FIRST KILLS!
The North American Aviation F-82 was the last piston-engine fighter to be built, because after World War II all the leading nations started to build up their air forces with jets. It took the Korean War to bring the Twin Mustang into national attention. This war started on June 25, 1950 when the North Koreans crossed the 38th Parallel. An alert went out to three All Weather Squadrons (AWS) stationed in Japan. The 68th, at Itazuke Air Base, was the first to reply. The 339th AWS at Yokota Air Base and the 4th AWS at Naha Okinawa Air Base each kept just enough Twins to fly their local missions, while the remainder of their squadrons contributed to the war effort. The 4th donated eight F-82s and the 339th sent seven of their aircraft to Itazuke, where they formed the 347th Provisional Fighter Group with Colonel John Sharp as commanding officer.
On the morning of June 26, four of the 68th AWS flew from Itazuke AB to Korea to provide protective aerial cover for the Norwegian freighter which was evacuating Allied, civil, and military personnel that had been working in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. That morning, one of the F-82s was fired on by a North Korean aircraft but was unable to pursue it as the F-82 was providing protection for the evacuation. During the evac, F-82s circled the runway at Kimpo while the C-54 transports continued to land to load civilians destined for Japan. On the evening of June 25, Lt. Marvin Olsen (radar observer) and Lt. George Deans (pilot) flew the first accredited combat mission of
