Page:A Concise History of the U.S. Air Force.djvu/53

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Korean War fighters. North American F-86 Sabres, top, and Republic F-84 Thunderjets, center, challenged Soviet MiG-15s, bottom, sent into "MiG Alley" in northwestern Korea by Red China, to menace FEAF B-29s. Rules of engagement forbade the fighters from pursuing the MiGs across the border.

China and the Soviet Union, were off limits to aerial attack. The Air Force had to operate under the rules and restrictions of limited war and could not bring SAC's massive nuclear power to bear. FEAF B-29 Superfortresses, supported by tactical aircraft, bombed targets all over North Korea with conventional weapons, including radar-directed high-altitude strikes against enemy troops forming for attack. They blurred the lines between tactical and strategic air power, proving the value of George Kenney's "seamless" approach.

After China's intervention, both the United States and the U.N. sought a more limited objective, that of a negotiated truce. Dissatisfied,