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No. 91 Wing RAAF

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No. 91 Wing RAAF
Six men in military dress standing in front of an aircraft
Officer Commanding No. 91 Wing, Group Captain Charlton (left), Commanding Officer No. 77 Squadron, Squadron Leader Cresswell (right), and members of No. 30 Communications Unit with Lieutenant-General Robertson (centre), South Korea, 1950
Active1950–55
CountryAustralia
BranchRoyal Australian Air Force
TypeComposite wing
HeadquartersIwakuni, Japan
EngagementsKorean War
Aircraft flown
FighterP-51 Mustang
Gloster Meteor
TransportC-47 Dakota
Auster

No. 91 (Composite) Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing that operated during the Korean War and its immediate aftermath. It was established in October 1950 to administer RAAF units deployed in the conflict: No. 77 (Fighter) Squadron, flying North American P-51 Mustangs; No. 30 Communications Flight, flying Austers and Douglas C-47 Dakotas; No. 391 (Base) Squadron; and No. 491 (Maintenance) Squadron. The wing was headquartered at Iwakuni, Japan, as were its subordinate units with the exception of No. 77 Squadron, which was based in Korea and came under the operational control of the United States Fifth Air Force.

No. 30 Communications Flight was re-designated No. 30 Communications Unit in November 1950, No. 30 Transport Unit a year later, and No. 36 (Transport) Squadron in March 1953. Its duties included medical evacuation, cargo and troop transport, and courier flights. No. 77 Squadron converted to Gloster Meteor jets between April and July 1951, and operated primarily in the ground attack role from December that year. It remained in Korea on garrison duty following the July 1953 armistice, and returned to Australia in November 1954; No. 491 Squadron disbanded the same month. No. 36 Squadron returned to Australia in March 1955; No. 391 Squadron and No. 91 Wing headquarters disbanded in April.

History

Origins and formation

When the Korean War broke out on 25 June 1950, No. 77 (Fighter) Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was based at Iwakuni, Japan. For the past four years the squadron, equipped with North American P-51 Mustangs, had served with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF), initially as part of No. 81 Wing. No. 81 Wing was disbanded in November 1948, leaving No. 77 Squadron as Australia's sole air unit in Japan. It was now the largest squadron in the RAAF, comprising 299 officers and men, forty Mustangs, three CAC Wirraways, two Douglas C-47 Dakotas and two Austers. Personnel were preparing to return to Australia when they were placed on standby for action over Korea; the squadron began flying missions as part of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force a week later.[1] No. 77 Squadron's commanding officer, Wing Commander Lou Spence, was killed in action on 9 September 1950, and Air Commodore Alan Charlesworth, Chief of Staff at BCOF, temporarily took charge at Iwakuni. Squadron Leader Dick Cresswell arrived on 17 September to assume command of No. 77 Squadron.[2][3]

Following the landing at Inchon and the consequent advance northward of UN troops, No. 77 Squadron relocated to Pohang, South Korea, on 12 October 1950.[4] It left behind its main support elements at Iwakuni.[5] No. 91 (Composite) Wing was established at the base on 20 October.[3][6] The term "composite" referred to an organisation made up of disparate elements, rather than one comprising a single type such as bombers or fighters.[7] Commanded by Group Captain A.D. (Dallas) Charlton, No. 91 Wing was given administrative responsibility for all RAAF units operating during the Korean War.[6][8] As well as No. 77 Squadron, this included the newly formed No. 391 (Base) Squadron and No. 491 (Maintenance) Squadron, and No. 30 Communications Flight, formerly the No. 77 Squadron Communications Flight and initially comprising its two Dakotas and two Austers.[6][9] On 1 November, No. 30 Communications Flight was renamed No. 30 Communications Unit.[8][10] Apart from No. 77 Squadron, the wing's units were all headquartered at Iwakuni.[6]

Operations

Three single-seat, piston-engined fighters under maintenance, with red-roofed building and a mountain range in the background
Mustang fighters of No. 77 Squadron undergoing maintenance at Iwakuni, Japan, c. 1950–51

From the time No. 77 Squadron commenced operations in Korea, its tasking was under the control of United States Fifth Air Force, and remained so following the formation of No. 91 Wing.[11][12] It moved forward from Pohang to Yonpo, near Hamhung, in November 1950, continuing its support of UN forces as they advanced up the peninsula. North Korea's counter-attack, supported by Chinese forces, led to the squadron being withdrawn to Pusan on 3 December.[13] Cresswell believed that the Iwakuni-based wing headquarters was not always in tune with frontline needs, and he sometimes dealt directly with Lieutenant General Horace Robertson, BCOF commander and the theatre's senior Australian officer.[14] In response to the threat of Chinese Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 jet fighters, No. 77 Squadron was withdrawn to Iwakuni in April 1951, to re-equip with Gloster Meteors. Four Royal Air Force officers with Meteor experience were seconded to No. 91 Wing to assist with training.[15]

The squadron returned to action with its new aircraft on 29 July, operating out of Kimpo, South Korea. The Mustangs had been highly effective in close support, but No. 77 Squadron's main role in the RAAF was interception, and it was expected that with the Meteor it could again focus on fighter duties.[16] According to the official history of Australian involvement in the Korean War, the unit proved its value diplomatically as well as operationally: having been one of first UN squadrons to go into action, it comprised one-third of the jet fighter force in the latter part of 1951, when clashes in "MiG Alley" were at their height.[17] However, dogfights between Meteors and MiGs that August convinced the new commanding officer, Wing Commander Gordon Steege, that the Australian jets were outmatched, and Fifth Air Force agreed to take them out of an offensive air-to-air combat role in favour of escort and local air defence.[16] The squadron's loss rate by the end of the year was one in four killed or captured.[18]

Uniformed personnel boarding a twin-engined transport plane
Former prisoners of war board a Dakota transport of No. 36 Squadron in Seoul, South Korea, August 1953

Beginning in December 1951 under Steege's replacement, Wing Commander Ron Susans, No. 77 Squadron again took up an offensive role, namely ground attack, which constituted its primary tasking for the rest of the war.[16] Flight Lieutenant J.C. Smith, No. 91 Wing's armament officer, played a key role in developing "Flaming Onion", napalm-tipped air-to-ground rockets that were used in several operations in 1952 and 1953.[19] No. 77 Squadron remained in Korea on garrison duty—initially at Kimpo, later at Kunsan—following the armistice in July 1953.[20] It had lost forty-one pilots killed during the war.[21][22] A further seven pilots became prisoners of war.[23][24] Aircraft losses totalled almost sixty, including over forty Meteors, mostly to ground fire.[21][25] The squadron flew 18,872 sorties, including 3,872 in Mustangs and 15,000 in Meteors.[23][26] It was credited with shooting down five MiG-15s and destroying 3,700 buildings, 1,408 vehicles, 98 railway engines and carriages, and 16 bridges.[21][27]

No. 30 Communications Unit included Robertson's personal Dakota, operating under his direction.[3] The unit's complement of two Dakotas and two Austers was soon augmented by two more Dakotas from Australia.[28] In November it received another four Dakotas from No. 38 Squadron (of No. 90 (Composite) Wing in Malaya), giving it a strength of eight Dakotas and two Austers by the end of the month.[10][29] The unit supported all Australian forces in Korea.[28] One of its key functions was medical evacuation, but it was also responsible for supply drops, search and rescue, reconnaissance, and mail delivery, as well as transporting cargo, troops, and VIPs.[10] Unlike No. 77 Squadron, it was not tasked by Fifth Air Force but instead operated under Australian control, which was exercised through BCOF headquarters in Japan.[28] No. 30 Communications Unit was re-formed as No. 30 Transport Unit on 5 November 1951, and as No. 36 (Transport) Squadron on 10 March 1953.[30][31] During the war it transported around 100,000 passengers and over 6,000 tons of cargo.[31] It lost an Auster and a Wirraway to crashes, resulting in three deaths.[32]

Support

Three men in overalls working on an aircraft engine
No. 491 Squadron mechanics working on a Meteor engine at Iwakuni, June 1954

When the Korean War broke out, No. 77 Squadron was self-supporting, the largest flying unit in the RAAF. The added burden of combat operations made this situation untenable after the squadron went into action in Korea, leading to the formation of No. 391 (Base) Squadron at Iwakuni, at the same time as No. 91 Wing headquarters.[33] RAAF base squadrons were responsible for administrative, logistical, medical, communications and security functions.[34][35] Staffed mainly by former No. 77 Squadron members, in the first year of its existence No. 391 Squadron had to contend with severe shortages of winter clothing and equipment.[33] Further problems arose following the introduction of the Meteor, as spares for the British-made jet were harder to obtain than for the American Mustang.[36] Along with its RAAF responsibilities, No. 391 Squadron supported Australian Army and other UN personnel travelling through Iwakuni.[37] It ran No. 91 Wing's "Transit Hotel", which accommodated business people and entertainers, as well as military personnel.[38] The squadron's medical contingent was heavily engaged in the preparation and escort of injured personnel from Korea to Iwakuni and then to other destinations.[39]

No. 491 Squadron was also formed in tandem with No. 91 Wing on 20 October 1950. It was responsible for servicing the wing's aircraft at Iwakuni. A section was attached to No. 77 Squadron in Korea for day-to-day maintenance.[40] Personnel from Iwakuni were regularly rotated throughout this section, and augmented by additional No. 491 Squadron as needed for repair or salvage work.[41][42] Korea was one of the coldest climates in which RAAF ground crews had ever worked; Squadron Leader Cresswell recalled seeing maintenance staff with tools frozen to their hands.[43] Both Nos. 391 and 491 Squadrons used Japanese technicians as well as Australian, marking the first occasion the RAAF had done so; since the occupation of Japan following its surrender in World War II, Japanese workers had only been employed for menial tasks.[3][41]

Disbandment

No. 77 Squadron stood down at Kunsan on 7 October 1954 and flew its Meteors to Iwakuni five days later. It departed for Australia in November and became operational again at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, on 4 January 1955.[44] Its eleven-year absence from Australia, beginning in the Pacific during World War II and continuing in Japan as part of BCOF, was a record for an RAAF unit.[45] No. 491 Squadron disbanded at Iwakuni on 13 December 1954. No. 391 Squadron followed suit on 30 April 1955; No. 91 Wing headquarters disbanded the same day. No. 36 Squadron returned to Australia between January and March 1955, leaving four Dakotas that formed RAAF Transport Flight (Japan); the flight remained operational until July 1956.[44]

Notes

  1. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 222–225
  2. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 227
  3. ^ a b c d O'Neill, Australia in the Korean War, pp. 314–315
  4. ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 231–232
  5. ^ Eather, Odd Jobs, p. 99
  6. ^ a b c d Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 228–229
  7. ^ Helson, The Private Air Marshal, pp. 224, 338
  8. ^ a b "No 91 (Composite) Wing formed in Japan". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  9. ^ Wilson, The Brotherhood of Airmen, p. 170
  10. ^ a b c RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, p. 150
  11. ^ O'Neill, Australia in the Korean War, p. 303
  12. ^ Eather, Odd Jobs, p. 82
  13. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 228, 231
  14. ^ Hurst, The Forgotten Few, p. 79
  15. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 229–231
  16. ^ a b c Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 234–238
  17. ^ O'Neill, Australia in the Korean War, pp. 408–409
  18. ^ O'Neill, Australia in the Korean War, p. 370
  19. ^ O'Neill, Australia in the Korean War, p. 375
  20. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 242
  21. ^ a b c Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 240
  22. ^ Hurst, The Forgotten Few, p. 207
  23. ^ a b RAAF Historical Section, Fighter Units, p. 59
  24. ^ Hurst, The Forgotten Few, p. 228
  25. ^ Hurst, The Forgotten Few, pp. 230–232
  26. ^ Hurst, The Forgotten Few, p. 224
  27. ^ Hurst, The Forgotten Few, p. 231
  28. ^ a b c Eather, Odd Jobs, pp. 163–164
  29. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 247
  30. ^ RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, p. 152
  31. ^ a b Eather, Odd Jobs, p. 169
  32. ^ RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, p. 151
  33. ^ a b O'Brien, Always There, p. 58
  34. ^ O'Brien, Always There, pp. 53–54
  35. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 71
  36. ^ O'Brien, Always There, p. 59
  37. ^ O'Brien, Always There, p. 60
  38. ^ "World's most unusual hotel". Nambour Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser. 18 September 1953. p. 11. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  39. ^ O'Brien, Always There, p. 61
  40. ^ RAAF Historical Section, Maintenance Units, pp. 72–73
  41. ^ a b Eather, Odd Jobs, p. 124
  42. ^ "The RAAF in Japan". Australia's involvement in the Korean War. Department of Veterans' Affairs. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  43. ^ Eather, Odd Jobs, p. 100
  44. ^ a b O'Neill, Australia in the Korean War, p. 592
  45. ^ "77 Squadron home after 11 years away". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved 22 October 2013.

References

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