/ Modified may 1, 2010 2:24 a.m.

NOVA Missing in MiG Alley

NOVA traces new clues to missing pilots of the world’s first jet war. NOVA explores the Korean War’s aerial tactics, technology and grim aftermath for downed pilots, many of whom disappeared without a trace. Saturday, November 8th 5:00 p.m.

The Korean War pitted the two most advanced fighters of their day, the American F-86 Sabre and the Soviet MiG-15, in furious air battles in North Korea’s notorious “MiG Alley.” With the help of dramatic reconstructions, rare archival footage and interviews with veteran American and Soviet pilots, NOVA puts viewers in the cockpit to experience the lethal split-second duels that erupted in MiG Alley.

NOVA investigates the pioneering engine technology and cutting-edge aerodynamic designs that gave both the Sabre and MiG their phenomenal performance capabilities. The MiG, for example, was a brilliant blend of borrowed elements: Like the Sabre, the MiG’s raking swept wing was inspired by the Nazi high-speed, swept-wing fighter design, while its engine was a direct copy of an advanced Rolls-Royce model that the British rashly handed over to the Russians in a post-war trade agreement. Both fighters were so well matched that human factors — superior training and tactics — as well as plain luck proved to be crucial in deciding MiG Alley’s harrowing dogfights.

Capt. Troy G. Cope
Capt. Troy G. Cope, wearing a watch found at a crash site.

The program also follows the poignant and sometimes harrowing efforts of family members to trace what happened to airmen who disappeared more than 50 years ago. The files are still open on more than two dozen Sabre pilots who were shot down behind enemy lines and whose fate has never been definitively established. Years after the Korean War ended in 1953, rumors persisted of pilots held captive by the Soviets.

See previews and find out more at pbs.org.

Watch it Saturday, November 8th at 5:00 p.m on PBS World

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