases in the Yalu River Basin.
Though weather may have been a factor, he opines that the leaflets had a direct effect and believes that senior Communist military leaders began to screen for politically unreliable pilots.
Prior to April 27, all MiG-15s were painted the same pattern as the Soviet air force, with the red star, but after the 27th, all Communist aircraft had Chinese and North Korean markings.
The purpose of his trip was unknown to No, but rumors had circulated throughout the command that Lieutenant No was under investigation, questioning his loyalty to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The leaflets used in Operation Moolah carried the photo of Lieutenant Franciszek Jarecki, who had flown his Lim2 (license version of MiG 15bis) from Poland to political asylum in Denmark in March 1953.
Shortly afterwards, he was taken by helicopter to a secluded US military base at Oryu-dong, just outside Seoul, where the Fifth Air Force Intelligence Office was located.
No was later advised by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to decline the reward money in exchange for paid education at an American college of his choosing.
He thought it unethical to offer money to a defector and was concerned about the North Korean reaction to the defection due to the uneasy armistice agreement.
First, the offer made available in April 1953 was advertised through leaflets dropped at North Korean air bases on the Yalu River.
[32] Even though it was not directly influenced by Operation Moolah, No's defection did allow the USAF insight into the aircraft and the state of the northern air forces.
For the next several months, No answered numerous questions related to North Korea's military and the support it received from the Soviet Union and China.
He also provided valuable insight to American test pilots prior to their evaluation of the MiG at Kadena Air Base.
While the MiG-15 did have a faster climb rate and operated in a higher altitude ceiling than the F-86, it suffered from problems with oscillation, poor pressurization, unexpected pitch-up at high speeds, unrecoverable spins, sudden stalls, and a particularly dangerous emergency fuel pump that could cause the aircraft to explode if improperly activated.
Other goals of this operation were also to acquire intelligence, force the government of North Vietnam to evaluate the loyalty of its pilots and reduce MiG sorties.
In Episode 243 of Season 11 of M*A*S*H, a lightly wounded North Korean pilot winds up at the 4077 M*A*S*H. He landed due to engine trouble, with no intention of defecting, but an Army PR man offers him a deal very much like Operation Moolah, even citing Gen. Mark Clark by name.
[citation needed] In the 1983 film Under Fire, fictional characters portrayed by Nick Nolte and Ed Harris discuss a leaflet drop in Africa offering a new home and swimming pool to any opposition pilot who defects.
