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Overview of the United States Air Force units and aircraft of the Korean War

The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was significant in the fact that it was the first war in which the newly independent United States Air Force was involved. It was the first time U. S. jet aircraft entered into battle. Designed as a direct response to the Soviet MiG 15, the F 86 Sabre jets effectively countered these aircraft, tactics, and, on some occasions, pilots of the Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation Corps. World War II era prop driven P 51D Mustangs were pressed into the ground air support role, and large formations of B 29 Superfortress bombers flew for the last time on strategic bombardment missions. The Korean War also saw the first large scale use of rotary wing helicopters. The US suffered 4,055 service personnel killed and 2,714 aircraft lost with the USAF suffering 1,841 battle casualties, of which 1,180 were killed in action.

Shaped in World War II by an increasing concentration on the strategic role of attacking an enemy's homeland, the Air Force now faced a conflict almost entirely tactical in character and limited as to how and where airpower could be applied. The Far East Air Forces Fifth Air Force was the command and control organization for USAF forces engaged in combat. Its units were located in Korea and Japan. Fighter and troop carrier wings from Tactical Air Command and federalized Air National Guard units from the United States deployed to the Far East and reinforced FEAF units engaged in combat. These tactical units conducted interdiction strikes on supply lines, attacked dams that irrigated North Korea's rice crops and flew missions in close support of United Nations ground forces. AT 6 Mosquitoes, trainers used as airborne controllers, provided communication links between ground troops and supporting aircraft. Although President Truman wasn't willing to risk extensive use of the U. S. bomber force, which was being used as a deterrent for possible Soviet aggression in Europe, a few groups of Strategic Air Command aging B 29 Superfortress bombers that were not part of the nuclear strike force were released for combat over the skies of Korea. Many of these B 29s were war weary and brought out of five years of storage. These bombers were employed effectively against North Korean military installations, government centers and transportation networks. As with the rest of the American armed forces, the Air Force was not well prepared for battle at the western rim of the Pacific. Yet despite these limitations, the Air Force responded quickly and effectively, proving in many ways the utility of airpower in modern war. With virtually no warning, the Air Force commenced operations within the first week. It transported troops and equipment from Japan to Korea, evacuated American nationals, provided significant intelligence through aerial reconnaissance, and most importantly helped to slow the North Korean advance so that the United Nations forces could construct a defensive position on the peninsula.

The Korean War signalled the end of widespread use of prop driven combat aircraft by the active duty USAF and signalled the primacy of jet powered aircraft. All F 82 Twin Mustangs had been removed from the theater by 1952 and F 51D Mustang strength had been cut in Korea from 190 to 65. First generation straight winged F 80C Shooting Star and F 84E/G Thunderjet jet aircraft were shown inadequate against the Soviet MiG 15s. However, the swept wing F 86 Sabre proved more effective, bringing a new generation of swept wing aircraft into the USAF arsenal in the 1950s. However prop driven aircraft continued in the specialized role of counterinsurgency aircraft (A 1 Skyraider, A 26A Invader) by the 56th Special Operations Wing which were flown over Laos during the Vietnam War. (The F 51D/H Mustang was used by some ANG units in the Air Defense role, but by 1957 it was out of the inventory). With the end of fighting in Korea, President Eisenhower, who had taken office in January 1953, called for a "new look" at national defense. The result: a greater reliance on nuclear weapons and air power to deter war. His administration invested in the Air Force, especially Strategic Air Command. The nuclear arms race became of signal importance. The Air Force retired nearly all of its propeller driven B 29/B 50s and they were replaced by new Boeing B 47 Stratojet aircraft. By 1955 the Boeing B 52 Stratofortress would be entering the inventory in substantial numbers, as the prop driven B 36s were quickly phased out of heavy bombardment units.

During World War II, The Group, each with three or four flying squadrons, was the basic combat element of the Army Air Forces. This organization changed in 1947 when the new United States Air Forces adopted the wing base plan. Each combat group then active received a controlling parent wing of the same number and nomenclature. The new wing also controlled three additional groups with the same number to operate the airbase, maintain the aircraft and provide medical care at the base. When combat forces began to fight the war in Korea, the USAF units did so in various organizational forms. In some cases, the combat arm of the wing plus a portion of the wing's supporting personnel deployed to the Korean theater, leaving the rest of the wing to operate the home base, to which the group returned after its tour of combat ended. Early in the war, some combat group deployed and operated under other wings, including temporary four digit wings. In December 1950, those groups' aligned (same number) parent wing moved on paper from their previous bases and replaced the temporary wing in combat. The personnel of the temporary wing's headquarters were reassigned to the headquarters of its replacement. In 1951, the Strategic Air Command began to eliminate its combat group by reducing the group headquarters token strength and attaching the flying squadrons directly to the wing; therefore, wings replaced the medium bombardment groups attached to Far East Air Forces (FEAF) Bomber Command for combat. The groups were either inactivated or reduced in strength to one officer and one enlisted. In most case, the personnel assigned to the group headquarters were simply reassigned to the wing headquarters which had moved on paper to the location of the headquarters. Most other combat organization in theater continued to operate with both wing and group headquarters or with group headquarters only. In a few cases, individual squadron, such as the 319th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, were directly controlled by an organization higher than either wing or group level.

North American F 51D MustangF 51Ds, though obsolete as fighters, were better suited to the small airstrips of Korea than were the F 80s and F 82s based in Japan. Japan based F 51Ds were immediately transferred to Korea and pressed into service in an attempt to halt the rapid North Korean advance. They carried out the majority of air support missions in the early days of the war, extant jet aircraft lacking the endurance to permit sufficient loiter time over the target. Although their primary mission was close support, USAF Mustangs did engage and shoot down several North Korean Yaks when these aircraft made their infrequent appearances. In instances where Mustangs were engaged by Chinese piloted MiG 15 jet fighters, however, they were outmatched. Mustangs were however still able to perform well in the ground attack role and substantial number were fitted with rockets and bombs. The Mustangs were instrumental in halting the North Korean advance, buying valuable time for United Nations forces to deploy. RF 51s were used for reconnaissance. Lockheed F 80C Shooting StarThe Shooting Star was operated extensively in Korea with the F 80C being instrumental in quickly gaining and maintaining air superiority over the Korean battlefield. The first jet versus jet aircraft battle took place on 8 November 1950 in which an F 80 shot down a MiG 15. However, the straight wing F 80s were inferior in performance to the MiGs and were soon replaced in the air superiority role by the swept wing F 86 Sabre. When sufficient Sabres were in operation, the Shooting Star was assigned to ground attack missions, primarily for low level rocket, bomb, and napalm attacks on fixed targets. The Shooting Stars were superseded by later types as the Korean War proceeded. By the time of the armistice agreement of 27 July 1953, the only Shooting Stars still flying combat missions in Korea were RF 80As being used for reconnaissance. Lockheed F 94B StarfireBecause it carried a highly secret airborne radar system, the F 94s were at first not permitted to fly deep into enemy territory. However the F 94 radar proved ineffective on night missions against MiGs. Mounting losses of B 29 bombers following the Chinese and North Korean development of night interception tactics finally led to the lifting of this restriction in January 1953. North American F 82F/G Twin MustangBased in Japan, the F 82s were among the first USAF aircraft to operate over Korea. They were the only fighter aircraft available with the range to cover the entire Korean peninsula from bases in Japan. The first three North Korean airplanes destroyed by US forces were shot down by F 82s on 27 June 1950. However, the F 82 played a secondary role in Korea as compared with its distinguished predecessor, the single engined F 51. The Twin Mustang saw extensive service in Korea initially for air to air and ground attack work, but their suitability as night fighters caused them to be used mostly for defense purposes. 1951 was the last full year of F 82 operations in Korea, as a shortage of spare parts limited their operations along with them being replaced by the jet powered F 94 Starfire. Twin Mustangs destroyed 20 enemy aircraft, four in the air and 16 on the ground during the conflict. By summer 1952, the last surviving Korean War veteran F 82s were withdrawn from combat. Republic F 84D/E ThunderjetThe F 84 arrived in Korea in December 1950. Initially assigned to B 29 escort duties, however, the F 84E proved too slow to match the swept wing MiG 15, and MiGs were often able to outmanoeuvre the escort screen and make successful attacks on B 29s. F 84s were used to attack enemy airfields and other targets such as irrigation dams. The F 84 made daily attacks with bombs, rockets, and napalm on enemy railroads, bridges, supply depots, and troop concentrations. In two Thunderjet operations, attacks were made on Toksan Dam about 20 mile (32 km) north of Pyongyang, and the Chasan Dam, a few miles to the east. The resulting floods extensively damaging rice fields, buildings, bridges, and roads. Most importantly, 2 main rail lines were disabled for several days. While unable to cope with the MiG 15 at high altitude, they were more effective at medium or low altitudes and scored several kills. RF 84s were used for reconnaissance. North American F 86A/E/F SabreThe F 86 Sabre survived many initial teething problems to become the premier USAF fighter of the Korean War. By the end of hostilities, all but one pilots in the UN airfleet, who claimed the status of ace flew a model of the F 86. Later models were more powerful and used both for air to air and ground support. The RF 86 was used for reconnaissance.

Boeing B 29 SuperfortressBy 1950, the B 29s had been reclassified as "medium" bombers, their long range strategic mission having been taken over by the B 36 and B 50. Many aircraft were retrieved from postwar storage and refurbished. At least 16 B 29s were shot down over North Korea, and as many as 48 were lost in crash landings or written off because of heavy damage after returning to base. When the Korean War ended on 27 July 1953, the B 29s had flown over 21,000 sorties, nearly 167,000 tons of bombs had been dropped, and 34 B 29s had been lost in combat (16 to fighters, four to flak, and fourteen to other causes). B 29 gunners had accounted for 34 Communist fighters (16 of these being MiG 15s) probably destroyed another 17 (all MiG 15s) and damaged 11 (all MiG 15s). Losses were less than 1 per 1000 sorties. The bombers were also used as reconnaissance (RB 29), weather (WB 29), and rescue aircraft (SB 29). Douglas B 26B/C InvaderWhen the North Korean army invaded the South on 25 June 1950, the USAF was critically short of light bombers. The B 26 Invaders in Japan proved to be invaluable in the night interdiction role, and it fell to the B 26 to fly the first and the last bombing missions of the Korean War. Their first mission was on 28 June 1950 when they attacked railroads supplying enemy forces. Their first attack against North Korea was on 29 June, when they bombed Pyongyang Air Base, the main airfield in Pyongyang. The Invaders flew some 60,000 sorties and were credited with the destruction of 38,500 vehicles, 3,700 railway cars, and 406 locomotives. The B 26 had the honor of flying the last combat sortie of the Korean War, when, 24 minutes before the Armistice Agreement went into effect on 27 July 1953 a B 26 of the 3rd BW dropped the last bombs of the Korean war. The bombers were also used for reconnaissance, as RB 26s.