IPMS South Africa - Korean F51D Mustang

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Korean F51D Mustang

Written by Anton Dyason - IPMS SA Media Group

Friday, 16 June 2000

Page 2 of 6

On 5 December 1950 the first SAAF aircraft was lost when it attacked a railway truck that turned out to be loaded with explosives. The resulting blast knocked the pilot temporarily unconscious and he was forced to crash land. An American L5 aircraft later landed on a narrow road near the crash site and was able to rescue the pilot and his observer. The squadron flew numerous sorties to assist the hard-pressed ground forces, but were continually moved back to new bases as the communist advance continued. Despite the all-out air offensive, the UN troops were pushed back to Seoul and on 6 January 1951 they abandoned the city and moved further back to pre-arranged defensive positions. The air attacks were intensified and the aircraft found that they were subject to an increasing amount of ground fire from the communist forces. During February 1951 at least 3 SAAF aircraft were lost as a result of small arms fire while strafing enemy vehicles and troop positions.

On 1 March 1951 the squadron flew 32 sorties in one day, establishing a new record in 18 Fighter-Bomber Wing, destroying 7 vehicles and 2 tanks, but at the same time losing another 2 pilots. By this time General Ridgeway had decided to counter-attack in Central Korea and sent the 25th US Division across the Han River. The communists abandoned Seoul and on 15 March 1951 the 8th US Army drove into Hongchu in the central area. No 2 Squadron was by now fully integrated into 18 FBW and was building a reputation for operational skill and aggressiveness. By 12 April 1951 the squadron had flown 2000 sorties against the enemy and received a letter of appreciation from Lt.Gen. Stratemeyer, Commanding General of the Far East Air Forces. Lt.Gen. Patridge, Commander of the 5th Air Force also complimented the South Africans on their 'outstanding performance'.

Line up of SAAF F51D Mustangs.

On 22 April 1951 the communists launched another major offensive with 70 divisions, forcing the UN forces to withdraw in some sectors of the front, but by the end of the month the attack petered out, largely due to the efforts of the air force in disrupting enemy transport and supply dumps. On 9 May a huge strike, comprising 300 aircraft, took place on the communist air base at Sinuiju and Major Blaauw of 2 Squadron was awarded the American Silver Star decoration for his part in protecting and rescuing a downed pilot. By 22 May 1951 the communist offensive had collapsed and by the beginning of June the UN forces were again in possession of all South Korean territory. On 24 June 1951 another SAAF pilot won the American DFC when he led 3 other Mustangs in an attack on enemy troops that were poised to overrun an American position. One of the Marines later commented that:

"we were catching all hell because of an overwhelming Gook counter-attack. The tide of battle was leaving casualties in its wake like seashells cast upon a beach. It was then we saw four silvery streaks plummet from the skies with guns blazing. It was so wondrous a sight we completely forgot our whereabouts or line and just stood up in our foxholes and cheered. The Hall of Fame does not possess any greater men than those who flew that day."

In July 1951, with the start of peace talks at Punmanjon the air war entered a new phase, with the emphasis now on maintaining air superiority. On 8 July 1951, 2 Squadron had its first encounter with MiG-15 fighters, but the Mustangs managed to beat them off. A new major offensive was launched by the UN forces on 18 August 1951, and 2 Squadron was kept extremely busy. On 25 September 1951 the squadron flew 40 sorties in one day, the highest number since its arrival in Korea. In a total of 4920 sorties in its first year, the squadron had lost 36 of its 61 aircraft, but had destroyed over 2000 buildings, 458 vehicles, 14 tanks, 13 bridges and numerous other targets.

The ground crews of 2 Sqdn achieved excellent service standards, despite bitter cold weather conditions and various hardships. Note the non standard blue colour of the spinner.

On 20 March 1952 the squadron had its second encounter with MiGs when a flight of 4 Mustangs was attacked by 5 MiGs, resulting in one Mustang being shot down and one MiG damaged. The communists now had flak batteries placed along all their railway lines, making air attacks extremely dangerous. Nevertheless the air attacks were increased in order to put pressure on the communists at the peace talks. The increasing appearance of MiGs led to No 2 Squadron being re- equipped with F-86F Sabre jets (info article on-line soon), and training courses were held in Japan in November. The last mission flown by Mustangs was on 27 December 1952, and by January 1952 the first Sabres had arrived. Training of the SAAF pilots continued into February and by 12 March 1952 the squadron was once more flying sorties. The squadron was mainly employed in a ground attack role as the Sabre proved to be an excellent aircraft for dive-bombing, carrying two 1000lb bombs or napalm and rockets.

Due to the type of close support operations flown by 2 Sqdn, a large number were lost.

In June and July 1952 the communists again launched a massive offensive against the UN forces, and despite bad weather the air force was again called on to give air support to the troops, carrying out their task so effectively that the Communist offensive ground to a halt and their delegates at the peace talks decided the time had come to end the war. In order to prevent the enemy from building up its air power in the meantime, the UN aircraft continued to carry out intensive attacks. Finally, on 27 July 1952 an armistice was signed, with 2 Squadron flying a record 41 sorties that day before the armistice finally went into effect. The overall total of sorties flown by 2 Squadron during the war was 12,067 and altogether 34 pilots and 2 ground crew had lost their lives. By October all operational flying had ended and at the end of the month the SAAF pilots began to return home to South Africa. As the last of them was about to leave Korea the Commander of 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing showed his high regard for the Flying Cheetahs by issuing a Policy Order which said:

" In memory of our gallant South African comrades, it is hereby established, as a new policy that all Retreat Ceremonies held by this Wing, the playing of our National Anthem shall be preceded by playing the introductory bars of the South African National Anthem, 'Die Stem van Suid-Afrika'. All personnel of this Wing will render the same honours to this Anthem as our own. "

The personnel that served in Korea received a large number of medals and individual awards. In addition 2 Sqdn received Presidential Citations by the Presidents of the United States of America and the Republic of Korea. The Korean people erected a SAAF Memorial, 60 km south-east of Seoul as a tribute to the 36 South African personnel who lost their lives during the Korean War.