When the Korean war began in 1950, the US Air Force and the US Navy focused on air objection missions and attacking the communications and supplies. These included targets such as bridges, trains, trucks, storage facilities and forces. In 1952, the Air Force and Navy turned its focus into more strategic targets such as dams and power plants. One of their most valuable targets was the suho Dam.
The strategic goals were not the focus in the early days of the war
During the early days of the Korean war, the United Nations forces mostly avoided attacking Korean dams and power stations. Partially, this was because the planners decided to focus the attacks on the objectives of the objection. However, this was not the only reason.
By 1949, most countries of the world occurred Geneva Conventions. This agreement is partially focused on protecting victims of armed conflict. It is clear that the destruction of dams and power stations will lead to harm to civilians. The United Nations forces also were initially affected by attacking the dam Importing that it will bring China to war.
As the war continued, the United Nations and Communist aspects began negotiating for a possible truce. One of the main points was to reach an agreement on restoring war prisoners to the homeland. In early 1952, United Nations strategistsMost of them were Admirals and American generals, they became frustrated when they felt that the Communist side was yearning and was not interested in a peace agreement. Therefore, they turned air attacks into more strategic targets, hoping to force Communists to look at peace seriously. The primary strategic goals will be the electrical dams.
SUiho complex is a major strategic target for bombing missions
The schemes chose the Suiho complex as one of the main targets of strategic bombing. The Japanese suho built in 1940. He had Six of the world’s largest turbine generators. The tank behind the dam owned 20 billion cubic meters of water, similar to the Grand Cole Dam in Washington State.
Each generator produced 100,000 kW of energy. Besides the production of most electricity in North Korea, it also provides energy for the main and Russian ports and military bases of up to 100 miles.
As negotiations continued in the situation, the Americans planned to attack SUIHO in June 1952. This will not be an easy target, as there was a plane defender near the dam and many enemy fighters near him. The attacks began on June 23 and continued until June 27. During that period, 670 Naval Navy, Air Force, and some South African aircraft, Both the land and the carrier participated in the dam’s attack, flight 1,514 sorties.
The navy and the Air Force combines efforts to attack suho
On the first day, the Navy sent 35 Grumman F9F Panthers In missions to suppress the anti -aircraft guns that protect the dam. It started 12 AD of USS Boxer runs a diving. Their goals were the generation stations at the base of the dam instead of the dam itself. 23 skyraides from Princeon and The Philippine Sea He also attacked, dropping 81 tons of bombs in more than two minutes.
Air Force He also participated in the attacks, with 79 fly fb-84 Thunderjets and 45 shooting stars F-80. Suyo was not the only goal on that day. In all, the United Nations aircraft attacked 13 main electrical stations in Korea.
The attackers had a surprise feature, as there were no other attacks on suho before that. The attacks later of that year faced much higher levels of aircraft control fire, prompting some pilots to say that Flak was heavy as they saw on Berlin in World War II.
Survey photos showed that June attacks showed that they had achieved military success. 11 out of 13 electrical stations were destroyed. North Korea lost 90 % Of its electrical production capacity, the entire country was in blacking for two weeks.
Political concerns continue after successful attacks
Despite the positive military results, the attack on suho caused political problems.
In the United Kingdom, the Labor Party opposed it, saying it risked the start of a third world war. The situation was different in the United States. Many Americans complained to President Truman that they should not wait for two years before attacking the dam.
It lacks a fixed position on the war, the United Nations could not persuade the Communists to agree to the truce.
She chose a heavy launcher for the second attack
The war continued in the months after the attacks, and the negotiations did not succeed. When the photos showed that the Communists were rebuilding some turbines, the Americans decided to attack Suiho again, this time with B-26 and B-29. The clear advantage of the heavy plane was its ability to carry more bombs. September 12 planned to attack. This time, however, they will not surprise the communist forces.
The slanders faced wide reinforcements from the defenses
They greatly strengthened the area around the dam, but the United Nations allies considered another successful blow to Suiho the key to stopping the war, so the plans continued. Since June, the Communists have increased the number of anti -aircraft weapons near the dam 786 artillery artillery and 1672 automatic weapons. They also installed 500 strong lights, and many of them Voice -controlled radars or mechanisms It can discover the planes and direct the spotlight on them. Search symptoms can reach up to 30,000 feet.
On the night of September 12, B-29 sets more than just shooting from the ground. Many Meg fighters were waiting for nearby bases across the Yalu River in the Chinese manchor. The United Nations forces were not allowed to attack through the river, so the Communist fighters were free to take off and involve the B-29s. Sixty B-29s participated in the task, less than Okinawa, Japan, to attack strategic goals at the dam base. While they were long west at an altitude of about 25,000 feet along the river, they were wounded by heavy enemy and enemy planes.
Bud Farrell description, artillery in one B-29s, task: “From that point at the IP address to the target and” bombs far “, there were continuous thraits around us, and perhaps thousands of horizons like a very long series of fireworks that start in your face and all look closer in the dark than they were already, as the lights are looking for both sides of the river who try to find us and close to us.”
After running the bombs, the plane faced another challenge. They had to make sharp The left turned as soon as their bombs were dropped To avoid flying over the airspace of the Chinese Manchurian, barely a half mile from the dam.
Mixed results after the bomber attack on the strategic goals
One B-29 was dropped during the attack, many others were severely damaged in the crews and aircraft and had to land in alternative airports in Korea. Al -Tarisah initially stated that they struck many of their goals at the base of the dam. However, the photos on October 12 showed that the complex is working with a limited capacity.
The United Nations aircraft once again attacked SUIHO in February 1953, but this did not achieve the results of the planners.
The Korean war continued until July 27, 1953, when both sides signed the armistice but not an official peace treaty.