Douglas A/B-26 Invader
The B-26 in Korea
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Douglas A/B-26 Invader The B-26 in Korea |
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The A-26 was changed to the B-26 and was used in the Korean War with
60,096 sorties flown. There were 1,054 B-26s still available. Damage inflicted on the enemy was 38,500 vehicles,
3,700 railway cars, 406 train engines, and seven planes.
The outbreak of the Korean War caught the USAF by surprise,
and in the middle of converted from piston engined aircraft to jets. As a result a number of Second World War era aircraft
had to be rushed back into front line service, including the Douglas B-26 Invader (designated as the A-26 until 1947).
At the start of the Korean War the American Far East Asian
Air Force only had 26 B-26s, all based in Japan with the 3rd Bombardment Group of the Fifth Air Force. Their first involvement
in the war came on 28 June, only three days after North Korea invaded the south, and was an attack on marshalling yards that
had been captured in the invasion. On the following day they took part in the first attack north of the border, against the
North Korean base at Pyong Yang. By then end of 1950 the two squadrons of the 3rd Bombardment
Group had been joined by four squadrons from the 452nd Bombardment Group, a reserve unit that had been activated in August.
1951 saw the arrival of the 67th (Tactical) Reconnaissance Group, and 1952 the 452nd became the 17th Bomb Group. The B-26 was soon forced to operate as a night bomber, after
the North Koreans and their Chinese allies began to move their supply convoys under cover of darkness. The B-26 was the only
American aircraft suitable for this role – the radar equipped F-82 Twin Mustangs had been retained in Japan; the F-80s
were too fast to effectively locate their targets at night and muzzle flash from the guns of the F-51 Mustang damaged their
pilot's night vision. For the first year of the war the B-26 groups were forced
to operate from Japan, which greatly reduced the amount of time they could spend over their targets, but in the spring and
summer of 1951 the 3rd BG moved to Kunsan and the 452nd BG to Pusan. Night attacks on convoys remained their main task throughout
the war, and a number of different tactics had to be developed in an attempt to find their targets in the dark – some
aircraft carried searchlights, others operated alongside C-47 'Firefly' flare dropping aircraft, and others operated in pairs
as a 'hunter-killer' team – the first aircraft would find the target and fly overhead. When it had disappeared the truck
driver would turn his lights back on, just in time for the second aircraft to appear and attack it. BACKGROUND I flew 50 combat missions in Korea with the 37th Bomb Squadron,
17th Bomb Wing (L/NI) as a Navigator-Bombardier in B-26 Aircraft from January 1953 through July 1953. I entered Korea as a
2Lt. and left as a 1 Lt. The intent here is to describe conditions and equipment as I knew them and to provide a brief summary
of some pertinent air war facts. AIRCRAFT CHARACTERISTICS There were generally three different configurations of aircraft:
early, intermediate and late. The early aircraft were characterized by a "flattop" in which only the right half of the canopy
hinged up from the front for entry into the cockpit. These were not used in combat in my period since escape under emergency
conditions was difficult, if not impossible. The only flattop that I ever flew was in the 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron
at Langley AFB during training. The later or "clamshell" A/C had a left and right canopy which hinged at the bottom and opened
from the center. A jettison mechanism was incorporated so that the shells could be jettisoned in an emergency. Armament Bomb Racks B-26 Aircraft Characteristics PHASES OF THE WAR Phase 1 - 27 June 1950 NK army invaded South Korea and overwhelmed SK troops. Pushed
back to Pusan perimeter. USAF air power played a major part in stopping NK and holding Pusan Perimeter USAF Strength During this period, the NK air Force was destroyed and played
no further part in War Phase 2- 15 September 1950 Phase 3- 27 Nov 1950 to Mid 1951 Phase 4 - June 1951 to Dec 1952 Phase 5 (My era) Jan 1953 through July 1953 Conditions Weather Weather unpredictable, but unusually bad. Terrain Tactical Situation An armistice was negotiated andd became effective 27 July,
1953 U.S. Air Force strength at close of hostilities
(1953) Chicom Strength (Located in Manchuria) |
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