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Congressional Medal of Honor Korean War
The U.S. Air Force's First War: Korea 1950-1953 Significant Events 1952
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
January 1952
The static, defensive-type ground warfare continued into January 1952. Meanwhile, UN warships and naval aircraft cooperated with Far East Air Forces in the interdiction of the enemy's supply network. The enemy countered UN air attacks with active air opposition and increasingly heavy antiaircraft fire. At Panmunjom, UN negotiators attempted to achieve an armistice; however communist intransigence, evasiveness, and procrastination thwarted their efforts.
Fifth Air Force tactical units directed most flights against railheads, communication lines, and highways over which the communists moved supplies and equipment to front-line positions. The fighter-bombers concentrated on rail-cutting missions but, when required, flew bombing, napalm, and rocket strikes in close support of Eighth Army ground forces. B-26 night intruders, aided by flare-dropping aircraft, directed attacks against enemy trucks, complimenting the daylight interdiction efforts of FEAF fighter-bombers. Other light bombers struck at enemy airfields, storage areas, rail junctions, and railroad rolling stock.
FEAF Bomber Command B-29s placed highest priority on North Korean airfields, which remained for the most part unusable. They also bombed marshalling yards, railroad by-pass bridges, and supply storage areas. The medium bomber aircrews used extreme caution to avoid bombing in the vicinity of reported POW camps. In addition, they flew nightly close air support missions, dropping 500-pound air fragmentation bombs over enemy troop concentrations.
Far East Air Forces flew numerous cargo, search and rescue, reconnaissance, and leaflet operations. The 315th AD airlifted 84,234 troops, 6,805 tons of cargo, and 2,041 medical evacuees. Search and rescue units flew 516 sorties. Helicopters evacuated 293 critically wounded patients from forward areas and rescued one pilot from behind enemy lines. C-47 and B-29 aircraft dropped psychological warfare leaflets to civilians and communist soldiers in enemy territory.
UN fighter sweeps provided protective aerial cover for fighter-bombers and inflicted costly losses on hostile MiG-15s, which made only sporadic attempts to interfere. During the month, UN pilots shot down thirty-two MiGs and damaged twenty-eight others. Although Far East Air Forces lost only five jets in aerial combat, it saw enemy ground fire destroy forty-four other aircraft. These had been engaged in low-level bombing runs and strafing sweeps.
January 12: F-84s caught three supply trains at Sunchon, racing for the shelter of a tunnel. They blasted the tunnel mouth shut, trapping the trains in the open, then destroyed the boxcars and at least two locomotives.
January 12/13: Ten Okinawa-based Superfortresses dropped 396 high explosive 500-pound bombs on the railroad bridge east of Sinanju across the Chongchong River, rendering the bridge unserviceable.
January 25: A helicopter rescued a downed airman, near the coastline of the Yellow Sea, while F-84s strafed enemy troops in the area. Escorting F-86s destroyed three MiG-15s during the pick-up. In other air-to-air combat, UN jets destroyed six and damaged four communist aircraft.
January 26: A rescue helicopter, behind enemy lines near the coastline of the Yellow Sea, received small arms fire while rescuing an F-84 pilot, Capt. A.T.Thawley.
February 1952
UN and communist forces maintained defensive positions, and front lines remained unchanged, running generally from Hungwang-ni northeast to Chungdong-ni, eastward to Schui-ri, and northeast to the vicinity of Kosong on the east coast. UN forces initiated small-unit reconnaissance patrols and raids into hostile positions, particularly along the western sector of the front. These operations generally encountered determined enemy defenses and prompt counteraction.
Daytime counter-air sweeps, day and night interdiction of the main communist supply routes, and airlift of high priority supplies accounted for most FEAF sorties. FEAF reconnaissance aircraft secured intelligence information on enemy ground dispositions, air targets, vehicle movements, airfield status, and weather. Cargo planes and medium bombers also dropped psychological warfare leaflets over North Korea. Inclement weather reduced the number of sorties flown during the month.
MiG-15s made only sporadic attempts to engage UN fighters, although communist air power based north of the Yalu River still threatened UNC air, ground, and naval operations in Korea. USAF pilots destroyed thirteen MiGs, damaged thirty-eight, and probably destroyed five more. The MiGs shot down two friendly jet fighters, while seventeen other UN warplanes of various types fell to enemy ground fire.
Fifth Air Force fighter-bombers, under the protective cover of jet fighters, penetrated daily deep into enemy territory. The fighter-bombers also supplied limited support for Eighth Army front-line troops, permitting them freedom of movement not enjoyed by the enemy and destroying lucrative enemy targets near the battle area. At night, B-26 intruders and Marine fighters attacked rail transport systems and highways , hindering the movement of supplies and equipment. An intensified rail interdiction campaign, Operation SATURATE, became a race between U.S. airmen trying to destroy rail lines and North Korean laborers repairing them. During a given night as many as forty B-29s might hit a bridge and fighter bombers would drop some 500 bombs on a single length of track, only to see the bridge and track repaired within a day or two.
FEAF Bomber Command B-29s placed their primary efforts on railroad crossings, key railroad bridges, and marshalling yards, since most North Korean airfields remained unserviceable. To force the enemy to spread his antiaircraft defenses, they shifted from attacks on heavily defended bridges to less dangerous targets. In addition, they dropped air fragmentation bombs nightly over enemy troop concentrations near the front line.
The 315th AD airlifted 81,555 troops, 2,068 medical evacuees, and 1,431 tons of supplies. Search and rescue aircraft flew 586 sorties, and helicopters evacuated 126 medical patients and rescued nine airmen from enemy territory.
February 9: In a typical mission ten medium bombers used radar aiming methods to drop one hundred tons of 500-pound bombs, rendering the north by-pass Chongju rail bridge unserviceable.
February 10: Leading a flight of three F-86s on a patrol near the Manchurian border, Maj. George A. Davis, Jr., USAF, engaged twelve MIG-15s in aerial combat. Major Davis shot down two enemy aircraft and completely disrupted the enemy formation, but the MiGs destroyed his aircraft as well. Because he executed his attack against superior numbers and successfully protected the fighter-bombers his flight had been escorting, Major Davis posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his valor.
February 16-22: MiG-15 pilots flew close to 1,400 sorties this week.
February 17: Fifth Air Force flew an impressive 695 sorties, cratering rail tracks in over fifty locations, damaging a locomotive and fifteen rail cars north of Huichon, strafing a convoy of trucks near Sinanju, and destroying supply buildings and dumps between Kumsong and Sibyon-ni.
February 19: The communists flew approximately 389 MiG-15 sorties, the largest aerial effort to date. In aerial combat, USAF pilots destroyed three enemy aircraft.
February 23: By shooting down a MiG-15, Maj. William T. Whisner, Jr., 25th FIS, achieved ace status.
February 26: Ten Superfortresses, using radar aiming methods, dropped one-hundred tons of bombs on the Sinhung-dong rail road bridge near Huichon in north central Korea, knocking out two spans. Col. Cecil H. Childre replaced General Henebry as Commander, 315th Air Division (Combat Cargo). The U.S. Air Force's First War: Korea 1950-1951 Significant Events
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