While overshadowed by WWII, and too often forgotten by the general public, the Korean War had a massive impact in shaping the present world order and still echoes regularly in today’s global struggles. It also had profound effects upon the trajectory of American naval power as well - offering a final, convincing argument for maintaining (and bolstering) the nation’s aircraft carrier fleet, which was in serious danger of being entirely mothballed in early 1950. These factors, and many other details, are all important reasons for reminding ourselves of this historic moment and for commemorating the sacrifices of the many thousand American and Allied service personnel who bravely came to the Republic of Korea’s aid in their time of desperation. This is why the Museum is proud to have a Korean War combat-veteran Douglas AD-4 Skyraider (Bu.123827) in its collection. With the 75th anniversary of the war’s onset occurring this June, we expect the aircraft to attend a number of events over the air show season, including EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025 in July. It will also be performing at the Museum during Flying Proms on June 14th!
Invasion:
In the early hours of June 25th, 1950, North Korean troops, armed and trained by Soviet Russia, surged across the 38th parallel in an unprovoked attack on the Republic of Korea, sparking a bloody, three year conflict now known as the Korean War. With Moscow and Beijing’s blessing, North Korea’s dictator, Kim Il Sung (grandfather to that nation’s present-day dictator, Kim Jong Un) hoped to forcibly place the entire Korean Peninsula under communist rule. South Korea, roughly the size of the U.S. state of Indiana, was unable to offer much effective opposition on the ground during those first urgent weeks of combat, so North Korea’s army steamrolled their way South at a rapid pace. By late August, just a small swath of land, about fifty miles by eighty across, near the south eastern port city of Pusan remained under Allied control - behind the so-called ‘Pusan Perimeter’. The South Koreans had neither the tanks nor the heavy artillery to counter the armored northern onslaught and seemed poised for imminent defeat - a fate which would have befallen them without the intervention of United Nations’ military forces, with heavy US support.
However, in those early days after the invasion, there was little substantive that the US or its allies could do to counter the communist horde. Massive budget cuts had eroded our nation’s military into a fraction of the juggernaut which, just five years earlier, had helped defeat the fascist empires of both Germany and Japan. While it was only natural for dramatic military spending reductions after winning WWII, development of the atomic bomb had rendered America especially complacent by 1949, when it was still (just) the world’s only nuclear power. It had expended much of its limited budget on building atomic weapons and developing the B-36 Peacemaker strategic bomber to wield them, largely at the expense of naval air power. Naval Aviation and even the US Marine Corps were deemed by many in Congress to be redundant, with then Defense Secretary Louis A. Johnson contemplating their merger with the U.S. Air Force and Army respectively.
But along came the Korean War, which saw most air bases on the Korean Peninsular overrun in very short order during July and August 1950. As a result, most U.S. Air Force assets then in theatre had to fly all the way from Japan, or beyond, to join the fight. Being so far away, however, made it impractical to respond quickly to battlefield developments, especially as more than half of the Air Force combat aircraft then available were jet-powered F-80Cs. Having to fly from Japan, the F-80s could loiter no more than 15 minutes over the combat zone, rendering them ineffective platforms for close-air support, and unable to penetrate deep into enemy territory to attack supply routes and airfields.
Aircraft carriers solved this problem, however, by providing the Allies maneuverable, littoral platforms from which to project air power almost at will, and much closer to the fray.
The Bulwark:
The U.S. Navy and Britain’s Royal Navy each had just one aircraft carrier stationed in the Western Pacific (USS Valley Forge and HMS Triumph) when North Korea invaded. After re-arming at ‘Buckner Bay’ on Okinawa, the two carriers raced with the other ships of Task Force 77 to the Yellow Sea, the narrow body of water sandwiched between China and Korea’s western coast. They arrived in time to begin launching coordinated aerial attacks deep into North Korea by July 3rd, 1950. The Museum's Skyraider was aboard USS Valley Forge in this period, and flew dozens of missions from her deck.
While those early forays into enemy territory did not stop the North Korean army, they did blunt its advance and bought the Allies valuable time to rush more assets to the theatre. It was later learned that these bold strikes against North Korea’s air bases around Pyongyang also convinced Joseph Stalin not to deploy Soviet Russian air force units to the country, breaking a tacit promise to Kim Il Sung and angering China’s Mao Zedong, thus opening a fissure in China’s previously tight knit relationship with Russia.
A United Response:
Allied troops were mobilized rapidly, aircraft carriers were brought out of mothballs, air groups were stood up again, and vast amounts of munitions were hurriedly placed into production. To provide the U.S. Air Force with assets more capable of loitering over the battlefield, the U.S. Navy diverted its carrier USS Boxer from a planned refit in Bremerton, Washington then loaded 145 cocooned F-51D Mustang fighter bombers aboard in Alameda, California. The carrier set sail on July 14th, arriving in Yokosuka, Japan with its precious cargo just 8 days and 7 hours later, a trans-Pacific crossing record at the time! The WWII-era Mustangs gained a new lease of life in the close-air support role, as they could operate from the rough air strips then available in Korea, unlike the jets.
While the United States contributed the lion’s share of soldiers, airmen and marines to Korea, 20 other countries played important roles too, with 15 providing combat units, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Canada, France, New Zealand, Philippines, Turkey, Thailand, South Africa, Greece, Belgium, and even Luxembourg, Ethiopia, and Colombia! Many of these nations also brought naval vessels, aircraft and tanks with their service personnel. Indeed, six British aircraft carriers (Triumph, Theseus, Glory, Unicorn, Warrior and Ocean) and numerous capital ships from other nations were on station at various points in the Korean War, including the Australian carrier, HMAS Sydney. Furthermore, Sweden, India, Denmark, Norway, and Italy all provided vitally needed medical support. It was a truly United Effort, and one worth commemorating.
In a subsequent article, we shall describe some of our Skyraider's history during its Korean War service.
