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Henry Buttelman (Photo USAF)

Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Buttelmann, the youngest ace of the Korean War, passed away on September 16, 2019.

Henry Buttelmann was born in Corona, New York on 26 June 1929. Entering the Air Force pilot training program in 1952, he graduated and went through advanced gunnery training before being sent to Korea in December of that year to serve with the 25th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing, equipped with the F-86 Sabre.

On June 19th, 1953, on his 55th mission scored his first aerial victory by downing a MiG-15. Eleven days later, he became the youngest ace in the Korean War when he shot down his fifth aircraft. By the time the Korean War ended on July 27, he had flown 65 combat missions and shot down a total of 7 enemy aircraft.

He was to see combat again during the Vietnam War, flying 46 combat missions in the F-105 with the 562nd Tactical Fighter Squadron in 1965. In 1969, he served for another 12 months in Vietnam, flying the F-100 Super Sabre with the Misty Forward Air Controllers and the 308th Tactical Fighter Squadron.

He retired from the Air Force in 1979 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was a resident of Las Vegas for over thirty years.

Our thoughts and prayers extend to the family and relatives of Henry Buttlemann.

Sources:

• Las Vegas Review Journal
• 2016 interview of Henry Buttelmann
• NASM Wall of Honor

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Photo Tony Hisgett (CC BY 2.0)

North American F-86A Sabre 48-0178, the only airworthy F-86A Sabre and one of the oldest jets still flying, has returned to the skies this week in Rockford, Illinois, with Paul Wood at the controls. The aircraft was previously operated in the UK by the Golden Apple Trust and returned to the USA earlier this year where Heritage Aero worked to restore her to airworthiness.

Source: Warbirds News