Deadlier

The air war over Korea was building up. U.S. and Australian Air Force fighters and bombers hit hard and often at Communist troop concentrations and supply lines. Last week Major General Emmett ("Rosy") O'Donnell's new Far East Bomber Command sent World War II Superfortresses (now classified as "medium bombers") to drop almost 1,000 tons of bombs on Red rail centers and supply bases north of the 38th parallel.

The Communist shelling of the U.S. airfield at Taejon (see above) was forcing increasing reliance on bases in Japan, but the U.S. was also beginning to build emergency airstrips in South Korea. One such airstrip, already in operation last week, consisted of a tiny cluster of rundown concrete buildings, hastily made over into an operations office and control tower, two rickety hangars and a long, grassy runway.

Misbombed. Many of the U.S. airmen at this strip last week were war-trained pilots who had been grounded by the Truman Administration's economy decision last year (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS). These men were sent to Korea to act as ground crews, but when Korean pilots turned out to be short on training to fly the FSI Mustang, Tokyo gave many of the grounded Americans their wings back. When the order was read last week, the pilots said "When do we start, sir?"

The few Mustangs operating out of Korean bases have already been of tremendous help to embattled U.S. and South Korean ground forces. One day last week, a Korean police post called to report a detail of Red soldiers, 20 trucks and 10 horse carts were parked in front of their station in Chongyang. A short time later, Captain William Hook and his wingman reported the total destruction of the trucks, horse carts and most of Chongyang with firebombs and rockets. Sometimes the Air Force makes mistakes. From one hard-pressed South Korean unit, U.S. officers at headquarters of the Korean army's 3rd Division received the following plaintive message: "Airplanes bombed to the friendly police and army forces who had made surrounding to the enemy. This misbombed made many obstacles for friendly operation."

"Too Bad." Dark, slender Major Dean Hess, a 32-year-old World War II fighter pilot, landed at a South Korean airstrip one day last week to report a highly successful strafing mission. Hess had spotted four Communist boats crossing the Kum River east of Taejon. He burned and strafed the boats, wheeled and roared back at the target again. Fleeing Red soldiers were scrambling up the river bank. Hess's six machine guns laced a pattern of lead along the bank. "I looked back," he said, "and there were 30 soldiers stretched out flatter than pancakes." He grinned, then checked himself. "It's a terrible thing," he said, "to snuff out lives that way."

Last week U.S. and South Korean ground forces had their first tangible evidence of the growing effect of air action on North Korean morale. Into the forward post of a South Korean regiment near Koesan walked eight unarmed Reds, their hands raised high over their mustard-colored tunics. They had come to give themselves up. The Communist sergeant said his units now rarely attempted to move anywhere by daylight, reported that Red morale and provisions were running low in some sectors. "The bombing," he said, "is just too bad."

The bombings were going to get worse. More airstrips in Korea would enable U.S. jets and Mustangs to give better support for ground troops; Red field positions and supply lines would be chewed up with deadlier regularity. The effects of Rosy O'Donnell's strategic strikes with the B-29s would take longer to hit the Communists at the front, but when they were felt, they would hurt.

So far, the U.S. had waged its war in the air against negligible Red opposition-- a few propeller-driven Yak 3s, 7s, 9s and 15s, some Ilyushin 10s. This week, the Air Force heard what might prove to be serious news. A number of new-type Russian-made jet fighters, said a MacArthur communique, had been sighted in action over Chongju. The Reds' new plane was described as "smaller than the American F-80, with swept-back wings, a stubby fuselage and blunt nose."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.