U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-1953, Volume 1 (of 5): The Pusan PerimeterMontross, Lynn
History
U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-1953, Volume 1 (of 5): The Pusan Perimeter
Montross, Lynn
Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Campaigns; United States. Marine Corps -- History -- Korean War, 1950-1953
The time interval between a request for Marine air support and
the actual delivery varied according to local conditions, but the
ground forces seldom had cause for complaint. All-weather Squadron
VMF(N)-513, based at Itazuke, Japan, was prevented by reason of
faulty communications and liaison from responding to every request
for dawn, dusk or night support during early Brigade operations, but
such missions were flown effectively in the Naktong Bulge. Meanwhile,
the Corsairs of VMF-214 and VMF-323, orbiting on station and always
available for short notice employment, gave fresh proof that the
Navy-Marine concept of carrier-based tactical aircraft was sound in
practice. Following are the statistics of MAG-33 operations in Korea
from 3 August to 14 September 1950:
_Missions in close support_
_Squadron_ _Total _Miscellaneous -------------------------------
sorties_ sorties_ _USMC_ _Army_ _ROK_ _Total_
VMF-214 670 162 337 111 60 508
VMF-323 498 90 304 83 21 408
VMF(N)-513 343 264 21 50 8 79
------------------------------------------------------
Totals 1511 516 662 244 8 995[354]
[354] MCBS, II, Appendix 64.
Demands on the time of the original 4 helicopters of VMO-6 made it
necessary to fly 2 more machines in from Japan. The rotary-wing
aircraft had so many “firsts” to their credit in the Pusan Perimeter
that a major tactical innovation was obviously in the making. The
flights of General Craig, Colonel Snedeker and Lieutenant Colonel
Stewart alone were enough to indicate that the helicopter was capable
of working a revolution in command and staff procedures.
Altogether, the participation of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade was
an important factor in stopping the NKPA invasion in August 1950 and
punishing the invaders so severely that they were ripe for a crushing
defeat the following month. The Marines, moreover, did a great deal
to restore the national pride of countrymen who had been hurt and
bewildered by the outcome of the first month’s operations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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