Anti-Aircraft Artillery in the Korean War (el. knyga) (skaityta knyga) | knygos.lt

Aprašymas

On 25 June 1950, the 507th Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Automatic Weapon) Battalion at Camp McGill, Japan, was ordered to form a detachment for an urgent air transport mission. Three officers and thirty-two enlisted men, equipped with four M-55 quadruple-mounted .50-calibre anti-aircraft machine-guns, were airlifted by C-54 transport aircraft to Korea to establish air defence for a forward airfield. Designated Detachment X, the unit arrived at Suwon airfield, twenty kilometres north of Seoul, at approximately 09.00 hours on 29 June, and immediately began deploying its defences. Shortly afterwards, the airfield came under attack by the North Korean Air Force. Four Yak-9 fighters approached from the northeast at about 1,400 feet, making three strafing passes and dropping three bombs. Detachment X responded instantly, shooting down two of the raiders. These engagements marked the first shots fired by US forces in the Korean War. Only five years after the Second World War, major conflict had returned to the Far East. North Korean forces crossed the 38th Parallel, driving the South Korean Army toward the Pusan Peninsula and threatening the survival of the Republic of Korea. US forces rushed from Japan attempted to slow the advance while the Eighth US Army in Korea held the Pusan perimeter. The war lasted more than three years, marked by shifting momentum and a prolonged air campaign that failed to decisively break a resilient enemy. The Korean War was unlike any previous conflict. It was the first major 'hot' war of the Cold War, the first fought in the jet age, and one never formally declared. Although Communist forces eventually lost air superiority, their anti-aircraft defences proved unexpectedly effective. Despite being limited in number and technologically outdated, these weapons accounted for most UN aircraft losses during the war. On the UN side, anti-aircraft artillery played an important dual role, defending against air attack while also providing close support to ground forces. For the first time, the role of anti-aircraft artillery in the Korean War has been documented using US, Soviet, Chinese, Korean, and Commonwealth sources. Illustrated with a collection of rare archival images, this book offers a unique perspective on an often-overlooked aspect of a 'Forgotten War'.