The F80 Shooting Star jet fighter was developed during the Second World but never saw combat. The plane fist saw combat during the Korean War. It had a cruise speed of 660 kilometres an hour and top speed of 960 kilometres and hour. On November 1950 an F80 pilot claimed the first air to air combat victory against an enemy jet plane nut Soviet records showed that the Mig survived the action. Due to it s straight wing design the F80 was inferior to the Mig 15 jet. The F80 was replaced by the F86 Sabre jet in air to air combat roles. Afterwards the F80 was used in ground attack roles.
The successful defence by the South Korean Second Corp is undermined by the defeat of the South Korean First Corp at the battle of Andong. The fight for the town of Yongdok near the east coast. The plight of Korean refugees. A biography of Kim Paek Il, the commander of the South Korean First Corp.
This was the main field artillery weapon of the American and South Korean Armies. It entered service during the Second World War but is still used in some countries today. It’s accuracy was good and had a range of up to 11,000 metres. However it could be outranged by Soviet made field artillery. Although there were specialist rounds for example anti tank rounds, in the main the howitzer was used to fire High Explosive rounds with deadly effect.
The arrival of the American 25th Division and the American 1st Cavalry Division into the battle, however they are pushed back by the North Korean Army. The poor performance of the American 24th Regiment. General Walker’s ‘Stand or Die’ order. A biography of Leon Gilbert an American officer sentenced to death by a Court Martial.
Often called the super bazooka, it replaced the 2.36 inch rocket launcher whose rounds bounced off the frontal armour of a T34 tank. The 3.5 inch rocket launcher could penetrate the frontal armour of a T34 tank giving the American infantry a weapons that could stop the North Korean tanks. It was a two piece weapon which fitted together it weighed only 12 pounds. It fired a sharped charge rocket and had an accuracy of up to 800 metres.
The term Bazooka comes from a musical instrument but it was also a slang term for a woman’s breasts.
Often called the ‘Burp Gun’, the PPSh41 was supplied by the Soviet Union to both the Chinese and North Korean Armies and was widely used during the Korean War. It fired a 7.62 millimetre bullet at a rate of 900 rounds a minute. It could be feed by a drum with 71 rounds in it. While it was not accurate it’s high rate of fire made up for this. It had been designed in 1941 and was widely used by the Red Army during the Second World War.
American General Moore a lieutenant during the Korean War said ‘most of the killing in Korea was done at very close ranges and it was done quickly, a matter of who responded faster. In situations like that it outclassed and outgunned what we had.’
The F51 was the mainstay of the American Air Force in Korea in 1950. It could be used in ground support roles attacking enemy troops and vehicles at the front or in the rear areas. It was armed with 6 half inch machine guns and 6 five inch rockets. In a bombing role it could carry 2,000 pounds of bombs or napalm tanks.
When fitted with external fuel tanks it had a range of 1,200 kilometres. The plane was designed during the Second World War to escort bombing attacking Germany, fighting off enemy fighters. By 1950 its role was a fighter planes had been superseded by jet planes but in Korea where there was little left of the North Korean air force by July 1950.
The North Korean Army conquest of South West Korea. The defeat of the American 24th Division by the North Korean 4th and 6th Divisions. American Air Force tactics as the North Korean Army learn not to expose themselves during the day. A biography of Brigadier General Church, the new commander of the American 24th Division.
The T34 tank helped the North Korean army invasion of South Korea. The tank first saw action during the Second World war where it was the main battle tanks of the Soviet Red Army. At the beginning of the war, American and South Korean rocket launchers and anti tanks gun were not able to penetrate the frontal armour of the T34. Only later when 3.5 Inch rocket launchers arrived in Korea did the infantry have the weapons to deal with the T34 tank but by that time most of South Korea had been lost.
In the first tank to tank battles the T34 outclassed the American M24 light tank. Later it proved to be the equal of the American M4 Sherman tanks but inferior to the American M26 Pershing tank. The tanks was targeted by American warplanes and by August, the tanks usually travelled by night.
It carried an 85 millimetre gun and two 7.62 millimetre machine guns. It had a crew of five and speed of up to 53 kilometres an hour. It had sloped armour at the front of up to 45 millimetres. It weighted over 26 tonnes.
The number of downloads continues to grow in October it outnumbered those in September by more than three times and November the number of downloads out numbered those in October by three times too. So a big welcome to the many new listeners. In terms of countries where the most listeners come from the United States is first but now Canada is second and the United Kingdom is third. However there are listeners in every part of the world.
I will be creating a new section on this website dealing with Korean War weapons this month.
The episode for the rest of December have already being download to Libsyn for release they are;
Episode 15 The whole left flank is wide open released on December 12th
Episode 16 American Reinforcements released on December 19th
Episode 17 The Battle of Andong released on December 26th
Episode 18 Stand or Die released on January 2nd
Episode 19 The War in the air and at Sea released on January 9th
Episode 20 the Pusan Perimeter released on January 16th.
Map to help listeners with episode 15 to 18
The fighting between the Battle of Taejon and the Battle of the Pusan perimeter is in most history books the forgotten period of a forgotten war. I can find no military maps showing the overall military position at this time. So all I can offer is a sketch map which at least does list all the towns mentioned in these episodes.
South East Korea
Over the Christmas and New Year break I hope to bring out many more posts. If you have any questions on the Korean War please use this website to ask them and I will try to reply.
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