HISTORY

Although another pilot, Captain Martin Johnson,

warned him against another attack, Sebille proclaimed: “I'll never be able to make it back. I'm

going back to get that bastard.” He then really

did return to the enemy concentration instead

of returning to base and in a suicidal attack, and

absorbing more hits in the process, he fired at

the communist troops with his machine guns,

ending the attack by impacting the artillery position. For this act, he was the first American in

Korea to be awarded the Congressional Medal of

Honor, the highest of American medals.

Similar acts of heroism by American Mustang

pilots in Korea are many. Many of them didn’t

take the loss of fighter status in comparison

to modern jets, nor being relegated to ground

attack duties in obsolete World War Two aircraft,

very well. But their determination to fulfill the

tasks asked of them was in no way degraded,

nor did any technical issues with the equipment.

One such problem was the lack of A-2 Ground

Power Sources, essential for starting the engines. There was also a shortage of A-13A oxygen

systems, or P-1 helmets. Some pilots even flew

with football helmets and headsets!

Mustangs flew direct air support missions all

the way to February, 1953, when the last unit

finally converted onto the Sabre. This was the

South African No. 2 Squadron, under the 18th

FBS. Up to the end of hostilities, both the 10th

Air Combat Squadron and the 1st Fighter Wing

ROKAF flew them, and they were used for reconnaissance by the 45th TRS in the USAF.

Mustang Units in Korea

Bout One

July 3 – 15, 1950

Then to December 1, 1950

Special Group operating with ROKAF markings, commanded by Major Hess. In connection with Project Dallas

Squadron formed the 51st FBS(P). After being divided, the unit continued to serve as a ROKAF unit right up to the

beginning of December, and after that, a portion of its personnel formed the combined Korean-American unit

Baekgu (April 3 – May 31, 1951

Dallas Squadron

July 10-15, 1950

The unit was formed using mostly pilots and personnel from the 12th FBS. After uniting with Bout One, they formed

the 51st FBS(P). After the disbanding of Bout One, the unit returned to the 18th FBG as the 12th FBS.

51st FBS(P)

July 15 – August 5, 1950

The merger of Bout One and the Dallas Project created the 51st FBS(P), a provisional unit, from which aircraft and

a portion of the personnel of the original Bout One returned to service in the ROKAF. Subsequently, the entire unit

was disbanded on August 5, and again became the 12th FBS, falling under the 18th FBG.

8th FBG

August – December, 1950

All five units, the 35th FBS, 36th FBS and the 80th FBS, re-converted onto the F-51D and moved to Korea in October. By December, they were returned to Japan where their pilots moved onto Shooting Stars.

18th FBG

August 1950 – January, 1953

This unit held on to their Mustangs the longest in the USAF (with the exception of the reconnaissance unit 45th

TRS). It was made up of the 12th FBS, 67th FBS, and No. 2 Squadron, SAAF, the latter being integrated into the unit

on November 18, 1950. In February, 1953, it was the last 18th FBG unit to exchange its Mustangs for Sabres. As of

May, 1951, the 39th FIS from the 35th FIG also operated under its jurisdiction.

35th FIG

July 27, 1950 – October 6, 1952

This was the first unit to be moved to Korea to begin operations. The 39th FIS and the 40th FIS converted to the

Mustang, while the 41st FIS remained in Japan with their F-80s, and their duties within the Group were handled by

No. 77 Squadron, RAAF (remaining until July 30, 1951, when it rearmed with the Meteor and was integrated into the

4th FIW). From May 7, 1951, the 39th FIS fell under the command of the 18th FBG. Remaining units of the 35th FIG

were withdrawn to Japan on May 25, where these was a recycling of personnel and equipment and the F-51D only

remained with the 40th FIS, serving as an Operational Training Unit (OTU).

49th FBG

July – September, 1950

The Mustang saw only a short service career with this unit. Its component units were the 7th FBS, 8th FBS and 9th

FBS. Although operations were initiated by July, by the end of September, their pilots were again flying F-80s.

45th TRS/67th TRW

Notes:

1) Dean Rusk became U.S. Secretary of State in the John

F. Kennedy and subsequently Lyndon B. Johnson cabinets. He was instrumental in the diplomatic resolving of

the Cuban Missile Crisis.

3. 12. 1950 – 10. 1. 1953

This reconnaissance unit, falling under the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, was activated as early as September 3, but didn’t receive its Mustangs until December 3. It flew with standard F-51Ds, as well as the camera

equipped RF-51D. On July 1, 1951, the 67th TRG lost its Commanding Officer in action, Karl F. Polifka, a renowned

USAF expert on aerial reconnaissance.

2) After the end of hostilities, Charles H. Bonesteel III served as a Special Assistant to the Secretary

of State. It was his idea to split Korea along the 38th

Parallel. During the Korean War, he commanded American Armed Forces in Korea and between 1966 and

1969 he commanded the 8th Army stationed in Korea,

a function he fulfilled during several smaller conflicts

known as “the Second Korean War” that occurred in the

demilitarized zone (Korean DMZ Conflict).

4) Determining the exact number of available F-51D

Mustangs in Japan at the beginning of the Korean War

was difficult. Sources differ considerably. The official

figure is placed at 47 and comes from official USAF documentation.

5) Several articles have claimed that there were ten Mustangs in Korea when the

war began, there to train Korean pilots.

In fact, on June 25, 1950, no Mustangs in Korea could

be found.

By the end of the war, ROKAF Mustang units

6) F-51 Mustang Units of the Korean War, Warren

Thompson, Osprey Publishing, Bloomsbury Publishing

Plc, 2015

partners of the Allies.

30

INFO Eduard

were able to operate independently as equal

photo: Republic of Korea Armed Forces

3) Interest in the command over Bout One was shown

by Major Charles Bowers and Major Dean Hess. The decision was finally made basically a coin toss, in Hess’s

favor.

July 2022