Publication: Air Power History
Publication Date: 22-MAR-04
Delivery: Immediate Online Access
Author: Marion, Forrest L.
Article Excerpt
The Korean War witnessed hundreds of dramatic rescues of airmen plucked from behind enemy lines and thousands of wounded GIs evacuated from the front lines to safety and medical care. Exploits such as these earned worldwide reputations for the H-5 and H-19 helicopters and SA-16 amphibians, and for the men who flew and maintained the aircraft. But several lesser-known Air Rescue Service (ARSvc) aircraft served in the war theater as well, among them the SB-17 and SB-29 (S for search-and-rescue), rescue-modified versions of the famed World War II bombers. Modified to carry air-droppable lifeboats under their bellies, both bomber types performed valuable service in the Korean War. The SB-17, replaced by the SA-16 and SB-29, flew operational missions from the war's outset until late 1951, while the SB-29 operated in the war theater from September 1950 until the armistice of July 1953.
Boeing SB-17G Flying Fortress
During World War II, thousands of Boeing B-17s had bombed targets in the European and Pacific theaters. Late in that war, the United States had converted a few B-17Gs, redesignated the B-17H, to assist in the rescue of airmen downed in the water. These rescue bombers carried under their bellies a 27-foot boat (termed the A-1) that could be dropped by parachute and which contained enough food, water, and clothing for twelve survivors to last for about twenty days. The first B-17H operational boat drop took place in April 1945, shortly before the war's end in Europe. Until late 1951 in the Korean War theater, the 2d ARS and 3d ARS (Air Rescue Squadron) of the ARSvc continued to operate essentially the same aircraft, now redesignated the SB-17G. Constructed of laminated mahogany plywood, the G-model's A-1 lifeboat contained twenty watertight compartments and carried two air-cooled engines, each of which could power the boat at five knots; or with both engines running, eight knots. To assist survivors in reaching the boat, the A-1 possessed saltwater-activated rocket lines that ejected when the lifeboat struck the water. The SB-17 carried a nine-man crew: two pilots, one navigator, one radar operator, one flight engineer/top turret gunner, one radio operator, two waist scanner/gunners, and one tail scanner/gunner. (1)
Perhaps surprisingly, B-17Gs (also briefly referred to as the ERB-17) had operated in Korea well before 1950. One B-17G pilot, retired Lt. Col. William A. Barnett (a lieutenant in Korea), who served in Detachment 5, 3d Emergency Rescue Squadron (later, 3d ARS), at Kimpo Army Air Base, Korea, from October 1946 to March 1947, recalled the primitive operational conditions existing there at the time:
We had 2 B-17s, 2 PBYs [OA-10 Catalinas] and an L-5 which I flew a lot. Chase[d] ducks on the Han River and when it was covered with ice, would chase foxes. We would use it to check people who failed to tell of their arrival at some field and we had to go see if they got there.... Later on one of our flak happy Navigators managed to salvo a lifeboat in a rice paddy.
Barnett described the living conditions at Kimpo as equally primitive, including sporadic electricity which was interrupted at least two nights a week by the North Koreans who controlled the country's power in those days. The unit history further attested to the unsatisfactory conditions at Kimpo, including cold water, cold quon-set huts, and lack of recreational facilities. (2)
Although the SB-17s did not serve in the war theater beyond the autumn of 1951, they were the most heavily involved of all ARSvc aircraft in the war's first weeks. One of the first USAF aircraft to respond to the North Korean attack on June 25, 1950, was a Flight A, 3d ARS, SB-17 in which Capt. James A. Scheib transported a U.S. Army brigadier general from Japan to the vicinity of Seoul. The general was to investigate the then-unknown situation on the ground. Although the condition of the airfields near Seoul prevented Scheib from landing and delivering his passenger, his was the first ARSvc sortie of the Korean War. (3)
In the opening days of the war, due to a lack of reconnaissance units in the theater, Far East Air Forces (FEAF) called on the ARSvc Flying Fortresses to conduct reconnaissance and target weather reconnaissance missions. For instance, on June 28 and 29, and July 3, 1950, 1st Lt. Carl H. Erickson piloted an unarmed SB-17 on lengthy day and night weather reconnaissance sorties over North Korea, providing valuable information to FEAF fighters and bombers as they prepared for some of the war's first air strikes north of the 38th parallel. * An SB-17 pilot in Flight D, 1st Lt. Donald R. Marshall, flew eighteen combat sorties during the first two months of the war, including weather reconnaissance, general reconnaissance, and orbit sorties. Of his first nine sorties, most were flown at night, usually lasting eight to nine hours. (4)
On the night of June 30, Lieutenant Marshall flew an orbit sortie over Tsu-shima Island, located between the southern end of the Korean peninsula and the southernmost Japanese main island, Kyushu. Due to poor weather all operational aircraft were recalled to their bases, but Marshall's SB-17 was directed to conduct a weather reconnaissance in preparation for the next day's planned strikes against North Korea. Flying in the vicinity of Pyongyang that night, Marshall recalled seeing some tracers as well as very inaccurate antiaircraft fire. On the flight home, the SB-17 found itself the only U.S. aircraft returning from the...
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.
More articles from
Air Power History
Modern warfare: desert storm, operation Iraqi freedom and operation enduring freedom, 22-DEC-07
Books received, 22-SEP-07
The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the First Indochina War, 1947-1959, 22-SEP-07
Looking for additional articles?
Click here to search our database of over 3 million articles.
Looking for more in-depth information on this industry?
Click here to search our complete database of Industry & Market reports by text, subject, publication name or publication date.
About Goliath
Whether you're looking for sales prospects, competitive information, company analysis or best practices in managing your organization, Goliath can help you meet your business needs.
Our extensive business information databases empower business professionals with both the breadth and depth of credible, authoritative information they need to support their business goals. Whether it be strategic planning, sales prospecting, company research or defining management best practices - Goliath is your leading source for accurate information. |
