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Posted on 07/24/2003 12:00:48 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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On Sunday, 6/25/50, preceded by a long and intensive barrage of artillery and mortar fire, 90,000 Russian -armed North Korean (NK) troops in seven assault infantry divisions smashed headlong into totally unprepared units of the army of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The Inmun Gun were led by over 150 T34/85 tanks, and closely supported by seventeen hundred 122mm howitzers and SU76 self-propelled 76mm guns. Over 200 Russian-supplied YAK ground-attack aircraft gave them total domination of the skies. The ROKs had eight divisions, but only four deployed along the 38th parallel, and they only partially. Much worse, they had no air force, only 2.36 inch rocket launchers, no recoilless rifles, no heavy mortars, no medium artillery ... and no armor. The T34s, arguably the best tanks developed in WWII, advanced in a line-ahead formation. After scores of ROKs died under their treads, trying desperately to stop them with satchel charges and hand grenades, the tanks began moving through the survivors as though they weren't there. At the same time, their infantry formations attacked in an inverted Y formation, sweeping around ROK opposition with the arms, encircling them, and finally crushing them.  In two days, Seoul was abandoned to the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th Korean People's Army (KPA) divisions, and the KPA 6th division was moving swiftly down east of the rugged Taebaek mountains. In the first week, more than 34,000 ROKs, a third of their army, were killed, captured, or missing. Although the ROKs had fought desperately, inflicting severe losses on the assault troops, this did not slow them down. The high cost of success to the KPA (or NK) wasn't apparent to US observers, an intelligence lack with serious consequences later. By the third week, the NK were brushing aside our own unprepared 24th division. The North Koreans were pros. A third of them fought in the Chinese civil war, and whipped the rest into fighting shape before they crossed the 38th parallel. They wiped out 5 ROK divisions in as many weeks. Had they not paused to re-group, had they simply continued their violent assault until they either won all or lost all, they would probably have captured Pusan and all of South Korea before America had time to marshal enough force to stop them. But they did pause, shortly after meeting American troops.  General Walker (left) is greeted on arrival at Taejon by General Dean. In fact, the NK had easily won most of their initial battles with us. Truman's Secretary of Defense, Louis Johnson, had not only virtually disarmed our ground forces, he had forced a change of mind-set for their training, resulting in an army much more prepared to be friendly garrison troops than to fight for their lives against a fearsome and vicious enemy. The NK simply crushed 24id's 34th Regiment, overwhelming them with numbers, better equipment, and better fighting ability. When this became generally known, the fighting spirit of other US units was sometimes hard to find. The most serious example was 25id's unreliable all-Black 24th Infantry Regiment. 24th Infantry coined the term "Bug Out" and illustrated it, as around Sangju where 24th units abandoned their machine guns and mortars without being attacked. Exposing the flanks of adjacent regiments without warning offered the enemy access around our front lines, endangering all Eighth Army. At Muchon-ni, 3/24 ran so far and so fast their battalion commander needed a full day to find them again (4 miles to the rear at Haman). When our disciplined, competent 27th Infantry re-captured positions fled by 2/24, they found the battalion's abandoned crew-served weapons still in place.  Two American soldiers with a North Korean prisoner of war, 5 August 1950 Even more tragically shameful, when some of our best men in other regiments were wounded, they were abandoned by their comrades to the cruelties of the enemy. I realize these facts are politically incorrect, and many creative attempts are being made today to discount or deny them. Such revisions of history do injustice to those troops who did stand their ground and fight, and may do harm to those who must stand and fight in the future. In the case of the 24th, when it was finally integrated with other infantry units a year later the issue of race began gradually fading into military history ... but the need to always keep our combat troops well armed, physically and psychologically prepared to fight, and to fight as teams, remains a vital lesson for us today, and forever. Note1: Not all the 24th ran. Pfc William Thompson of 3/24 Heavy Weapons was one of our few who are always prepared to fight. Although his whole battalion had fled, he manned his machine gun alone until he was killed. (As I write these notes, I wish with all my heart I could go back in time with a BAR, a bandolier of magazines, a box of Mark IIs, and stand with him. He got The Medal, posthumously, but I think he'd rather have had some help, right then). Note2: True understanding of the concept of "Team" and its vital importance in infantry combat is best gained by study of successful teams in Company or Battalion size. The Marine Brigade and the 27th Infantry Regiment action reports are well worth careful reading between the lines. Although not part of Pusan Perimeter battles, little mentioned at the time but now recognized as a classic example of small unit team coordination in combat is the capture of Maryang San by the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Army. In addition to isolated individuals, 24id's Task Force Smith, 1/21, had earlier fought well, although heavily outnumbered. First Battalion's gallant delay of two NK assault divisions gave the NK their first inkling that the US was entering the war. Going into Korea on July 1 with 16,000 men, the 24th Infantry Division was down to less than 9000 when they were relieved by the 1st Cavalry Division on July 22. By helping cause the NK to re-group before continuing their onslaught, 24id and their 21st Infantry Regiment bought time to help save South Korea.  A 3.5-inch rocket launcher on a battlefield, 20 July 1950 Astonishingly, the US and UN used that time to act rapidly and resolutely. Driven by the energetic UN Secretary-General, Norwegian Trygve Lee, unopposed in the Security Council because of the absence of a petulant USSR, and supported by the belated awareness of the Truman administration of the true Soviet intentions, the UN authorized international use of force to drive the NK back to their borders. With this authorization, in spite of the government's near-emasculation of our Army and Marine Corps, General MacArthur used the time to assemble powerful infantry and armour forces, and move them into an area around the southern port of Pusan, to form a defensive perimeter. The NK used the time to consolidate their gains and stage to continue the attack. The NK seriously began an assault on the Pusan perimeter on August 4. For the next 6 weeks, the issue of whether or not we could hold that perimeter, or would be crushed within it, was in doubt. When they finally crossed the Naktong and began their violent assault along the entire Perimeter, simultaneously, only 98,000 NK were attacking about 180,000 US and ROK troops. We were well equipped, with 600 main battle tanks against only 100 NK T34s, in excellent defensive positions, supported by far superior artillery, and we had overwhelming air superiority. Yet the NK came within a hair of wiping us out. The fighting during the first two weeks of this Second Battle of the Naktong was some of the most violent during the Korean War, with proportionately heavy casualties. For instance, about August 24, near Masan, 7500 NK with 25 tanks daringly attacked 20,000 US troops with 100 tanks, and almost broke through for what would have been a cataclysmic bloodbath at Pusan.  In part, this early NK success was owing to the Truman administration having reduced our Army from tough professional soldiers to poorly armed civilians in uniform, fit for garrison duty but completely unprepared for the savagery of combat. In part, it was because the NK were the reverse. Prepared, veteran, resolute and ferocious. In part, it was because General MacArthur's Intelligence Section grossly underestimated the casualties inflicted on the NK by the ROKs (estimated 31,000 when in reality the NK had taken 58,000 casualties, to about 76,000 ROK casualties) This led to a great over-estimation by Far East Command of NK strength, and a lowered confidence in our front line forces. The NK continued to menace the perimeter in early September. On September 6, they broke through at Yongchon, forcing ROK headquarters to evacuate Taegu. This time, UN forces bent but they didn't break, and on September 7 General Walton Walker finally proclaimed "Our lines will hold". When the 5th Marines, a proud regiment of our best fighting men, were withdrawn from his command, General Walker became less confident. The Marines had been consistently effective during the Naktong Bulge fighting. They usually had won their battles with the NK while Army units usually had not, and often about half of Army casualties were MIAs while the Marines usually had none. But by early September the Army had been able to bring in its better trained infantry units from Hawaii and elsewhere, and was steadily improving in overall combat efficiency.  Medics evacuate wounded of the 5th Regimental Combat Team hit near Masan, 30 August 1950 For example the 35th Infantry Regiment, the 'Rock of the Nam', well deserved the Distinguished Unit Citation it won there. Other units such as our 1st Cavalry Division, our 27th Infantry Regiment, and veteran allies such as the British, were also fighting with determination and effectiveness. Against our larger numbers, superior artillery and armor, and total air supremacy, although the NK were still confident and ferocious they were no longer nearly good enough to seriously threaten Eighth Army. Note: Most of the units I mention are ones I culled from military records only because I remember them from those times. There were many more that fought gallantly in defense of the Perimeter, particularly small units and individuals. Unit for unit, Eighth Army was badly out-fought by the veteran NK, but any man who has faced fire and steel for his country and stood his ground deserves respect. More, in bravery and sacrifice many of our individual soldiers equalled the best fighting men of any army, anywhere, any time. For the Inchon invasion, Army Major General Almond tried to substitute the 32nd Infantry, almost half manned by raw ROK recruits with no amphibious training, for the 5th Marines, but would have had to relieve 1stMarDiv commander General O.P. Smith to push through such an astonishing order. Ultimately, it was decided to let the 5th Marine Regiment mount out with other Marine units at sea, to help formation of the 1st Marine Division and X Corps. On September 15, the 5th led the way when our brilliant General Douglas MacArthur, with statregic prescience and unflinching nerve, sent the 1st Marine and 7th Infantry divisions storming ashore at Inchon, 100 miles behind NK lines, and soon there were no lines. Finally able to fight in the kind of fluid action they were trained for 1st Cavalry division led a breakout, and the Pusan Perimeter battle was soon over. The Road to the Yalu had opened.
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Bump for lunchtime read. I went back to the 7/21/03 Foxhole to see if the pics of snippy's vacation loaded. Success! I recognized snippy . . . but who is the stud in the khaki pants and polo shirt?
Hamburg after the raids
"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a dozen other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind."
Arthur 'Bomber' Harris (RAF Bomber Command)
Don't know about the 27th's Colors. The Brit 27th Brigade seems to have gotton more press than the NY Brigade.
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Air Power |
Monday morning, July 3, 1950 dawned bright and warm on the Yellow Sea, 180 miles (290 km) southwest of Inchon, South Korea. The Korean War was just 10 days old as the US Navy Carrier Valley Forge steamed north at high speed toward the 38th parallel. At 0935 hours she began launching aircraft. Jet engines began winding up from a high-pitched scream to a thunderous roar and one by one the catapult shot them forward and off the deck, clawing for altitude. The third aircraft away was flown by Lt. (jg.) Leonard Plog. The fourth was his wingman Ensign E. W. Brown. Two hours twenty minutes later the pair were over Pyongyang, North Korea in their Grumman "Panthers", riding shotgun for various Allied piston engine craft which were sent to wreak havoc on the enemy airfield located there. Spying a pair of Russian built YAK-9 piston engine craft taking off, Plog and Brown nosed over to challenge them. Plog arrived behind one YAK only to discover tracers flying past him from another enemy at "six". Pulling back hard on the stick, he was relieved to see the tracers falling away from him as Brown slid neatly astern the antagonist and put a stream of 20 mm cannon shells across the YAK from the top of the fuselage, just behind the canopy to about midway out on the left wing. There was a mighty explosion and the YAK disintegrated. It was the very first kill by a Navy jet, the Grumman Panther.
The Grumman XF9F-1 Panther began life in 1946 as design G-79, the company's first serious attempt to build a jet powered aircraft. It was a rather cluttered looking craft with 4 Westinghouse J-30 jet engines poking through the wings. Multiple engines were necessary due to the fact each engine developed only 1500 lbs. (6.67 kN) static thrust. In fact, there were so many engines there wasn’t room for fuel to run them.
As the British were a few years ahead of the US in jet engine development, the Grumman design team decided to import a single Rolls-Royce "Nene" for installation in the XF9F-2 prototype. At the same time, Pratt & Whitney was licensed by Rolls-Royce to manufacture the Nene which was a turbojet of 5,700 lbs (22.24 kN) maximum thrust. As a back-up in case the Nene project failed, Allison developed the J-33-A-8 which developed 4,600 lbs. (20.45 kN) thrust. This engine was installed in 54 F9F-3s. The Allison installation was purposely made identical to the Nene so that all Panthers could be easily switched to whichever power plant proved the most successful.
The first Nene powered XF9F-2 flew on Thanksgiving Day, 1947. It was a very sleek looking craft with elevators sitting high on a tail that jutted out past the tail pipe of the J-42 Nene. Air was scooped to the engine through triangular openings at the wing roots. It could reach 20,000 ft. (6,096 m) in just over two and a half minutes and zip along at 573 mph (922.16 kph) at that altitude. Top speed was just under 600 mph (965.61 kph) at sea level.
The Nene engine proved to be such a success, that all 54 production F9F-3s were eventually converted to dash 2s with the installation of the P&W J-42-P-6 (Nene). A total of 101 F9F-2s were thus produced. By odd coincidence, Russia was also licensed to build the same engine and they used it in their famous MIG-15 which would shortly be the Panthers adversary.
The first license built Nene powered F9F-2 Panther flew on November 24, 1948. Permanently mounted wing tip fuel tanks were added to this production model to increase the range and all production Panthers retained this feature. Four 20 mm cannons were mounted in the nose, giving the Panther awesome firepower.
It has been said the military views a new weapon as a Christmas tree. They just keep hanging things on it. They managed to hang enough ornaments on the dash 2 to increase its empty weight from 7,101 lbs. (3,221 kg) to 9,303 lbs. (4,219.84 kg) with a corresponding reduction in speed from 594 mph (955.95 kph) to 575 mph (925.37 kph) and climb rate from 7,700 ft/min (39.12 m/s) to 6,000 ft/min (30.48 m/s). On the plus side, the addition of wingman fuel tanks increased the range from 1,100 miles (1,770.27 kilometers) to 1,353 miles (2,177.44 kilometers). Every minute of combat in a Panther reduced its range by six miles and the extra tankage represented an extra 40 minutes in the combat area. By the end of August, 1951, over six hundred F9F-2 and -2Ps (photo reconnaissance version) Panthers had been produced by The Grumman Iron Works, including the dash 3s which were converted to -2 specifications.
The F9F-4 again started out with an Allison engine; the J-33-A-16 of some 6,900 lbs (30.68 kN) thrust. And again a Pratt & Whitney (the J-48-P-2, based on the Rolls-Royce "Tay") replaced it. The F9F-4 had its fuselage lengthened by 19 inches (48.26 centimeters) to enhance lateral stability. With the additional "ornaments" required by the Navy, the empty weight edged up to 10,045 pounds (4,556.41 kilos). However, this time the additional thrust of the P&W engine boosted top speed to 593 mph (954.34 kph), though not without the penalty of a small reduction in range. Full production of the dash 4 began late in 1951 and a total of 109 were built.
The F9F-5 proved to be the last and most numerous of the Panthers. Built concurrently with the dash 4, a total of 615 dash 5s and forty dash 5Ps were produced by December 1952 when production ended. It boasted a top speed of 604 mph (972.05 kph). The dash 5 was a formidable ground attack weapon with a capacity of 2,000 lbs (907.20 kg) of bombs and six 5" (12.7 cm) rockets, in addition to four 20 mm cannons mounted in the nose with 200 rounds each.
When the Korean war began at 4:00am, Sunday, June 25, 1950, the F9F Panther comprised the vast majority of US Navy carrier based aircraft. The Air Force had the F-80 "Shooting Star" and a few F-82 Twin Mustangs which were more than a match for North Korea's piston engine craft. But when the Chinese Communists began furnishing Russian built MIG-15s and pilots to fly them, the technological balance shifted toward the enemy. The F-80 and F-82 were totally outclassed by the sleek, swept wing Russian fighter. The best available aircraft was the Panther. Though by no means an even match, the Panther had the advantage of a mobile runway, and with this floating air base, had more "loiter" time. At first, Panthers were so priceless even the Navy Flight Demonstration Team (The Blue Angels) was stripped of its new Panthers, which were then sent to battle in Korea. In November, 1950, the Panther became the first carrier jet to engage a jet-powered enemy, a MIG-15 of the Chinese Peoples Republic. Pieces of the MIG were scattered over large area of the frosty Korean landscape.
The last Panthers were flown by the US Marines until 1957, while some Naval Reserve craft remained in service a few years longer. Some (mostly-2s) were also used for advanced pilot training, while a few -5s were modified to F9F-5KD drones. Navy records indicate that, in one form or another, Panthers were still on the books as late as 1962. Civilian pilots seem also to have been fascinated by the F9F, with some still flying as late as 1996.
Specifications:
Primary Function: Naval Fighter
Contractor: Grumman
Crew: One
Unit Cost: N/A
Powerplant: One Pratt & Whitney J-48-P-6 turbojet at 7,000 lbs (31.13 kN) max thrust.
Dimensions:
Length: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
Height: 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m)
Weights: Empty: 10,147 lbs (4,602 kg) / Maximum Takeoff: 18,721 lbs (8,491 kg)
Performance:
Maximum Speed: 604 mph (972 km/hr) @ sea level
Cruising Speed: 481 mph (774 km/hr)
Stall Speed: 131 mph (210 km/hr)
Service Ceiling: 42,800 ft (13,045 m)
Normal Range: 1,300 mi (2,092 km)
Climb Rate: 6,000 ft/min (1,828 m/min)
Armaments:
Four 20 mm M3 cannons w/ 200 rounds each.
2,000 lbs (907.20 kg) bombs.
Six 5 inch rockets.
All photos Copyright of Aviation-History.com
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Good Job, 101st
 This photo released by the US Defense Department (DOD), shows a cloud of dust and smoke billowing out from a building hit with a TOW missile launched by soldiers of the Army's 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) on 22 July, in Mosul, Iraq. The sons of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Qusay and Uday, who were in the building, were killed in the gun battle. "We have no doubt we have the bodies of Uday and Qusay," Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez told journalists in Baghdad.(AFP/US Defence Department/Curtis G. Hargrave)  This photo released by the US Defense Department (DOD), shows flames erupting from a building hit with a TOW missile launched by soldiers of the Army's 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) on in Mosul, Iraq  Soldiers of the Army's 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) fire a TOW missile at a building suspected of harboring Saddam Hussein's sons Qusay and Uday in Mosul, Iraq, on July 22, 2003. Hussein's two sons and other aides were killed in a gun battle as they resisted efforts by coalition forces to apprehend and detain them Saddam Hussein's sons Qusay and Uday were killed in a gun battle as they resisted efforts by coalition forces to apprehend and detain them. U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday the killing of Hussein's two sons should reassure Iraqis that Saddam's rule will not return, and he called for greater international support for post-war Iraq. REUTERS/Curtis G. Hargrave/U.S. Army  U.S. soldiers watch as smoke billows from a building hit with a missile launched by the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division in Mosul, Iraq, July 22, 2003. Former aides to Saddam Hussein as well as medical and dental records confirmed the ousted dictator's sons Uday and Qusay were killed in a gunbattle with American troops at the house, the U.S. commander in Iraq said on Wednesday. Picture taken July 22, 2003. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. REUTERS/Spc. Robert Woodward/U.S. Army  U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne take cover as they secure the area around a house in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, July 23, 2003. The Defense Department announced a plan on Wednesday to replace weary U.S. military personnel in Iraq with fresh American and international troops, with stints of up to a year for some American units. Photo by Oleg Popov/Reuters  A U.S. soldier from the 101st Airborne (L) stands guard near a wounded Iraqi man near a house which U.S. troops raided in the northern city of Mosul, some 420 km north of Baghdad, July 23, 2003. The man was wounded as the U.S. soldiers tried to disperse the crowd around the house. The sons and some aides of ousted leader Saddam Hussein were killed in a gunbattle with American troops, a U.S. military spokesman said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Oleg Popov
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