Changes

The [[United States Air Force]] was the first (non-Korean) force to respond to the invasion.  Initial action, however, was limited to making sure American citizens were evacuated safely.  Once the first UN resolution was passed, attention turned to stopping the North Korean advance.  USAF planes flew from bases in [[Japan]] and [[Okinawa]], and two [[aircraft carrier]]s were in the area, the USS ''Valley Forge'' and the British HMS ''Triumph''.  In addition, US [[cruisers]] and [[destroyer]]s off the coast lent fire support to the retreating South Korean forces.<ref>''Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy'', by Craig L. Symonds, the Naval Institute, 1995</ref>

The [[United States Air Force]] was the first (non-Korean) force to respond to the invasion.  Initial action, however, was limited to making sure American citizens were evacuated safely.  Once the first UN resolution was passed, attention turned to stopping the North Korean advance.  USAF planes flew from bases in [[Japan]] and [[Okinawa]], and two [[aircraft carrier]]s were in the area, the USS ''Valley Forge'' and the British HMS ''Triumph''.  In addition, US [[cruisers]] and [[destroyer]]s off the coast lent fire support to the retreating South Korean forces.<ref>''Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy'', by Craig L. Symonds, the Naval Institute, 1995</ref>

The North Koreans had the latest piston-engined fighters from the Soviet Union, but they were outclassed by the first-generation jet fighters flown by the USAF and the [[United States Navy|US Navy]].  UN aircraft made several strikes on North Korean air bases, and by July 5, the NKAF had lost over a hundred aircraft and the UN had complete air superiority.<ref>''Rolling Thunder:  Jet Combat from World War II to the Gulf War'', by Ivan Rendall, Dell Publishing, 1997</ref>

The North Koreans had the latest piston-engined fighters from the Soviet Union, but they were outclassed by the first-generation jet fighters flown by the USAF and the [[United States Navy|US Navy]].  UN aircraft made several strikes on North Korean air bases, and by July 5, the NKAF had lost over a hundred aircraft and the UN had complete air superiority.<ref name="MyFirstRef">''Rolling Thunder:  Jet Combat from World War II to the Gulf War'', by Ivan Rendall, Dell Publishing, 1997</ref>

   

   

No modern conventional war has been won without air superiority, but air power alone has never won a war, and the first months of the Korean War were a case in point.  Air strikes by bombers and fighter-bombers slowed the North Korean advance, but the communist troops were just too numerous to stop, especially with the South Korean resistance crumbling.  UN troops, mostly American, were sent in to help hold the line, but they were outnumbered, and forced back.  In August, the lines finally stabilized around the Pusan perimeter.

No modern conventional war has been won without air superiority, but air power alone has never won a war, and the first months of the Korean War were a case in point.  Air strikes by bombers and fighter-bombers slowed the North Korean advance, but the communist troops were just too numerous to stop, especially with the South Korean resistance crumbling.  UN troops, mostly American, were sent in to help hold the line, but they were outnumbered, and forced back.  In August, the lines finally stabilized along the Naktong River, establishing the Pusan perimeter.

=== Pusan perimeter ===

=== Pusan perimeter ===

By September, the surviving South Korean forces, and the US Eighth Army which had been sent to assist were confined to a small enclave around the southern port city of Pusan behind the Naktong river. It had taken months to assemble more than a handful of American troops; American air units had made some ineffectual sorties; and the suggestion that North Korea should be [[atomic bomb|nuked]] was not taken any further.  

Pusan is a large port on the southern tip of Korea, through which came thousands of UN troops and hundred of tanks and other heavy equipment.  By August, enough troops had come through that they could successfully hold the line against the North Koreans.  Knowing that time was not on their side, [[Kim Il-Sung]] ordered his soldiers to breach the line by any means necessary.  The North Korean army attacked repeatedly, but every attempt failed.<ref>''Battle'', by R.G. Grant, DK Publishing, 2005</ref>

 

Air power played a huge role in the defense of the perimeter. With the skies firmly in UN control, American and British fighters and bombers had free reign.  [[B-29 Superfortress]]es, based on [[Okinawa]], hit North Korean supply lines and rear areas.  [[P-51 Mustang|F-82 Twin Mustangs]], F-80 Shooting Stars (America’s first combat jets), and propeller-driven medium bombers flew from Japan constantly, usually targeting North Korean troops.  [[P-51 Mustang|F-51 Mustangs]] operated from rough airfields inside the perimeter itself, some only a few minutes flying time from the enemy lines.  In addition, the carrier USS ''Philippine Sea'' had arrived, and joined the ''Valley Forge'' and ''Triumph'' in strikes on the North Koreans.  By the second week of September, UN planes were averaging around 700 sorties per day in support of the troops holding the line.<ref name="MyFirstRef"/>

 

In early September, enough UN troops had entered Pusan that the perimeter was secure, and attention could be turned to a counter-attack.  Time, for the North Koreans, had run out.

=== Inchon landings ===

=== Inchon landings ===

==Air War==

==Air War==

The Korean War was the first conflict in which jet aircraft fought each other.  (Both the [[Luftwaffe]] and the [[RAF]] had operational jets in WWII, but they never came into direct conflict.)  Most jet battles took place near the Yalu River, in the airspace over north-western North Korea known as "Mig alley."  The UN forces generally retained air superiority throughout most of the war, and air power helped compensate for the Communists' superior numbers.

The Korean War was the first conflict in which jet aircraft fought each other.  (Both the [[Luftwaffe]] and the [[RAF]] had operational jets in WWII, but they never came into direct conflict.)  Most jet battles took place near the Yalu River, in the airspace over north-western North Korea known as "Mig alley."  The UN forces generally retained air superiority throughout most of the war, and air power helped compensate for the Communists' superior numbers on the ground.

==Participants==

==Participants==