Korean War tales: biplane night bomber

[vtsaogames]

The third installment of my father-in-law's Korean War stories:

https://corlearshookfencibles.blogspot.com/2021/11/bed-checkcharlie-night-bombing-biplane.html

I had never heardof this low-tech raider before.

[Poiter50]

Didn't the Night Witches fly those in WW2?

[vtsaogames]

Yes they did, and other pilots too. I'm sure Soviet advisors suggested this to the North Koreans.
I had never heard about such tactics before getting my father-in-law's article.

A rather amazing idea, flying below the stall speed of enemy fighters.

[WuZhuiQiu]

Interesting! I think that a similar nuisance bomber appeared in a couple of MASH episodes.

[FifteensAway]

Interesting - is there something wrong with the link?  ttps?

[cuprum]

The Germans called the Soviet light combat aircrafts "Mosquito Aviation". These are the annoying "mosquitoes".
One of the interesting tactics: at night, a single light aircraft appears over the enemy object in the sky, and in all possible ways attracts the enemy's attention. When air defenses open fire, they are attacked by other light aircraft. Due to its low speed, the bombardment is carried out with phenomenal accuracy, causing significant losses to anti-aircraft gunners. An interesting fact is that the descent rate of this aircraft with the engine off is lower than the descent rate of the parachutist.
North Korean Po-2. The color is predominantly black:







There were also women among the North Korean light aviation pilots. The most famous of these was Tkhe Song Hee, who received the title of "Hero of the DPRK" for the successful raid on the US base in Busan on January 1, 1953.
In the photo she is in the center.



During the war, the DPRK aviation lost 9 Po-2 aircraft in battles.

[cuprum]

Interesting - is there something wrong with the link?  ttps?

Substitute the letter "h" in front of the address)))

[Easy E]

The Po-2 even has a confirmed kill on a F-94 Starfighter jet interceptor.  The USAF plane tried to slow down to tail the PO-2 and stalled, eventually crashing.  Very embarrassing.  Conversely, a A-1 Skyraider shot one down and that is the ONLY air-to-air kill by a Sky Raider...ever!

I think the NK night bombing raids were called something like "Bedcheck Charlie" as a nickname.   

[redrob]

Raid on Busan??? Where on earth did she fly from? or shall we assume this is the normal level of North Korean honesty?

[cuprum]

When translating original texts into several different languages ​​consecutively, errors, especially in unfamiliar titles, are inevitable. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the translation and information, since I do not specifically study this topic.

Here is another text from another article about North Korean night air activity:

At the end of 1950, a separate night air unit was created in the DPRK Air Force, which later became the night air regiment of light night bombers (the commander in it was Pak Den Sik, he became the Hero of the DPRK at the end of 1951). Initially, this unit had several squadrons of Soviet Po-2 light bombers, which proved themselves well during the Great Patriotic War. From the beginning of the summer of 1951, the regiment's pilots intensified operations at night over the territory of South Korea. So, on June 17, this air unit bombed the airfield in Suwon, destroying 9 F-86 "Saber" aircraft. The Po-2 was attacked by port facilities and fuel depots in the port of Incheon, as well as by the enemy's Yongdipho airfield.
On June 21, the regiment's planes bombed the Seoul railway station - Yongsan. where there were several large fires and explosions. On June 24, North Korean night aviation bombed an airfield in Suwon and burned up to 10 enemy planes on the ground. Another squadron of this unit on the same night bombed a large enemy convoy near the villages of Namsuri and Buvalri, where they destroyed up to 30 vehicles. On June 28, several aircraft of the People's Army's night bomber aviation dropped bombs on enemy troops in Inchon, Yongdeep, Yongsan and in the vicinity of Munsan.
On January 1, 1953, an air unit of night bombers under the command of Pak Den Sik destroyed a large enemy tanker and warehouses of military materials in the port of Incheon.
In 1952, the Soviet Yak-11 and Yak-18 aircraft, which carried not only small bombs, but also rockets, entered service with the night units of the DPRK Air Force. Several squadrons of North Korean aviation, armed with La-9 and La-11 piston fighters, were also transferred to night work and began to periodically carry out raids deep into the territory of South Korea. Despite the dubious combat effectiveness of these types of aircraft, outdated by that time, not to mention the Yak-11 and Yak-18 "fighters", North Korean pilots caused a lot of trouble for the Americans. For example, Po-2 night raids not only inflicted material damage, but also morally affected the state of the enemy troops, as they did not allow them to feel safe even at night. American soldiers called Po-2 - "Bedcheck Charlies" ("Kings that are raised from the bed", i.e. do not let sleep). Naturally, the American command did not sit idly by and took all possible countermeasures.
To combat the Po-2, the command of the US 5th Air Army first used piston aircraft such as the F-82G "Twin Mustang", F7F-5N "Tigercat", F4U-5N "Corsair" and AT-6 "Texan". The F-82G operated at night 339 AE, and the F7F-5N in 1951 - the 513 night fighter squadron of the US Marine Corps (VMK (N) 513). By the way, the pilots of this aircraft shot down several Po-2s on Tigercats. On the night of July 1, 1951, the crew of Captain E.B. Long and radio operator Warren Officer Z.S. Buckinthem from VMK (N) 513 intercepted the Korean Po-2 on the F7F-3N and shot it down. This was the first air victory on the Tigercats and the first victory of the Marine Corps aviation in Korea. On the night of September 22-23 of the same year, the crew of Major E. A. Wen-Gandy and Master Sergeant T. H. Ullom shot down another light night bomber.

Link to automatic translation of the article:  https://www-airwar-ru.translate.goog/history/locwar/koreya/night/night.html?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ru&_x_tr_pto=wapp

And of course, you can find out the true picture of the event only by studying the documents of both sides of the conflict.

[commissarmoody]

Thanks for taking the time to translate all that.