Korean War
When the Korean War broke out on 25 June 1950, Kunsan Air Base had no United States flying units assigned. In their rapid advance, the invading North Koreans captured Kunsan Air Base on 13 July 1950.
The 24th Infantry Division retook Kunsan in October 1950, and the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) Intervention Campaign that winter failed to push far enough south to put Kunsan in jeopardy. United States forces first operated in significant numbers from the base in 1951.
The first Air Force unit to be assigned to the base was the 27th Fighter-Escort Wing, which arrived on 1 April 1951. The 27th Fighter Escort Wing was one of the first F-84 units to see combat action in Korea and earned numerous honors and awards for their combat record during the Korean War.
Improvements to the base were needed, however, to accommodate jet fighers. The 27th FEW was reassigned at the end April and The Army's 808th Engineer Aviation Battalion built a 5,000 feet (1,500 m) runway to replace the sod runway constructed by Japanese. This runway is now known as Taxiway Charlie (06/24). By August, construction had progressed to the point that heavier units could be based at Kusan and the Air Force assigned the 3rd Bombardment Wing to Kunsan.
The 3rd Bomb Wing flew the Doublas B-26 Invader bomber during the war, remaining at Kunsan from August 1951 until October 1954. A Marine aviation squadron, VMF(N)-513, arrived in April 1952, and a few months later the base added the 474th Fighter-Bomber Group, which included three squadrons of F-84 fighters, bringing the total size of the operation to one wing, one group, and a Marine fighter squadron. The 474th bombed and strafed such targets as bunkers, troops, artillery positions, bridges, vehicles, airfields, and power plants, and sometimes escorted bombers that attacked munitions factories and other objectives.
In April 1953, the 474th Fighter-Bomber Group returned to the United States and was replaced by the 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing, also flying the F-84.
During the Korean War, the large number of locations used for bases and the similarity of some geographical names prompted the Air Force to use alphanumeric identifiers for bases in addition to their proper designations. Under this system, each base in Korea received a "K number," simplifying positive identification when referring to the various bases. Kunsan received the number K-8, while Osan Air Base was also known as K-55.
Read more about this topic: Kunsan Air Base, History
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