1. The Korean War never technically ended. An armistice was declared in 1953, but the peace treaty was never signed.
2. The only RAF flying unit that could be spared for combat operations was a small detachment of aging Sunderland flying boats.
3. Royal Australian Air Force purchased jet-powered Gloster Meteors from the RAF to replace their P-51 Mustangs after the Soviet-made MiG aircraft swung the balance of power towards the Chinese and North Koreans.
A flight of Gloster Meteor F8s of 77 Squadron RAAF, late 1951. (Image courtesy of State Library Victoria).
Sunderlands at Iwakuni in 1950. They were the first RAF aircrew to deploy to Korea. (Image courtesy of Andy Thomas).
4. RAF pilots were detached to the United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps and Royal Australian Air Force to fly combat operations over Korea.
5. Wing Commander ‘Johnnie’ Johnson, the highest scoring RAF fighter pilot of WWII, was awarded the American Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for flying operational sorties deep behind enemy lines while on exchange with the US Air Force
6. Former RAF Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sir Keith Williamson, completed a combat tour over Korea flying Meteors with 77 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force.
7. In August 1952 RAF Meteor pilot Oleof Bergh was shot down and held as a prisoner of war by the Chinese for over a year.
8. The top scoring fighter pilot in the Korean War was a Russian MiG-15 pilot, Major Nikolai Vasilyevich Sutyagin, who was credited with 22 confirmed kills.
9. RAF pilot Howard ‘Bert’ Houtheusen received a DFC for landing his Sunderland flying boat in rough seas off the North Korean coast to rescue a US Navy pilot who had ditched in enemy waters.
10. By the time the armistice was signed, 77 RAF aircrew had flown combat operations over Korea. 10 were killed in action, and 14 more lost their lives in an air accident.
List compiled by Mike Napier, former fast-jet pilot and author of Korean Air War: Sabres, MiGs and Meteors, 1950–53.
Five POWs from 77 Squadron RAAF, still wearing their Chinese prison uniforms, pose for a photograph in September 1953. Oleof Bergh is back row, second from left. (© Australian War Memorial).
Wing Commander J.E. 'Johnny' Johnson DSO** DFC* receives his US DFC after flying combat missions over Korea. (Image courtesy of Graham Pitchfork).
