200007 korea

8
www. navynews. co. uk NAVY NEWS KOREA WAR SUPPLEMENT 2000 1 THE FIRST time as pursued the defeated army of North Korea to the Yalu river in October 1950, UN forces began to encounter Chinese troops - not initially in any number and seemingly wary of making determined attacks. The true signifi- cance seemed to have been lost on Washington, where the tentativeness of the Chinese was misread as weakness. In fact, it was most likely that Mao's army was, in a sense, firing warn- ing shots. Whatever else they were, the first wave of Chinese troops to be com- mitted to Korea were no novices. Unlike the majority of the men they faced across the Yalu, most were steel-hardened veterans of over eight years of war against a formi- dable foe - the Japanese. They may have lacked equipment and resources, hut they were tough and committed. And, unlike the Americans, they were not tied to the roads along which would come the rations; a Chinese soldier needed less than one- sixth the daily supplies required by an American. The West's second great shock of the war broke with the sound of bugles, whistles, drums, rattles and bullets echo- ing in the Chongchon Valley on the night of November 25. The Dragon had awoken. The Chinese were attacking in strength, and there was nothing tenta- tive about it. The US Eighth Army and the ROK II Corps on the western side of the Korean peninsula, were soon falling back in chaos, abandoning their equipment in their flight before an attack by 18 communist divisions. Ironically, the fact that the Chinese were lacking in radio communications and modern equipment contributed to the stealth their build-up had been able to achieve. And Mao's troops were able to move with seeming case in the hills, cutting off the US roadbound units and achieving psychological, if not material, superiority. They cut the US 2nd Division to pieces; it suffered 3,000 casualties in retreat under fire, down a valley - an event that became known as their Death Ride. In one of the greatest defeats suffered by American arms, Eighth Army fell apart, retreating 120 miles in ten days, and recrossing the 38th parallel on December 15. They were followed by a pathetic, human tide of refugees, starv- ing, freezing, their clothes in tatters, and being repeatedly strafed by US aircraft which probably mistook them for Chinese columns. Among the units covering the retreat was the British 29 Brigade whose men found them- selves in hand-to-hand combat with Chinese troops in the inapt- ly named Happy Valley north of Seoul. The South Korean capital was taken again - this time by the Chinese. By now the desperate cold - as low as minus 20C at night - added to the misery of the retreating troops, their casualties swollen by cases of frostbite. Graves for the dead had to be blasted out of the frozen ground. Oil and blood plasma froze, and medical orderlies had to keep morphia syrcttcs in their mouths to keep the drug fluid. On the eastern side the Chinese offensive was faced by X Corps compris- ing 1st US Marine Division and 7th US Army Division. They were advancing towards the Yalu along the large Chosin Reservoir when the Chinese offensive began. The beleaguered corps conducted a painfully slow, staged, fighting retreat towards the port of Hungnam - and sal- vation. At each step they were surround- ed, losing men to the Chinese and to the cold. At Hagaru, at the southern apex of the Chosin Reservoir. X Corps was being re-supplied by air. It was there that the commander of 1st Marine Division, Lt General O. P. Smith, famously told news correspondents: "We are not retreating, we are merely advancing in another direction." The Royal Marines of 41 Cdo - now numbering 235 - joined X Corps on November 28, arriving at Koto-Ri, 17 miles south of Hagaru, with orders to march north with a company each of US THE DRAGON STRIKES i A Royal Marines machine-gun team await the Chinese on a hill in Korea. Marines and US Army. Smith badly needed them to reinforce the Hagaru perimeter. The combined group under Lt Col Drysdale, came under attack almost immediately they started out. The US Army unit retreated back to Koto-Ri while the British and US Marines fought it out all night beside the road. In the morning Drysdale led fewer than 100 of his Marines into Hagaru. He and many of his men were wounded or were suffering from frostbite. Eventually, Smith's force began its withdrawal south from Hagaru to the port of Hungnam on December 6. With them went Drysdale's Marines who impressed the Americans with their self- discipline, not least because they insist- ed on shaving each morning, despite the sub-zero temperatures. But their fighting ability was held in renown, too, the depleted unit acting as rearguard, and having to fight its way through an estimated seven Chinese divisions before reaching the coast. On December 10 the first of the 100,000 men of X Corps reached Hungnam where the US Navy was wait- ing. By Christmas Eve, evacuation from the port was complete. The US Marines alone had suffered almost 12,000 casualties - over half as a result of frostbite. But they had come out in good order and with most of their equipment intact. It is believed that the Picture: Royal Marines Museum. Chinese lost 37.500 casualties in the Chosin campaign, many as a result of the cold. At sea at the end of 1950 the frigates HMS Mounts Bay and HMS Whitesand Bay took turns to keep the enemy approaches from Amgak and the Chinnampo estuary illuminated by starshell during critical periods - and they kept a watch on Taewha-do, the only island in the Yalu gulf in the hands of friendly guerrillas. Among the US casualties in Korea at that time was the commander of Eighth Army, General Walker, killed in a road accident. His successor was the dynamic General Matthew Ridgway who had led the 82nd Airborne Division in the Normandy campaign. He had inherited a shattered force, but with typical diligence and fresh impetus he set about putting it back on its feet and restoring morale, partly through improved supplies, but mainly by better tactics. From now on his troops would not be road-bound, but would employ the sound military doctrine of taking and holding commandingterrain. They would fight for the hills. It was Peking, now, that had miscalculated. Like MacArthur, the Chinese believed that the conflict in Korea could be won outright by military means alone, that the US imperialists and their lackeys could be expelled entire- ly from the peninsula and that Korea could be united under the Red banner. But their offensive was running out of steam, and with Ridgway's arrival, UN resistance was stiffening. In the early months of 1951 the UN forces not only halted the enemy drive south, but in a series of well-planned counter-attacks recaptured Seoul for the last time, and drove the Chinese back over the 38th parallel and over the Imjin river. There was soon to be another big change at the top which was to influence the course of the war. For some time MacArthur had been stepping outside military bounds to force the political pace over Korea. He now pressed open- ly for full-scale war with China which, though it struck a chord with impatient public opinion in America, worried Washington and scared the pants off many of its allies - including Britain. MacArthur's was not a lonely voice at that time in urging that China should be bombed - including nuclear strikes. And he pressed Washington to take up Chiang-Kai-Shek's offer of Chinese Nationalist troops for Korea, which alone would be seen as a major escala- tion by Peking. It seems that to support his case he played up the difficulties being faced by his forces in Korea at a time when, thanks in large part to Ridgway, the situation was stabilising. Diplomatically, it was clear to govern- ments that escalation at best was likely to severely damage the moral standing of the UN and USA and lead to a pro- tracted war with China which would be difficult to end. At worst it could mean Soviet intervention - and another World War. All-out war with China was unthink- able to Truman, and he had the courage to settle the debate by dismissing his popular but over-mighty Supreme Commander. It was an action which sent Shockwaves through the American pub- lic and diminished the President's own popularity. But it was viewed with great relief by the British government and others. MacArthur was replaced by Ridgway, the man he had appointed to command Eighth Army, the man who had had to sit back that spring while MacArthur took the credit for Ridgway's operations which turned the Chinese tide. Eighth Army's new commander was to be General James Van Fleet, who at his first press conference on April 22 voiced what was an increasing sense of a lack of purpose among the UN's forces. Asked by a journalist, "What is our goal in Korea?" he replied: "I don't know. The answer must come from higher authority." That day a new Chinese offensive opened in west Korea. But this time. Ridgway's men stood on commanding terrain, and although they were slowly forced back in many places, they inflict- ed unsustainable losses on the Chinese whose human-wave attacks had lost their psychological edge against a well- equipped and well-positioned enemy with air and artillery support. Though the spring fighting produced no disasters of the magnitude of those suffered in the previous winter, it was tough going. Best remembered is the story of the courageous stand by the 1st Battalion The Gloucester Regiment against three Chinese divisions attempt- ing to force the Imjin river. The battalion, part of British 29 Brigade, held out, surrounded, for three days, battling on without hope of relief. Only 169 of the battalion's 850 managed to break out. In total 29 Brigade suf- fered 1,000 casualties - but in the same action the Chinese lost ten times that number. The next month Eighth Army began another successful offensive to drive back the Chinese and to control the industrial 'Iron Triangle' in central Turn to next page SECOND OF A TWO-PART EXTRA MARKING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE KOREAN WAR

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Transcript of 200007 korea

Page 1: 200007 korea

www. navynews. co. uk NAVY NEWS KOREA WAR SUPPLEMENT 2000

1

THE FIRST time aspursued the

defeated army of NorthKorea to the Yalu river inOctober 1950, UN forcesbegan to encounter Chinesetroops - not initially in anynumber and seemingly waryof making determinedattacks. The true signifi-cance seemed to have beenlost on Washington, wherethe tentativeness of theChinese was misread asweakness. In fact, it wasmost likely that Mao's armywas, in a sense, firing warn-ing shots.

Whatever else they were, the firstwave of Chinese troops to be com-mitted to Korea were no novices.Unlike the majority of the men theyfaced across the Yalu, most weresteel-hardened veterans of overeight years of war against a formi-dable foe - the Japanese.

They may have lacked equipmentand resources, hut they were tough andcommitted. And, unlike the Americans,they were not tied to the roads alongwhich would come the rations; aChinese soldier needed less than one-sixth the daily supplies required by anAmerican.

The West's second great shock of thewar broke with the sound of bugles,whistles, drums, rattles and bullets echo-ing in the Chongchon Valley on thenight of November 25. The Dragon hadawoken. The Chinese were attacking instrength, and there was nothing tenta-tive about it.

The US Eighth Army and theROK II Corps on the westernside of the Korean peninsula,were soon falling back in chaos,abandoning their equipment intheir flight before an attack by 18communist divisions.Ironically, the fact that the Chinese

were lacking in radio communicationsand modern equipment contributed tothe stealth their build-up had been ableto achieve. And Mao's troops were ableto move with seeming case in the hi l ls ,cutting off the US roadbound units andachieving psychological, if not material,superiority. They cut the US 2ndDivision to pieces; it suffered 3,000casualties in retreat under fire, down avalley - an event that became known astheir Death Ride.

In one of the greatest defeats sufferedby American arms, Eighth Army fellapart, retreating 120 miles in ten days,and recrossing the 38th parallel onDecember 15. They were followed by apathetic, human tide of refugees, starv-ing, freezing, their clothes in tatters, andbeing repeatedly strafed by US aircraftwhich probably mistook them forChinese columns.

Among the units covering theretreat was the British 29Brigade whose men found them-selves in hand-to-hand combatwith Chinese troops in the inapt-ly named Happy Valley north ofSeoul.

The South Korean capital was takenagain - this time by the Chinese. By nowthe desperate cold - as low as minus 20Cat night - added to the misery of theretreating troops, their casualtiesswollen by cases of frostbite. Graves forthe dead had to be blasted out of thefrozen ground. Oil and blood plasmafroze, and medical orderlies had to keepmorphia syrcttcs in their mouths to keepthe drug fluid.

On the eastern side the Chineseoffensive was faced by X Corps compris-ing 1st US Marine Division and 7th USArmy Division. They were advancingtowards the Yalu along the large ChosinReservoir when the Chinese offensivebegan.

The beleaguered corps conducted apainful ly slow, staged, fighting retreattowards the port of Hungnam - and sal-vation. At each step they were surround-ed, losing men to the Chinese and to thecold.

At Hagaru, at the southern apex ofthe Chosin Reservoir. X Corps wasbeing re-supplied by air. It was therethat the commander of 1st MarineDivision, Lt General O. P. Smith,famously told news correspondents:"We are not retreating, we are merelyadvancing in another direction."

The Royal Marines of 41 Cdo - nownumbering 235 - joined X Corps onNovember 28, arriving at Koto-Ri, 17miles south of Hagaru, with orders tomarch north with a company each of US

THE DRAGONSTRIKES

i

A Royal Marines machine-gun team await the Chinese on a hill in Korea.

Marines and US Army. Smith badlyneeded them to reinforce the Hagaruperimeter.

The combined group under Lt ColDrysdale, came under attack almostimmediately they started out. The USArmy uni t retreated back to Koto-Riwhile the British and US Marines foughtit out all night beside the road.

In the morning Drysdale led fewerthan 100 of his Marines into Hagaru. Heand many of his men were wounded orwere suffering from frostbite.

Eventually, Smith's force began itswithdrawal south from Hagaru to theport of Hungnam on December 6. Withthem went Drysdale's Marines whoimpressed the Americans with their self-

discipline, not least because they insist-ed on shaving each morning, despite thesub-zero temperatures.

But their fighting ability was held inrenown, too, the depleted uni t acting asrearguard, and having to fight its waythrough an estimated seven Chinesedivisions before reaching the coast.

On December 10 the first of the100,000 men of X Corps reachedHungnam where the US Navy was wait-ing. By Christmas Eve, evacuation fromthe port was complete.

The US Marines alone had sufferedalmost 12,000 casualties - over half as aresult of frostbite. But they had comeout in good order and with most of theirequipment intact. It is believed that the

Picture: Royal Marines Museum.

Chinese lost 37.500 casualties in theChosin campaign, many as a result ofthe cold.

At sea at the end of 1950 thefrigates HMS Mounts Bay andHMS Whitesand Bay took turnsto keep the enemy approachesfrom Amgak and the Chinnampoestuary illuminated by starshellduring critical periods - and theykept a watch on Taewha-do, theonly island in the Yalu gulf in thehands of friendly guerrillas.

Among the US casualties in Korea atthat time was the commander of EighthArmy, General Walker, killed in a roadaccident. His successor was the dynamic

General Matthew Ridgway who had ledthe 82nd Airborne Division in theNormandy campaign.

He had inherited a shattered force,but with typical diligence and freshimpetus he set about putting it back onits feet and restoring morale, partlythrough improved supplies, but mainlyby better tactics. From now on his troopswould not be road-bound, but wouldemploy the sound military doctrine oftaking and holding commanding terrain.They would fight for the hills.

It was Peking, now, that hadmiscalculated. Like MacArthur,the Chinese believed that theconflict in Korea could be wonoutright by military means alone,that the US imperialists and theirlackeys could be expelled entire-ly from the peninsula and thatKorea could be united under theRed banner.

But their offensive was running out ofsteam, and with Ridgway's arrival, UNresistance was stiffening. In the earlymonths of 1951 the UN forces not onlyhalted the enemy drive south, but in aseries of well-planned counter-attacksrecaptured Seoul for the last time, anddrove the Chinese back over the 38thparallel and over the Imjin river.

There was soon to be another bigchange at the top which was to influencethe course of the war. For some timeMacArthur had been stepping outsidemilitary bounds to force the politicalpace over Korea. He now pressed open-ly for full-scale war with China which,though it struck a chord with impatientpublic opinion in America, worriedWashington and scared the pants offmany of its allies - including Britain.

MacArthur's was not a lonely voice atthat time in urging that China should bebombed - including nuclear strikes. Andhe pressed Washington to take upChiang-Kai-Shek's offer of ChineseNationalist troops for Korea, whichalone would be seen as a major escala-tion by Peking. It seems that to supporthis case he played up the difficultiesbeing faced by his forces in Korea at atime when, thanks in large part toRidgway, the situation was stabilising.

Diplomatically, it was clear to govern-ments that escalation at best was likelyto severely damage the moral standingof the UN and USA and lead to a pro-tracted war with China which would bedifficult to end. At worst it could meanSoviet intervention - and another WorldWar.

All-out war with China was unth ink-able to Truman, and he had the courageto settle the debate by dismissing hispopular but over-mighty SupremeCommander. It was an action which sentShockwaves through the American pub-lic and diminished the President's ownpopularity. But it was viewed with greatrelief by the British government andothers.

MacArthur was replaced byRidgway, the man he hadappointed to command EighthArmy, the man who had had to sitback that spring while MacArthurtook the credit for Ridgway'soperations which turned theChinese tide.

Eighth Army's new commander wasto be General James Van Fleet, who athis first press conference on April 22voiced what was an increasing sense of alack of purpose among the UN's forces.Asked by a journalist, "What is our goalin Korea?" he replied: "I don't know.The answer must come from higherauthority."

That day a new Chinese offensiveopened in west Korea. But this time.Ridgway's men stood on commandingterrain, and although they were slowlyforced back in many places, they inflict-ed unsustainable losses on the Chinesewhose human-wave attacks had losttheir psychological edge against a well-equipped and well-positioned enemywith air and artillery support.

Though the spring fighting producedno disasters of the magnitude of thosesuffered in the previous winter, it wastough going. Best remembered is thestory of the courageous stand by the 1stBattalion The Gloucester Regimentagainst three Chinese divisions attempt-ing to force the Imjin river.

The battalion, part of British 29Brigade, held out, surrounded, for threedays, battling on without hope of relief.Only 169 of the battalion's 850 managedto break out. In total 29 Brigade suf-fered 1,000 casualties - but in the sameaction the Chinese lost ten times thatnumber.

The next month Eighth Army begananother successful offensive to driveback the Chinese and to control theindustr ia l 'Iron Triangle' in central

Turn to next page

SECOND OF A TWO-PART EXTRA MARKING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE KOREAN WAR

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Options 'Most of war is boring and the few

tlngep()US formsof monotony

(IVY NEWS KOREA WAR SUPPLEMENT 2000

S

lip

" but occasionally theenemy found their mark, as in this casewhen HMS Mounts Bay was hit by a 75mm shell, leaving damageincluding these shell splinters. P,ctras (WV

.JOR MOSTRoyalNavy

personnelinvolved in the

ceaseless patrols andblockade along the wholelength of the enemy-heldcoast. long periods ofboredom were the onlycertainty.

iii c.,r is bitririe. and tIi.ta moment', of excitement toolintense lot a-cognition. wrote ant.cniitriltijtor it. I ISIS Belfasts ciifll-mission mapiine. 1 was borediii ins I inies. I paraded up and duw mmlm,it West ( oasl sit open l hat I

kiii's'. it by heart -- W;iitin' iii]aaiehing I miistls was,

I )eeiisi&iii;ilh the tilitititti tiltboard the frigates anti dc%trt)ber.%.carriers and cruisers, would be liiiken us unwanted events, such as the

"ippearanee of italics or enentsair-craft.hs flight-deck accidents thatinevitably wcurred a the sortierate was pushed ii' a record level; In

boarding- operations and bombard-nieuits Siiuitet tites liunian flots.iniwould appear alongside, mute andterrilile e idenee of the brutalnature of the war ashore.

But there were other, kinder dt''traetions. Creative minds woulddream up all manner 44 till-boardemitcrt;iinnients. Then -

lwrtt.1111/4alter six weeks on patrol theme

would he a stand-off at the Kure or

Sasetiit naval bases in Japan. Or ml

the ship was sen lucks, and in caster times, a spell in the comparativeparadise of Hong Kong.

"It was the forgotten war," recallsJames Irvine, an AU in the frigateIIMS St Bride's Ray. "News fromhome rarely mentioned any conflictin the Far East." His ship was used

mainly ii' su ltpttrt land si rat ionswith bombardment close inshore,with Irequent night-time sorties asmuch as Sit miles up (lie Ilait river"to utterly annoy the communistsashore and and prevent them fromgetting any sleep.

On board HMS Mount'sBay, Signalman Joe Bowden- later to become a lieu-tenant - took part in a "mind-

boggling. monotonouspatrol session" which lastedalmost two months, backand forth across the four-mile wide river mouth atPusan.

One of the most active at theescort shipswas the destroyer HMS(.'omtsaek. During the first half of thewar she spent just over ten monthsout of 16 in the war zone, coveringover 73,000 miles and firing over4,000 rounds of 4.5in in 171 sepa-rate bombardments - and shehceaine particularly adept at train-busting, on one occasion destroyingtwo in one night.

Tlsc railway down the east coastwa one of the communists' main

supply mutes, sonic stretches of theinc running close to the sea wherehe trains became vulnerable to

".varships firing only about a mileIfshore,It Cdr (later CaN) Charles

I ctherston-Dilke in Cossack recallstat train busting was a thrilling and

ititustng diversion from the drearyeseort duties in the Yellow Sea:"The Canadian Thhal-class

destroyers with their heavy, arma-ment were among the most success-ful at train-busting. One night one

iii them -. I think it ss:t-, lISIt'S1 laida -

managed iii lot a train andstop it midway lietw ceti two tunnels.At dawn she withdrew out of rangeof shore guns and kept up an inter-mittent fire to deter the repairgangs and present the train beingmused or the track relaid."

Al nightfall she repeated the pro-eedure. but at dawn (ill the third day

along came the battleship t issIowa whichopened upwith her hun

guns and blew the entire train offthe tracks - just what the NorthKoreatt.s wanted.

"The railwas was hack in actionnest day. much to the disgust and

annoyance of the Canadians whohad been doing rather well up tothen."Almost anythin that moved

ashore was a pntenttal target. "Partof tar routine was steaming in

iitiiilfl5 time islamids unit islets l',. kinghitr trituhk," remembers one ofCossack's radar plotters. irryl'ittton. -People could be seenashore, and any seen carrying what

appeared heavy or suspect weregiven a scare. One such persondropped a large hag that he wasstruggling with. The hag became atarget and esplitded. So we were

gms en (orders tim act more severel)is tIm tam target' - itiji not To iiimi itwomen,"

Occasionally, members ofthe ship's company man-

aged to get ashore for onereason or another. Mrs MollyLowery remembers that herhusband, Harry. was sent on

duty ashore near the frontline, in an area where herbrother, Polar, was serving inthe Army.

I l:irrv's beard, atop a khaki uni-lttrnt, caus ed sonic Consternation

among the trixtps. I litwcver, "hefi tutid where ttis ltrothem was,' saidMrs t,owcn. "nut he was out hurt-

ing the dead. so Harry laid on litshunk until he came hack. Our Peterwondered who this bearded Armytramp was There were a fewexple-tivestill all was re-sealed - wonder-ful' Then an Anus captain found abottle of rum -great reunion!"

Not all contacts with shore were

happy, tines for the slip. Terry'Piitton, who had just been rated uptram bits seaman, was a member ofa hoat parts ordered to deal withthe bodies if US and Korean sol-diers that were floating past the

ship. Their hands had been tiedbehind their hacks and they hadbeen in the water for some time,"We went alongside the bodies,

gave them a quick search for identi-

/

" Harry Lowery - 'wonderful'reunion ashore.

From~uspageKorea. In June. China and the SovietUnion called for a ceasefire and armistice

negotiations began at Kaesang on Julyand were re-convened at Panmunjom onOctober 25, 195 I.

At the end of that year the ships of theCommonwealth and US navies - withsmall KOK craft -

began the 100-daysBattle of the Islands.About 1(1(1(1 of the enemy were in the

process of occupying Korean offshoreislands -

including litewha-do - undercover of fire front shore batteries. The

destroyer HMS Coekade sank several ofthe junks being used by the invaders, whileaircraft from the carriers IIMS Glory andHMAS Sydney, and two IS flat-tops,shared the task of reconnaissance and air

support.fly, day. under cover of the guns of the

cruisers Belfast. Ceylon. Manchester andthe USS Rochester, an international forceof destroyers and frigates went closeinshore to bombard enemy witions and.at night. to illuminate the channelsbetween the islaods and the mainland.

In sub-tern temperatures sailors andRoyal Marines from the ships patrolled insmall boats to investigate junks. By mid-March 1952, this little campaign had

resulted in the clearance of communisttroops from the islands.

That spring. Cal Drysdale and 41 Cdo,reinforced to a strength of 250. returned tothe fray. On April 7 they were landed southof Songin. After establishing a defensiveperimeter under cover of the guns of theheavy cruiser USS Saint Paul, they blew upl0(lvds of niilwms lint' which left a craterlótt deep. They suffered no casualties.

On land, the war had entered anew phase: stalemate and attrition.There were no major advances, andboth sides dug in along a succes-sion of fronts, but eventually onenot so different from that whichnow separates the two Koress.

Limited but costly attacks by Ixitli sidesto control terrain amid achieve politicalleverage etiritinued to increase the trill onlives without any lasting result - almosthalf the casualties suffered by the US dar-

ing the war were inflicted after armisticetalks had begun.

Neither was there any let-up in the air.America stepped up its ttonthin of NorthKorea during 1952, by which lime a newelement had been introduced - the MiG-IS. This Soviet-built jet fighter, flown byChinese and Russians. first appeared overKorea in November 19511 and was an

www.navynews.co uk

unpleasant revelation to the US whose

Shooting Star jets and piston-enginedfighters were technically outclassed by thenew arrival.

Within six months over 401) of the com-munist jets were in operation, and by 1953that number had more than doubled. Butby the end of 1950 the first of America'snew F-Wi Satire lighter. had arrived and

proved more than a match for the Mifis.Another tartar which preserved UN air

superiority in the face of the arrival of thenew Russian aircraft was that UN pilotsshowed more skill. In fact, it well-flown pis-tan-engined fighter could hold its own

against a MiG in some eases - as demon-strated tin

August 9. 1952 In' Ii Peter(lit) agy) Carmichael who, while flying aSea Fury from IIMS Ocean. became thefirst pilot of a piston-engined lighter toshool down a jet in the Ktmrcan War.

Meanwhile, at Panmunjom, negotiationsdragged (oil. One of the issues discussedwas the release of prisoners on both sides.

Many UN POWs died in the North Koreanand Chinese prison camps, not so muchthrough direct brutality - practised moreby the North Koreans than Chinese - asneglect, disease, hunger and the luck ofmedical facilities, though conditions did

improve after armistice negotiations hadstarted. Prisoners were also subjected to

systematic 'brainwashing' intendedtAZ

-suade them of the superior qualitycommunist way of life. A few were so per-suaded that they stayed on after the war.One Royal Marine did not return to theWest until 197(1

The poor treatment of POWs bythe Chinese, more than the warItself, went a long way to poisonAmerica's attitude towards Mao'sregime and had a lasting effect onrelations between the two coun-tries for decades.

On the UN side, at the war's end therewere 132,0(k) POWs, only 7t1,tMXl of whomwished to return hiinte they had received

markedly better treatment - under theGeneva ('onsentiitii I Itan those prisoner'.in the hands of the communists. But in theheat of battle, there is evidence that someUN troops

- particularly ROK soldiers -

skit prisoners out tot hand. On one occa-sion, men of the British 29 Brigade inter-vened to stop South Korean troops con-

ducting a mass execution near the

brigade's Ho outside Seoul. The British

managed to save 38 people. Twenty hadalready been killed before they were ableto step in.

North Koreans, too, executed theirsouthern eountrymea en masse, and were

guilty of killing UN prisoners-

especiallyduring their first advance in 1950. Manymass graves were uncovered when Kim 11Sung's troops were thrown hack across the38th Parallel.

Peace finally descended on Korea whenthe armistice was signed at Panmunjom on

July 27, 1953 after a revised demarcationline was settled - but only after America'snew President. Eisenhimwer, had behindthe scenes threatened to resolve the dead-lock by using America's newly tested lacti'cal nuclear weapons.

At the end of it all, in terms of terrain,

nothing had been gained by either side, Inhuman terms the war resulted in the deathof an estimated three mill ion people. TheUS lost almost 37,tkWl; llritain and theCommonwealth L?63. lit diplomatic termsit had preserved South Korea from cam.monisni hut had further tailarised East andWest and set the scene (or another savagewar over another mdcahogieally, divided landin Asia.

Officially. the peace talks at Panmunjomcontinue even today. It is the' only legalcrossing point between the two Koreas andit is where the men of North and South forperhaps. in political terms. East and West)still eve each other suspiciously over anideological bather. They are the last, for-gotten warriors of a forgotten war,

" The cruiser HMS Newcastle conducts rapid fire with her 4in

guns against Noah Korean batteries which engaged her, TheRoyal Navy almost invariable had the edge in such duels...

" HMS Charity iblaie alter a ref tJelilrtg aec,dcrmt. The picture wastaken from the fleet tanker AFA Wave Premier as she pulled awayfrom the burning destroyer. Ptmurv stiprin.mim by Si ris,xm

" Before time evacuation of UN troops from friction, these Naval officers look over R Russian-builttank knocked out in earlier fighting. mean suppt.otm' byA If~

" Lt Cdr Charles Fetherston-Duke - interrogafed prisoners.

a i iiJ'lhu'lii:i

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www.navynews.co.uk NAVY NEWS KOREA WAR SUPPLEMENT 2000 11

moments of excitement too intense for recognition

1-is)- a - - -

--- - -

--

" Communist prisoners, taken in a raid await interrogation minutes .itter AS Tom Ni f H' Ii ,, I' Lt'fi NirtH S Helicopters proved use1ii fir lf'fi1/4,ring ma 11 ,irid prrcc'nnet in ftp--on board HMS Seitast (picture supplied by L. J. Mitchell). Korean captives in a boat alongside HMS Whitesand Bay, their HMS Kenya (picture G. H. Punter). They were also used for a more entertainingSome other prisoners we're unluckier,., captor (standing) shot them with a pistol, purposes

lteation, and then sank theta. Butwe ran out of weights after a while.At no time (41111(1 the lxtics herecovered.

As the Chinese advanced torclake inehon in the winter of 1950-5 ! the cruiser HMS Kenya was giv-ing covering fire. Wilt James

Murphy, now vice-chairman of the1,41 Kenya Association, recallsthat the river was littered with float-ing bodies. 'The boat crewsstabbed at the htxjies to make themsink." he saiil

On board HMS WhitesandBay AB gunner Tom Naishalso experienced some ofthe savagery of the war. His

ships tasks were many andvaried, from bombardmentand dealing with mines bygunfire, to landing agentsbehind enemy lines and

intercepting communistradio communications.

l hell 'pie iLls till Inebtin, ill,

ship's etinip"inY were sliitid downfor a tti aLe anti mend. 'Ibm was athis post at X turret "fur a little

ace Und qUICI--- lie Write 1CiteF,"Inte. Froni his v;iiitage point he

watched as a small boat with a

group of civilians on hoard

approached the ship. One man was

standing at the tiller andannounced himself as a SouthKorean agent. Then Torn could seethat the men sitting in the boatwere tied up. and that the agent wasarmed.

"lie told the duty otltccr that thepriMiners were fishermen who hadlaid lb mines we had seen weeksbefore. lie said that the duty officerhad to take them as prisoners. butwe could not do this as we had nocells. on board and we had other

things to do.in the nie,tntinie. 'Tom took out

his camera and snapped the six menand the age nt in the boat.

then the boat went forwardunder the closed porthole'. of 7%lt'ss where the agent shot the pris-oners. The boat then returned toshore.On hoard Cossack. Charles

Fetherston-l)iike. Sqtt.idrisn to)"-doll and anti-submarine ollieer. was

given the task of interrogating fourother prisoners 1mm a sunketi sam-pan which had been axing minesAt First they were addressed inKorean 1w a S4§11111 KKorean natalliaison iittteer, alter whichFetliersti itt- Duke was attiated tofind that thes answ crest all his ques-t ions fee 11% and without hesitatit iii.

I alter ihat morning he asked theliaison officer what he had said tothe pri'ainers. "Ott. t told them thattin isL-re the most brutal officer illlie % hole tot' lit- Rtisal Nasrs and

that if they told You the truth itwould he all right - but if not, youwould have them hung up by theirthumbs until they were dead!"The task of bombardment was

not always carried out with impuni-ty

- eommnnist heavy calibre gunsand mortars ashore wec a comstantthreat, as was the possibility of airattack.

" .Li; fti.tjt:y -saw riverlittered with bodies,

ItCdr Rat hunt RN i retd wasin 11MS Cardigan Hay when one ofthe Frigate's targets - a track-mounted gun which tixik refuge inaa ease - scored hits on I tMSSparrow and I IMS Belfast. killing asteward in the cruiser.

Another h,t,artt wits 'friendislire'. Ray hunt remembers: 'TheAnieriean fighter-bombers fromthe carriers used to Us- user our

groLqt of slops heading I'M this' gun

a.5

" Ralph Tusori - we wentup in a great fireball'.

position. ind Line morning theywere caught by Mit is TheAmericans lettiMined their limbs -unfortunately we were underneathand wime very near misses wererecorded. Whitt the (1K and shipseomp.tnies had to say was not."The ships were not aiwass Mi

lucks. While IIMS Concord w'a,straiti-bustitttt till Suinejiti in Aprilt)'.. stis Aits ssstc killed inl tour

er's V turret took ,i felt Front a7timni shell,

Friend is' hoiiihs also rainedaround 'Ibm Naish and his ship-mates ii 11MM Whiresand Bay atthe worst possible moment - whenshe was fling lo renciat herselfalter becoming grounded in theilait river. She had gone to the res-cue of IIMAS Murchison whichhad also gone aground while on abombardment mission and hadcome under enemy fire. Despite thebest actions of the enenrs and jctti-wined 1)5 bombs. both ships

sue-Pureaccident was the

cause of the destroyer HMSCharity sustaining some ofthe worst damage sufferedby any of the British shipsoff Korea. Electrical artificer

Ralph Tuson was experienc-ing his first refuelling at seain September 1951 when aruptured fuel Intake causeda major lire on board

"We ssent up in u great I iretsull,'he "c wi-ri- carrying a Fairanaiunl uI tan ammo in eases ondeck to replenish iine of the cruis-ers. I h,ut was promptly ditched userthe side as the fire spread fore andaft.

"Captain I' in IINIS Black Swan,well away till the hiiriion, signalled'Charity. you are makin too muchsmoke' to which the C 0 replied'Sir. I am on fire."

The damage was cctcnsise and

Ctthe ship inio dtwk at liong

nig. for three tniitithsThe 'big boys' of the

British gunfire support effortwere the cruisers. By thetime HMS Belfast. flagshipon the Far East Station,returned home to Chathamin November 1952, she hadfired over 8,000 6in shells atthe enemy.On the Accession oh the Queen

i',irlier 111.11 year, I 1MM Cry-Ion wason uetise duty and could not takslii rt uru tilt: Nas s's traditional rest igotion of such an event, RearAdmiral Scott. Monetieff signalledthe eroiser: "On this historicox-ca-stuntI trust yriu wilt arratige iis.ulute hr firing2 1 lise shells,ut 11crMajesty's enemies. -

I 1MM Kensa had been prominentin providing gunfire support to theUN troops beleaguered during thedreadful winter of 11)511-51 in andaround Inchon.

Kenya's commission hookrecords: "rite war, ahieht we hadthought sit nearly ulcer. appearest tohe starting till user again. ('hristnias11K0 "irriseLt and passed almostunheralded ;end unsung the coldnight sky was reddened by theflames from burning stores and oilslumps, and the rumble of the.urtilIe' duels could he heard.ueruiss the muddy waters of theestuary."Christnias had been cancelled on

hoard the aircraft carrier I1MMI liese us. t isi. Frank Wusittriti, anI AIAI on hoard at the time.ecunirtts that the ship's companywere promised a Christmas eele-nation on t)eeenther II sslien thecarrier wits due to he in Kure, liesaid: 'Ibis day. new to the' churchc;ik'nst;ir, became known it. StI .:urkin's Oar in honour ol the oursteemed ('timmander,

CiIl..ut kin,"

In the midst of all its trials.dis-comfortsand dtstippointments. it

scents the Navy had not host itssense of humour.

For the Royal Navy. the sklootingwar continued until the last day ohthe conflict, and its commitment inthe waters of Korea eiintinucd forlung aftetwards. One tit the last actsof the war at sea involved the cruis-er 11MM Birmingham in the opera-ttiin to evacuate civilians and 1, INforces From the North Koreanisland of ('hixlo. and to destrosinstallations. fuel and ammunitionwhich could not he removed.

Beach parties from the ship werelanded. and over a tease two das'.Front June 13-15, 1953, played tileading rok in 'Operation Es et'with the use of landing craft andtw'iiri vessels,

'tkfore we departed we blew tit,I .tttttt tons of amniunitiuin, hringirtra cliff down and also (It tons ohhui_'h-tietatie fuel - sers speetuc ii-ar, recalls flirnier AB JinuNiuddleton. Birmingham men wereauiiiiiig the list uui least', lakell till ;111-,l0) tin tuiiie I 'i is .u lu',ut truiiu

" A coninanist shorc-b:iscd 7Srnni q:u" scored a direct hit onHMS Concords y turret, killing two stators. ,jiiutc SLaptsI by J bailey

" Care/i' Cat,, star of BBC's 'Calling All Forces' programmearrives by helicopter on board the carrier HMS Ocean inSeptember 1952. For the Americans, entertainers who visited thetroops included Bob Hope and MarIlyn Monroe. sn-s.- 'wa

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" In sub-zero temperatures the long lines of 41 Commando withdraw down the Funchilin Pass and(aboveright) the strain andexhaustion is etched In the expressions of these RoyalMarinesduring that tortuous, fight-ing retreat. .40 pc/ues 0/47 Cornn'.70ck, sup~ by the !?oyst Man,,," M&seani tow t7fM,Ih. Museuni .04 Los Co'7t

"Many didn't make it. Among themwas Mne Harry Melting. In the

foreground of this Chinese News

Agency photograph of prisoners ofwar. He was among those who died in

captivity. The Naval officer in the

picture on the right is Surgeon LtDougy Knock who, with Ma/orAidridge.ispictured preparing to leave fortheChosin Reservoiron November 28.1950. Knock was killed on theroad to

Hagaru and received aposthumousMentionin Despatches. .4ldridgeearned a Military Cross.

" Most, however, didreachthe transportthat awaitedthem at Ma)ondong(bctow) for thewithdrawal to t'iungnamandeventual evacuation.

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JHROUGHOUT the first LIL: .It

months of the war in %';tS hitit.kc4I ioU 1it in nt';

Korea, members of 41Larnien were missing ioecthcr wHit&nimandtt 110. 11w Army cL.mlt.n%

(Independent) Commando anti divisional troops. Forcing on 1

4Royal Marines had been in came up on the burning trucks .1 Ike

action, mounting sabotagerifle troopaho hadbeen caught again in

and diversionary raids onsight (if the L'S Marine (orj.,, entticerhullthqem cutting out a .7(W)ft a'r'.irip I

coastal targets behind under floodlights in the Ilagaru perime- -

enemy lines. ter.

.\iiu'ng their missions as on Iii. noa I had nine wounded on

carried out by 07 men. under the bOtttd, and with another truck earrviig

otitniando's (0. 1.1 Col Douglasaountled. under ('p1 (ier'.Ii.,n

Maindonald. managed to find aI )nsd;tle. who were landed b the aeriKs iroren paddy fields into Ilagarit

-'uluiaritte USS Perch to mine a the last vehicles 4)1 the consits to get in. UF tIlWli\ tunttel, an operationcurried 1 was much relieved when ('p1 (linen t

0111 ss ith great success. (apt KMI Jot' Craw brought his mortar

l(eitilorecd 11%, menfront Malaya, and section. less three ahit died. in the sic-,t

rejoined hs fleet solunteer'. who had day, earning a aell-deserved Militanq

taken part in the Inchon landings. 41 Medal."embarked in two ( destroyers for fur.

The remainder of Force" H

ther raids in which a total of t'.tKXtlh ofDrysdale fought throughout the i U

ei.plt'sises were used to deslro,s morenight. but eventually had to sur-

cabens and tunnels.render except for Capt (later MajItut the Cointuindis's greatest test

aas to come as Chinese intenentionGen) Pat Ovens and seven WA "Lt ColDouo

threatened the entire uc mission incommandos who managed tomake their wayback to KotRl.

Korea with sothat first winter of the war-The unit was in August 195ordered to join 1st Marine 1)isision in Aniong the dead ac-re 4 s disttir,the ('hswsin Reservoir area for the final Sung l.t l)outrv Knock W':liTroop'ss minus 3l( an

push to the Valu riser. One ol the lew commander. (apt Ralph Parkinson' wind. The K.r t.-rnaining Royal Marines sonisors ('amine: and tat) Fleet stilunteers - PC) guardaoh themum that time.'].t Peter I htinias - non late and I SlIA Raine. it took 3$a retired [,I (-of takes up the ston': The '13 Royal Marine'. ahi' uot troops and III

"In November (IJ5tIl we were through to I làgaru - with the Us to Kotii'K, a

-topped to Iluogitarti. issued with eusld Marine critnp.in% and the tank' acreChinese

wren

clothing. and on the 28th. the designated garrison reserve -but found trated againsttint mmmdi' eomptusi ig sonic 2111) macn themselves its actit iii almost imniedia Ic - 0nt the waytinned up the single-i rack supp1s Is-: sight of the eu

it' ntn; die dnusiuuii. iii 23 tucks 'use left flank on Fast Full gave at% btlit. acre riIto tn In IS Stir,ilL-. and the remnants of II Tnxrp under Ii (Him it) he bur.

Having climbed to 4.000tt U)Gerald Koherts mounted a suceesslul Alter a pat."

the narrow Funchilin Pass. theycounter-attack." recalls CIA lliom.is vent in the",

spent the night at IColo-Ri wherel'hc withdrawal to Kt'tt'-Re began 'n ( 'ni'il,i 11th) ni

they learned of the Chineselh'eetnlier to in temperatures 5'. tn'. 'I' I )eee,oI'er 'P an

offensive which was blockingtheway to Divisional HO.

Col I)n'sdale atis ordered iii push t,?through the ten ni des to, II agaru with -te Setinvos of 141 seltiele' and tJ men k

I tiree l)n-sd.,le. consisting at 41 ('do.5 Marine compans- a US Amw

Corn-11a11%and some divisu'tial troops.'l1ii. set off next morning. but hslien the hills were swarming will, -'liine..-4. troops. and the forec 9A~L% heiLlmiles, t)nsdalealter only - -ftLao na-jJ,told to get through at all eorsts, and i,ni au tank Feint ft's centents - but by the tbtime the tanks were ready Force t' -I )rysdale was in serious trouble. . %.i - IThe Chinese had closed in tin the141tite a91tI 1id ,,iihti,sht'uI 41 ('d0 anti ç-. .. -,those behind.

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Internationalrescue atyour service

ci a "streaming north to the loot of the pass.'sals formed the rear-U Cdr John Lanstios'n RN (reid)th I'S Marine Regi.hours lo move t(P,tMNI

K) vehicles the ten miles;iinst here: attacks (s'divisions flow Ctinceti'

si %jarupie DAY.hack we passed the sadinscry ambush. and 117Covered. Millie of thent

edat K,itci-ki.'e it) repair a blown c-ui-1-unchilair tie

ised'pit of Kin,, Mi onidmarched the 23 miles

paints a vivid picture of that agonisingretreat ill his Natal, ttrIi the ('ijrnc'rs iii

.41 ('do reconnoitred enemy-heldhill'. climbing through Mt it[ snow in a

blinding snowstorm:the night wasspentin liv' open in 47 degree.tat trust It wasso cold the sweat on the Marines tee[froze inside their ts its.

'i'he column made slow and tortuous

progress down the pass along a roadmined in several places. under constantmac-lpinl'-eraim mid sniper file,

--

t\ltei tour dass ii? I chime and

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:-

-reached Majondong and were taken ptrucks to I lungnam. Of 41 ('do"., smn,aForce. 13 had died, 39 had been wit.ned. 27 were missing and l wer: suttL'

ing I rorn t ri tsrhim.' or pncurnon iae_isuall% rate ail Trove I lniii ''TIC imp liiiCt

But without the constant,close support of US and Britishcarrier-borne aircraft offshore Itis unlikely that any would havemade it. On December 4. forinstance 239 sorties were flownin support of the long march, 162of them from carriers.lie sun. flairs ill that v'.inipaigtr 'ii

the rtrcmnd became known, with somelion . its 'The ( iiuistti Few'. A total 'I41 menof the Command, died in Kors a

up to the tmni l's eventual aithdraa aI iithe end oF 1951. It,, members gainedlviii DSOs. a 1)51'. three MC's, ta'

l)SMs. nine MM',. 12 Mentions in

l)espatehes, a Queen's Commendationand two Admira lt (iinirnendai ions ti'Brave Conduct ;t' POWs,

After the ( 'trimsin campaign. iii.

('tinrinartdiiig General tit 1st Marinel)as rsioit. General Oliver Smith wrote aletter in ('ill i)n'sdale in which lie said.

'l'he pertor niance ill 41 ('do dun mmthe drive from I lagaru to the soutlt aallin the perspective of histirr'v, take equ-ilrank with the best eslililits of the Ktw,,lMarines.

The award of a US PresidentialCitation to the unit in 1957 wwits a marl.of the respect witii which the America itregarded the Corps. a respect ataehr'''iii Tilt'' I' till, i.l.,ic

" BELOW: Backin action - Membersof 41 Cdo demolish a North Koreanrailway during a raid on Sor,ojin inApril 1951,

IN 'II 1 E- Ml 1)51' of all the say-

agerv. Royal Navy personnelmaintained their tradition iii

providing humanitarian aidwhenever possible.When duty permitted parties citors would he landed to do what

lies could to help ravaged eommLit c% in South Korea. paying par

1.,1tliiar attention tab (he *army cl

orphan children created as thecivilian ea_suatt ics rose ill horrific

proportions.At sea, aid and rescue were part

of the slut km of the escort vessels,aird mans' an Allied airman downedam emtent\ waters - or even 11% Ci

taremy terrain - had reason to he

p.ametul for the liIc'sas ing ships 'it I'11.11e

AB(fl) Cyril Randall 01HMSComus recalls that dur-

ing her carrier escort tasks itwas essential for her torecover downed pilots as

quickly as possible - "espe-

cially during the winterbecause of theextreme cold.Three minutes was quotedas the survival time beforethe pilot would succumb Inthosewaters.

\\'e nineli preferred to h-.'i'rtang Atiieriean carrier'..low whemi Agile iii lilt-it pilot'

'-'is rescued trom the lies se,is, ritesI mated to the strip has t'quts alctrr

orb) in tee-cream. With a ItritistiIrrier it w'as usually: 'Well done.

lips in ,mil mike at r little

'ticker nest tmme'.'mint:'.-AS the IS air effort was is Iii

hiii&gest iaver Korea, a large pit'rtmon of :urinen rescued his Rtis alvs ship', %here Anrericarr Mans

operatmaitis began links ot

'endshtp which continued longIi ci the war, Millie it' this sirs day.Lark in the etinhliet seven US

.ucnsen. making their was south to.iv,ird capture hs the advancingeantmuntsts. were picked up his theligate ii MS Alacrity. tin WestI rot patrol. Arthur Newton was ar .admo electrician's mate (RI:Mi on

ii rd am the time, and abate or time

'\nrermeans. Stall Sgt AnthonyI I.amiimic_ later wrote iii him, th;mttk-rae him anti Alacrity:

I am slIm to hear that our shiphack in the Korean area ;again.

'stas'be one of' these days thes willeU he damned ihing over with.

Acre more than tucks, and''mite of that luck was fcttrwn to)

r ship. Now I guess scum canimaderstand how we feel about your

Cr ecu . I wish there w';ts iIi,rrc at'could till about it.")tic' ill itic' nmo'.t drisnititte Ic',In'. tutu, ill, ma. uscs tat the ?'sa'rth

Kiare,mns. took 'lace ill August11011. Loon Mw Xle(allunm USNwas pilsuitntz ti Corsair Fighter-bomber from the carrier USSVmtk's Forge. During a low'lesetstrating run over North Korea hismireraft was him his ground fire andhe ditched in traction harbour, thenstill under the control of the toni-munists.11c estapt'tl uninjured, but hisaircraft Pall his sums ival equip-ment. sank immediately, lie swainseaward and. crthaumsIcd. climbedtin tiP a tiny rock.At tLewn he could .cc NorthKoreans boats heading his way.Then, when they were cimtlv llXiydsdistant, great geysers of water sud-dents erupted between him and hiswould-he captors,Out tit ,u sea mist stcamnrcd thedestrawer II MS ('ciekade with herhwris imne -1-lie North Korcansild, ztnti-('twk;tdc lowered herss triter mmmd hauled alit ard tic'iirni,in in F 'tv'k.uhc' -

was revived by means of a tumblerfull of whisks.Later, on the return leg of anoth-er mission. Mac's squadron blewnear ('cick.mde. lie peeled off anddid a fly-past down the side till thedestroyer, waggling his wings ingrecimng.After the war he spent years tt-ing Ii' contact members of('umekade's ship's eistnpany who hadsaved him. l:ventualls he did locatethe ship's former CO. Li Cdr Lee.hut when Lee was killed in a roadaccident, the link ˆa.. severedagain.Mac rose to the rank cit captainand retired. lie now lises inVirginia with ttas wile. Ann, in 1'$18he at last managed to renew contact with former sailors of ('ockadc .and last November he made thejourney to ksetcr White Lnsign('tub to nice), fair tIre first time Formimaist 50 years, some of the menaliti pitt li_tided ban out at ill,'\'ell,iss Se',i m' sat, iv,

Angels of the MaineInferno as we descended to deal with some 80-100 battle-soiled and dehydrated walkingwounded."At the other end of the ship, and a deckabove, the critically injured were amassed: thedying in free-swinging cots to lessen theeffects of the ship's pitching"As far as the nursing sisters were con-cerned, the dressing seemed endless and theadded nightmare of discovering maggots inthe wounds, inside plasters and under scalpsmade our work doubly traumatic,"Nevertheless, with the standard of dedicatedcare they received from doctors and nurses -Including six Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses- most of the patients showed a remarkableImprovement and after their shod slay onboard were transferred to hospitals in Americaor Japan to continue their recovery.As for the dead, they were disembarked first,covered with the flag of their country while"appropriate music" was played by a militaryband on the jetty.

ON BOARD Her Majesty's Hospital Ship Mainea dedicated medical and nursing staff strug-gled with inadequate resources and conditionsto salve and restore many of the sick andwounded of the Korean War.It was a mission which led the First SeaLord, Lord Fraser, to describe the ship and herstaff as "one of Britain's most useful contribu-tions to the UN effort in the Korean War".Ruth Stone was a member of QueenAlexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service onboard and remembers particularly vividly thefirst few months of the war when the Mainewas evacuating the wounded from Korea toJapan, their care being supervised byQARNNS Matron Barbara Nockolds - "A rare,inspiring, imperturbable and supremely capa-ble woman who never seemed to tire".Said Ruth - later to become a Matron her-self: "The waterline wards required that theportholes be secured when at sea, and as thetemperatures there registered 90.116F ... youcan imagine the resemblance to Dante's

" Sea Fri. ',' pilot Lt 'i r-Li.nahjon is returned te' HMS Theseus bythe American helicopter that rescued ham otter he had ditched inthe Yellow Sea. He is being helped from the aircraft by Naval doc-tors and ground crew. In Korea. helicopters really came into theirown for the first time in warfare. As well as futlitling a valuablecommunications rote at sea and amid the rugged terrain ashore,they saved very many lives in acting as air ambulances and in res-cuing downed airmen who were often snatched from under thenoses of the enemy. misc

alas Drysdale, CO of 41 (independent) Commando, discussestrier NCOs as the unit prepares for war at Bickieigh Barracks

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14 NAVY NEWS KOREA WAR SUPPLEMENT 2OOO www.oavynews.co.uk

Fleet Air Arm played vital role in stemming the enemy advance

World recordset up by

carriersJ

RITISH CARRIER operations were recognised as being vital to the wholeAllied effort. Although equipped with aircraft types either introduced ordesigned in World War II, the skill of the aircrew and the efficiency of the

platforms from which they flew delivered constant blows to the enemy.HMS Theseus set up a world

record for light carriers of 66sorties in a day and by the time

she returned to the UK at theend of May 1951, had deliveredto the enemy 6,617 rockets,

"DON'T FORGET OURSEAFARERS"Round the world yachtsman

TONY BULLIMORE

Tony, who survived five days in the southern ocean in anup-turned hull during January 1997 said "I love the ocean

but it can be horrendously dangerous. It takes lives - often.Every day of our lives our seafarers assure our survival by risk-ing their lives to provide our defence, our daily food and goodsand our leisure."A Time to Remember?

One chance we have to remember the debt we owe to our sea-farers is with a legacy. For many of us making a Will is a daunt-ing prospect and often a task that is left "until tomorrow".KGFS can help - we have a free guidance booklet. Entitled"Your Will" free copies are available bycompleting the coupon below or bytelephone 020 7932 0000,fax 020 7932 0095or e-mail: [email protected]

KGFS The Seafarers CharityKing George's Fund for Sailors is the centralfund making grants to nautical charitieswhich look after the welfare needs of sea-farers and their dependants in the RoyalNavy, Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets.Visit our web site: www.kgfs.org.uk

Please send me a copy of the "Your Will" booklet

Please register my name on your supporter database and sendcopies of your newsletter

NAME (Mr.Mre.Ms) -

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Please complete and return to:Wilma Fogg KGFS 8 Hatherley Street, Uindan SW1I'2YY

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over 1,400 bombs and over halfa million rounds of cannonshells.

For the loss of only one aircraftand three injured aircrew, sheclaimed the destruction of 93junks, 153 railway trucks, 36bridges, 73 road trucks, 66 storedumps, six railway tunnels, 17warehouses, 13 railway engines,eight tanks, three railway stations,19 factories, five power stations,ten command posts, two jetties, ahangar, 51 barrack buildings, afloating bridge, a tug and a pumphouse.

On her return to a hero'swelcome, Theseus s airgroup was awarded theFleet Air Arm's Boyd Trophy,presented by the First SeaLord, Admiral of the FleetLord Fraser.

While her missions were typicalof those undertaken by carriersduring the war, one or two flat-topswere called on occasionally to pro-vide something out of the ordinary.HMS Unicorn, although mainlyused to f u l f i l a very useful ferryingand maintenance role - at onestage she brought Gloster Meteorjets to Korea to re-equipAustralian air force units - she didundertake the occasional strike,too.

Lester Gray remembers that inSeptember 1951, after recovering adamaged Firefly and Sea Fury froma small island off the West Coast,she sailed with HMS Cossack for arendezvous just north of the 38thParallel to bombard communistpositions with her 4in guns. "Shewas the only aircraft carrier tobombard the Korean coast," hesaid.

Unicorn also undertook someoperational flying missions - and aswith the other carriers had hershare of flight-deck accidents.

Harold Love, who was the Chiefin charge of flight-deck machinery,has good cause to remember onemishap very well. In a sunken posi-tion on the port side of the flightdeck, it was his task to control thearrester wires. "On one occasion

• A Sea Fury of 801 Squadron from HMS Glory attacks an enemy army headquarters in Korea, and(below) a reconnaissance photograph confirms the destruction of a railway bridge by Fireflies fromHMS Theseus. Pictures: IWM

the returning plane, a Firefly,caught a wire and instead of run-ning straight in the centre of theflight deck, veered to the port sideand shot over the side of the ship,still caught up in the arrester wire.

"On doing so it came right ontop of the control panel (which for-tunately had an armoured top).

"The Engineer Commander haddecided to pay us a visit to watchthe deck landings. As the planelanded over the top of us heremarked: If blood is brown. Chief,1'tn mortally wounded!"

Theseus's early achieve-ments seemed to set a com-petitive tone to operations,and HM ships Ocean andGlory in particular vied forthe greatest number of sor-ties in a day. It was Glorythat pushed the light carrierworld record up to 123, untilthe Navy, with an eye tosafety, decided to call a halt.

Peter Warde, now the secretaryof the HMS Glory Association,recalls that an order went out for-bidding further attempts to win theworld title.

While Theseus returnedunscathed from the war. Glory lostten aircraft, with 12 killed and onemissing. Her 'competitor', HMSOcean, lost 17 officers and ratingskil led between September 1951and July 15, 1953.

On that latter date in Ocean, LtsAlbert Evans and Kenneth Thomasbecame the last Fleet Air Armfatali t ies of the war. Glory's cata-pult had gone unserviceable thatday and rockets were being used tolaunch aircraft on a ground-sup-port mission. Some of the rocketson the Firefly crcwed by Evans andThomas failed, and their aircraftcrashed into the sea.

A combined memorial and bur-ial service was held tor them onhoard, with Ocean's escorts closingup to take part. Twelve days laterthe armistice was signed atPanmunjom.

• Flight-deck accidents were not rare. This Firefly slewed acrossthe deck of HMS Unicorn to land on top of CERA Harold Love'sposition on the port side.

• A rocket-assisted launch of a Firefly from HMS Glory. It was anaccident during just such a take-off in the ship that resulted inthe last Fleet Air Arm deaths of the war.

At the moment disaster struck

*

f

THIS DRAGONFLY helicopterwas photographed at themoment that disaster struck.The oblique shadow on theright of the picture shows oneof the rotor blades spinningaway after breaking off fromthe main rotor head. A momentlater the aircraft plunged intothe icy sea, killing the crew.

The picture was taken by TedHarrison, a sailor on board thedestroyer HMS Consort, as hewatched the helicopter passover the Consort's quarter-deck.

Ted said: "When the aircraftcame level with me the pilotsaw me and waved. I wavedback. Suddenly the helicopterdropped like a stone and sankalmost immediately. We carriedout a search but found onlyone wheel and one glove."

Months later, in May 1953,Ted had his film developed inHong Kong. It was only thenthat the cause of the crash wasdiscovered.

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www.navynews.co.uk NAVY NEWS KOREA WAR SUPPLEMENT 2000 15

• This North KoreanMiG-15 was the first tofall intact into Alliedhands when its pilotdefected to the South -an event, however, thatdid not occur until afterthe fighting was over.Though suffering frominstability in violentmanouevres, the air-craft's top speed of over660mph was enough tomenace the UN's com-mand of the air in Korea.

Picture: Aeroplane Monthly

Fighting themenace

Hawker Sea Fury FB11

Flown by Lt Carmichaelof 802 Sqn, HMS Ocean

2000

®NE(pris,Allie

• Lt Hoagy Carmichael alights from his SeaFury in HMS Ocean after shooting down aMiG-15 jet fighter. Picture: IWM

: OF the biggest sur-| prises for the Western'Allies in Korea was

the appearance of an enemyaircraft that outclassedalmost everything they hadavailable at the time.

The Russian-built MiG-15 com-bined German design technologywith a Soviet-built version of theRolls-Royce Nene turbojet whichhad been provided to post-warRussia.

Technically, only America's new F-86Sabre jets could meet the MiGs on any-thing like equal terms - but there werefar fewer of them. Meanwhile, less capa-ble jets such as the US Shooting Star andthe British-designed Glostcr Meteor -and Allied piston-cngincd aircraft - hadto do the best they could.

However, command of the air wasmaintained in the face of the MiG men-ace, largely through superior Allied tac-tics and training - it is estimated that theChinese lost far more MiGs in trainingaccidents than in combat.

The Royal Navy's Hawker Sea Fury,Britain's last and probably best piston-

cngincd fighter sometimes found itself incombat with the new jets, but managed tostave off disastrous losses while achievinglimited success.

The first Fleet Air Arm encounterswith MiG-15s came in August 1952 whenthe enemy jets, now equipped with long-range tanks, began flying further south.At 6am on August 9, eight MiGs clashedwith Sea Furies and Fireflies of 802 and805 Naval Air Squadron.

Leading a flight of 802's Sea Furiesfrom HMS Ocean was Lt Peter (Hoagy)Carmichael. "We all turned towards theMiGs, he said. "Two went for my Nos. 3and 4, Lt Peter Davies and S/Lt Ellis.They were seen to get good hits on one,who broke away with smoke coming fromhim."

Carmichael also opened up with hisfour 20mm cannons, hitting one of theMiGs, which crashed.

With typical modesty, his reportemphasised that the first destruction of aMiG-15 by a British piston-cngincd fight-er was a team effort as the communist jetwas fired at by all members of the flight.

He said: "The impression we got wasthat these MiG pilots were very inexperi-enced and did not use their aircraft toany advantage at all. I think it was the

next day that we had another engage-ment with eight MiGs and were lucky toget away with it ...

"The only MiG who made a mistake-was one who made a head-on attack onmy Nos. 3 and 4 and was hit by them andwas seen to go away with a lot of smokeand flame coming from him."

Carmichael was awarded a DSC.The UN forces - particularly the USA

- were desperate to capture a MiG-15 touncover (what were then) its secrets.

Jim Murphy of HMS Kenya recallsthat two attempts were made to recoverdowned MiGs. The first operation, con-ducted by HMS Jamaica in the Yalu riverin April 1951, ended when the aircraftsank before it could be hauled on board.

The second operation in the following

July began after Sea Furies from HMSGlory spotted a downed MiG on a mudflat in the Yalu.

"Kenya entered the narrow, tortuouschannels with a small flotilla consisting oia landing ship (LSU), HMS CardiganBay and two South Korean motorlaunches, guided by the Sea Furies," saidJim.

"This time the shot-down MiG wasbuoyed up and parts recovered by com-bined RN and US specialists. The shorebatteries later realised what was happen-ing and opened fire.

"The LSU came alongside HMSKenya with the MiG-15 under canvaswraps. Within two days it was back in theUS naval base at San Diego."

WHEN THE WAR GOT VERY COLD INDEEDTHERE WERE other enemies in andaround Korea apart from the commu-nists. Ships and aircraft had to copewith winter temperatures that froze thesea, sweltering summer heat that airconditioning could barely assuage - andtyphoons that tossed aircraft carrierslike matchboxes in a maelstrom.

One particularly destructive blow -Typhoon Marge - is remembered by all whosailed through her in August 1951.

HMS Ceylon which had been doing ster-ling work in support of the Yanks, had herstarboard whaler crushed flat against thedavits, and a ten-ton landing craft damagedon the boat deck.

Eric Whyte was on the bridge during thestorm: "We had no covered bridge and so themountainous seas came right over the bridgeand swamped the whole area. Despite get-ting soaked and cold one was able to attemptto brace oneself, when the ship dipped downinto the trough, to see the waves highabove."

Undoubtedly the worst winter for the

Allies was the first, when the Chinese cameclose to throwing the UN forces off thepeninsula.

"The all-prevailing memory of that timewas the intense cold," said Frank Wootton ofHMS Theseus. We normally operated up theWest Coast, almost up to the Manchuriancoast, and the snow blew down from thatland mass.

"Saturday mornings were sacrosanct to theritual of Captain's rounds, even though oper-ational sorties were being flown at the time.Maintenance and flight-deck crews, freezingon deck, were not allowed below at this time.

"By the same token, Saturday dinner wasalways cold so as not to impede the cleaningoperations in the galley. Invariably this tookthe form of 'corned dog' which appeared outof storage like a frozen house brick, andappeared on the mess table in the samestate. It usually disappeared over the sideuneaten."

RN clothing, too, did not seem up to thejob. "We noticed when Canadian destroyerscame alongside for jackstay transfers, theirupper-deck dutymen were clad in weather-

proof, fur-lined, hooded parkas, whereas'poor Jack" was garbed in oilskin and roundcap.

"On one occasion a US helicopter withmaintenance crew were embarked. Theyseemed to enjoy themselves - particularly asregards the Tot rum ration. But their partingcomment was: 'You Limeys sure don't eat forpleasure'."

Les Turnham in Theseus remem-bers that flight-deck personnel hadto wear so many layers of clothing inthe sub-zero temperatures that "itwas a major operation to do any-thing.

"Even in the engine rooms and boilerrooms it was not unknown for stokers towear overcoats due to working under forced-draught fans.

"Although flight-deck crews were issuedwith a primitive form of rubberised boilersuit, everyone had to wear plimsoles or rope-soled canvas shoes due to the aviation fuelwhich was carried. Our headgear consistedof a thin cotton identification helmet. I was

told that first winter that it was a good way toclear your sinuses."

Jim Murphy reports that during the firstwinter in HMS Kenya, rations were shortand "we were down to rye bread with wee-vils".

The severe weather almost contributed towhat could have turned out to be the loss ofthe ship. James recalls that as the cruiser wasabout to withdraw from Inchon, with theChinese closing in and much flotsam gener-ated by the evacuation, a wire hawser hadfouled a propeller.

"We were immobilised. Our divers could-n't get down - the waters were too cold,Even the Americans with their heated suitswere unable to assist.

"Eventually one of the divers went downin the freezing cold and released the pro-peller. He was recommended to go throughfor Gunnery Instructor.

"We arrived in Hong Kong for our belatedChristmas on January 28. In the China FleetClub I started shore leave with 12 eggs in allforms."

• Sea Fury with a SouthAfrican F-86 Sabre, the mosteffective weapon against theMiG-15. Picture supplied by P. Armstrong

OUR THANKSNAVY NEWS thanks the follow-ing for their help in our prepa-ration of this supplement:

Aeroplane Monthly, The Fleet Air ArmMuseum, the Imperial War Museum, theRoyal Marines Museum, A. Eyre, P.Armstrong, J. Bailey, D. Banks, D. E. Barrett,L. Bedford, A. F. Bemasconi, J. Bowden, N.T. Brigden, J. Brown, M. K. Burtey, G.Burrage, R. H. Bussey, M. J. Carter, C. D.Christmas, E. A, Collins, P. W. Cook, T.Cooper, A. R. Daniels, F. Day, C. F. Denton,J. C. S. Duke, R. Dunwell, C. B. Fetherson-Dilke, T. Fetherston-Dilke RN, J. G. Fleet, D.E. Gillard, W. I. Gray, G. E. Green, B. Hardy,E. D. Harrison, G. H. Harrison, J. Hegarty, K.Hindmarsh, H. Higgins, G. Holt, S. Hudson,R. D. Hunt, R. Iredale, J. Irvine, H. R. Jerfes,R. H. Jeffries, E. F. Jones, Mrs J. Knowlson,F. Ellison, E. Davies, T. W. Lane, H. Love, D.W. Lovell, R. J. Lowe, Mrs M. Lowery, T.Lyness, R. C. Macon, J. C. Merrick, C.Middlemiss. D. Miles, D. Miller, C. K. Milner,A. Mitchell, L. J. Mitchell, Mrs I. Mitchell, J.Murphy, T. R. Naish, J. A. Newby, A. E.Newton, R. K. J. Nix, E. Oates, T. B.Partridge, T. N. Porton, S. Procter, G. H.Punter, D. Quartermains, C. J. Randall, R.G. H. Read, J. F. Savage, D. Seaman, P. A.Shaw, H. Simpson, N. Simpson, J. B.Sinclair, J. F. Slater, L. T. Soules, Ms R.Stone, R. Suckley, M. Tarrant, H. R. Taylor,L. Taylor, P. Thomas, J. D. Towers, R. L.Turnham, R. Tuson, B. Vince, J. Wade, P. G.Warde, Ms M. Whitworth, E. Whyte, B.Wickenden, E. A. Williams, G. P. Williams, P.J. F. Woodroof, P. Wooton. F. M. J. Wootton.

BIBLIOGRAPHYBritish Forces in the Korean War editedby Ashley Cunningham-Boothe and PeterFarrar, published by the British KoreanVeterans Association (1997)By Sea and Land - The Royal MarinesCommandos. A History 1942-82 by RobinNeillands, published by Weidenfeld &Nicolson (1987).Hawker Tempest and Sea Fury by RobertJackson, published by Blandford (1989).The Korean War by Max Hastings, pub-lished by Michael Joseph (1987).The Royal Marines 1919-1980 by James D.Ladd, published by Jane's (1980).The Royal Marines - A Pictorial History1664-1987 by Peter C. Smith and DerekOakley, published by Spellmount Ltd (1988).With the Carriers in Korea 1950-1953 byJohn R. P. Lansdown, published by SquareOne Publications (1992).

1 HMS Theseus in the depths of a Korean winter. Picture: IWM > AB R. Woods clears away the overnight snow in HMS Mounts Bay. Picture: IWM

ERRATUMTHE PICTURE showing aircraft in flight inpage 6 of Part 1 of this supplement is ofFirefly fighter bombers of 810 Squadron,not of 210 Squadron Seafires as stated.

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16 NAVY NEWS KOREA WAR SUPPLEMENT 2000 www.navynew8.co.uk

The greatest Act of

Remembrance

...is to remember The Royal British Legionwith a gift in your Will.

When you wear a poppy in November, it is natural to stop and remember the courageous people who sacrificed every-thing for our freedom.

But the Poppy is so much more than the emblem of Remembrance, it is a symbol of hope for the future. The RoyalBritish Legion keeps that hope alive by providing essential care and support for thousands of ex-Service men andwomen. But we can't do it without your help.

As we mark the 50th Anniversary of the start of the Korean War, it is a fitting time to acknowledge the suffering and sac-rifice of those who served. By remembering The Royal British Legion with a gift in your Will, you would not only be pay-ing tribute to all those who gave so much in the past, you would be ensuring that the Legion is there for the people whowill inevitably need our support in the future.

In 1999, the Poppy Appeal raised over £18 million. However, as this covers only half the funds we need each year tohelp the growing number of people who turn to us for help, the money we receive from legacies is vital.

For more information on making or changing your Will and how a gift in your Will would help theLegion to continue its vital work, please call Perdita Chamberlain on 020 7973 7297 for a FREE copy rr-inMof our new Will Guide. LEGION |

Remember us for our tomorrows, as well as our yesterdays.