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Great...confusing the issue with facts and eye witness accounts!
1. See the response above, and Juha's too. We know the Soviet combat losses from ex-Soviet sources in fair detail. We don't (or I don't) know the specific cases of the operational losses. The 10 operational losses implied by the often quoted 345 total/335 combat is probably just wrong. Even with 319 as combat, 345 total might not be correct. 319 might not be exactly correct either, but it's clearly close building bottom-up from published sources directly related to Soviet records. If the issue is combat losses, there's no big mystery.
2. The 90 I quoted for F-86 combat loss is from my own research in original records, in view of detailed MiG claims (including quoted wreck evidence). The difference between that and official 78 is mostly sloppy totalling, unknown or vague causes which appear to be MiG in light of MiG claims, and some damaged never repaired a/c I cout as 'lost' (in the original records some such are so counted already, others not, it wasn't consistent). I know of no cases such as you mention.
The only case I know where Soviet wreck evidence purporting to confirm a kill lists a US a/c given as operational loss is indicative I think: 726th Fighter Regiment claims v F-84's August 20 1952. One was verified by a wreck with 'buzz code' FS-574C, ie. F-84E 51-574, lost to engine failure per US accounts. The interesting thing is that the time and place of 726th's claim exactly matches a combat recorded by VF-191 F9F's: no claims, none lost. No F-84's met MiG's even the same day. MiG's routinely id'ed F9F's as other types (not clear they ever id'ed F9F's as F9F's!
The majority of Soviet credits were awared based on wreck evidence of 'crashed in the bay' (Yellow Sea). A large additional chunk were based on general reports of crashes by NK authorities and Chinese units; they didn't start surveying wrecks themselves until 1952. A small % of the credits are backed by surveys quoting real USAF a/c serial numbers, and those all execpt the example I gave, AFAIK, correspond to a/c listed lost in air combat or disappeared per the US (I count all those lost air combat). Some give serials which appear to be fake (though none of 100's of photo's I know of USAF fighters in Korea show any carrying fake s/n's). Some wreck reports give equipment serials, which seems strange, and further research on US side shows something very interesting, which I won't go into but suffice to say doesn't show USAF loss mistatements.
I found ~90 F-86 air combat losses studying each case one by one. AFAIK nobody has done the same thing and found something very different (a couple of published works looked at it, less completely I believe, one author readily conceded that, and came up with numbers bracketing mine). Everyone I know who claims lots more F-86 air combat losses hasn't done such research. I'm very open to revising my views but based on specific checkable examples, not general statements.
Joe
