Blockade of Wonsan
Blockade of Wonsan | |
---|---|
Part of the Wonsan, North Korea, Sea of Japan 39°09′N 127°26′E / 39.150°N 127.433°E | |
Result | United Nations victory; successful blockade of Wonsan |
158 wounded
1
- Many of the damaged American warships were struck more than once on different occasions.
The blockade of Wonsan, or the siege of Wonsan, from February 16, 1951, to July 27, 1953, during the
The blockade diverted communist troops from the front line. North Korean artillery fired at the American fleet was mostly ineffective, and the city was heavily damaged by UN naval aircraft and warships.[1][2]
Background
Operation Wonsan
Wonsan was a strategic point during the war, located on North Korea's southeastern coast with a large harbor, an airfield, a
North Korean naval forces had been well supplied by the
Two days later on October 12, mines sank the sweepers USS Pledge and USS Pirate,[4] killing twelve men and wounding dozens of others, all while under accurate fire from North Korean shore batteries. The United States Navy Pacific Fleet responded by starting the production of new minesweepers in the largest shipbuilding program since World War II. Other vessels were damaged by mines and battery fire as well but the loss of the Pirate and Pledge proved to be the major engagement during the operation.[1][2]
Operation Tailboard
Operation Tailboard was the codename for the
When it came time to land on October 25, the North Koreans had already withdrawn and the British and South Koreans were securing the area. Ultimately the landing was not needed and MacArthur was criticized for not using the X Corps in the pursuit of the retreating
Evacuation of Wonsan
UN forces would not hold Wonsan for long: after the massive Chinese intervention in the war,
Blockade
Opening engagements
The blockade began on February 16, 1951, and would last 861 days until the signing of the armistice in July 1953. Throughout the blockade, United States Navy ships and aircraft engaged shore batteries repeatedly. Several American vessels were damaged by land based artillery fire though none were destroyed. UN Task Group 95.2 was assigned to the blockade and they first bombarded Wonsan on February 17, 1951, targeting everything used by the communists and causing heavy damage.[1][2]
On February 19, the
On February 24, the undefended island of Sindo-ri, in Wonsan Harbor, was captured by South Korean marines supported by two American destroyers and two frigates. Wonsan shore batteries also dueled with UN warships on March 3, but there were no recorded hits. The battleship USS New Jersey participated in her first shore bombardment mission of the war on May 20, 1951. While patrolling off Wonsan, North Korean batteries opened fire and she was struck by one shell.[1][2] Slightly damaged, she sustained one man killed and two wounded, her only casualties during the war. Another shot was a near miss and passed over New Jersey from aft to port. She then responded by bombarding the enemy position until they were silenced. The type of warfare experienced at Wonsan would last throughout the war.[1][2]
Operation Fireball
Operation Fireball was the code name for a bombardment of the Wonsan area from May through September. It involved the joint deployment of naval and aerial assets from the
It was the first time LSMRs would be deployed in the siege of Wonsan and over time would cause heavy casualties to the North Korean
Action off Rei-To
On May 24, the UN station ship at Wonsan detected several small craft southeast of Rei-To Island. In a one sided night engagement, the light cruiser USS Manchester and the destroyer USS Brinkley Bass used radar to direct their fire and broke the enemy formation. Four sampans were recovered the following day along with the bodies of eleven enemies, one other wounded North Korean was taken prisoner and the sampans were found to have been converted to minelayers, with four M-26 mines each.[1][2]
USS Walke incident
USS Walke was a destroyer, under Captain Marshall Thompson, of Task Force 77 (TF-77) which was by now assigned to naval operations in the Wonsan area. On June 12, 1951, Walke was about 60 miles off the coast of North Korea, at position 38°52′N 129°25′E / 38.867°N 129.417°E, when she was struck either by a torpedo or a floating sea mine which had separated from a field. The resulting explosion severely damaged Walke's hull on her port side and 26 men were killed and 40 others wounded. Many of the casualties were blown over the side and into the water when the explosion occurred and it took a long time before all of them could be recovered.[2][6][7][8] The event was the deadliest suffered by the US Navy during the Korean War.[9]
Shortly thereafter, sailors on the nearby destroyers
Battle of the Buzz Saw
The Battle of the Buzz Saw, as United States Navy personnel called it, was North Korea's response to the UN's attacks on Wonsan. After causing heavy damage to North Korean forces within the previous months, the situation escalated as the communists started utilizing new weapons to lift the blockade. On July 6, 1951, the United States launched another naval bombardment of the area, causing high casualties and tempting the North Koreans to retaliate with an especially heavy bombardment on July 17, 1951.[2][8][10]
For four and a half hours the destroyers
Operation Kickoff
Between late June through August 1951, North Korean attacks on American ships seemed to increase so the United States began concentrating on destroying enemy batteries. On June 28, the destroyer
A few days later on July 3, the
On July 6, the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans landed men on the island of Hwangto-do and then with two other destroyers, bombarded buildings and a torpedo station. USS Blue captured Kukto Island the following day and established an observation point to keep watch on North Korean positions. On July 11, in the vicinity of Yo-do island, USS Blue and Frank E. Evans were attacked, approximately fifty splashes were counted near the ships but none of them were hit. Due to the attacks, particularly the Battle of the Buzz Saw, American naval commanders decided on launching Operation Kickoff which referred to maneuvers within Wonsan Harbor, aimed at reducing the batteries.[1][2]
Every day from July 17, 1951, elements of the allied fleet, assigned to bombardment groups, would sail at 5 knots (9.3 km/h) to bombard known enemy positions and continue doing so from 3:00 pm until dark. On the first day of the maneuvers, the LSMRs
On August 4, British
With the exception of an attack on
Renewed minesweeping operations
Because the communists were still mining the approaches of Wonsan and Hungnam, on September 5 the commander of
On September 10, the minesweepers Redstart and Heron were again damaged by shell fire from Wonsan, this time while rechecking pre-swept waters. On September 20,
Minesweeping operations would continue for months, the UN ships constantly swept various areas to ensure that no new mine fields were laid. Incidents of shore batteries scoring hits on allied warships also became less common and for weeks no vessels were damaged until October 29 when USS Osprey was engaged. Osprey's engine room flooded after being hit three times and communications went out, one man was seriously wounded though the ship was saved from sinking. By November 9, the minesweeping mission was eighty percent complete, accurate shore battery fire delayed the UN ships from completing the operation for a few more weeks.[1][2]
In late 1951 and 1952 intelligence from captured or surrendered North Koreans became more frequent and reliable. The information told the United States that the enemy was building sampans for minelaying and preparing offensives against the islands around Wonsan.
Shore batteries increased their effectiveness as well = with fire control was being equipped, air burst rounds were also starting to be used. With the minesweeping operation mostly completed, American bombardment groups began shelling the city again. USS New Jersey carried out a series of attacks at Wonsan and other nearby coastal targets from November 1 to November 6, 1951, during which she targeted the petroleum refinery at Wonsan, trains, bridges, tunnels, railroads, troop concentrations and shore batteries.[1][2]
From November 22 to 24, LSR Division 31, including the LSMRs, 401, 403 and 404, conducted fire missions and on November 24 and 25, naval gunfire supported a
Another large-scale bombardment of Wonsan took place on December 20, with the battleship USS Wisconsin participating. Six days later ROKN PC-740 was lost, presumably due to striking a mine off of To-do in Wonsan Harbor.[1][2]
On January 11, 1952, the next significant gunnery duel began when Redstart and Dextrous received accurate battery fire from Ho-do Pan-do while they were sailing without an escort. The fire was concentrated on Dextrous and she sustained considerable superficial damage and a loss of one man killed and two wounded. Later on,
George K. MacKenzie was engaged again on January 24 from Han-do Pan-do, along with
On February 16, exactly one year after the blockade began, USS Gregory,
Using shore-based spotters, Osprey silenced three batteries and suffered no damage. Brinkley Bass and
April 1952
In the Wonsan area on April 10, TF-77 carried out a coordinated strike using the guns of
Silverstein,
On the same day, USS Silverstein and USS Maddox were covering the withdrawal of two friendly sampans from Umi-do, when suddenly enemy batteries opened fire. The sampans received the first salvos, around 30 total so Silverstein and Maddox returned the fire and suppressed the batteries. Aircraft from USS Valley Forge were also called in to provide close air support. Silverstein received 110 rounds of estimated 105 millimeter batteries though she was not damaged, Maddox received two rounds. There were no allied casualties in the action.[1][2]
Also that day, Maddox and
North Koreans were using hidden guns which were difficult to locate but were believed to have been fired from Han-do Pan-do, Hapchin-ni and Kalamagak. Return fire destroyed three enemy gun positions and Herbert J. Thomas was hit once, causing little damage and no casualties. On May 17, TG-95.2 reported that an interrogation of seven prisoners, captured off Ho-do Pan-do the day before, revealed that the enemy were planning an attack on Yodo in the near future. Troops were being concentrated in two locations on He-do Pan-do and were going to use about eighty fishing sampans for transport. Ten days later on May 27, shore batteries at Wonsan fought against USS Cabildo and Ozbourn. In a typical duel the American ships bombarded the coast and were not damaged. The day after USS Ozbourn accepted the surrender of two North Koreans soldiers.[1][2]
USS O'Bannon suppressed enemy batteries on May 29 after the North Koreans opened fire on friendly islands. USS Ozbourn,
On June 5, O'Bannon, Radford and
The next exchange in the siege of Wonsan occurred a month later on August 10, 1952. Enemy gun positions on He-do Pan-do, fired upon USS Barton and USS Jarvis with approximately 250 75-millimeter to 155-millimeter guns. Barton suffered superficial damage, one man killed, and one wounded. Jarvis was not damaged and counter battery fire destroyed two gun emplacements.[1][2]
Two days after, USS Grapple was the target for about thirty rounds of 105-millimeter artillery. The ship was hit once below the waterline causing slight damage. USS Barton fired eighty-nine shots in response and scored three hits on two North Korean batteries. ROKN FS-905 was also attacked on May 12.[1][2] While anchored off Yo-do Island, with a cargo of gasoline and ammunition for motor torpedo boats, ROKN FS-905 was taken under fire by enemy shore guns and received one hit in the starboard machine gun battery. The damage was light and there were no casualties. Hwangto-do was bombarded again on August 16 by the North Koreans with four 155-millimeter artillery pieces and large mortars from Kalmagak. The guns could not be located so none of the allied warships could respond.[1][2]
Typhoon Karen
On September 11, 1952, batteries on Umi-do fired eighteen 105-millimeter rounds at USS Lewis, no damage or casualties. On September 13, aircraft from
USS Alfred A. Cunningham received five hits on September 19. Guns from Wonsan, estimated to be 105 to 155 millimeters, at a distance of 3,500 yards away, hit the ship with their first shot. Four more followed along with seven nearby air bursts. Eight Americans were wounded but none of them were fatal. The ship was moderately damaged but she was capable of unleashing 159 rounds of return fire.[1][2]
North Korean air attack
The first and only naval air battle at Wonsan and Hungnam occurred on October 7. MiG-15s attacked TF-77 aircraft three times, one MIG made a firing pass on two American AD planes so they returned fire. There were no damage or casualties on either side and the MiGs retired to the west. Later on four MiG-15s attacked a flight of F4Us while two others attacked eight ADs near Hungnam. In these engagements there were no casualties, but in a final attack later on that day, a single MIG-15 destroyed one of four F4Us in another action near Hungnam.[1][2]
On October 16,
On October 21 Lewis was furnishing gunfire support for two Republic of Korea minesweepers operating in Wonsan Harbor when they came under fire by enemy guns. Lewis moved in to assist, returning gunfire and deploying smoke to obscure the minesweepers. She was hit by two 75 mm shells. One landed topside and caused minor damage and slightly injured one man. The other pierced the hull plating of fireroom number one. The round did not detonate, but it caused a steam explosion which instantly killed six men and mortally injured a seventh. Lewis continued without assistance to return gunfire and to deploy smoke. She then disengaged and made emergency repairs in Japan. Memorial services for the men who were killed in action were held on board on October 27.
On November 25, Thompson found herself in action, this time against enemy aircraft. Jets dropped six to eight explosives over the American ship, the closest landing 300 yards (270 m) away. The aircraft were heard by the Thompson's lookout but her radar showed nothing. When USS Merganser was fired upon by guns at the mouth of the Namchongang River on December 6, William Seiverling replied with 101 rounds. Seiverling was herself taken under fire by guns on Kalmagak.[1][2]
On the following day, Merganser received thirty more rounds of 75-millimeter fire from Kalmagak but she was not damaged.
On December 12 Marshall was attacked again, twenty rounds were fired her way but they all missed. USS Grasp and William Seiverling were also attacked and they too escaped harm. About forty rounds of North Korean artillery targeted Waxbill and Marshall on December 13, while they were patrolling near the Namchongang's mouth. Though the fire was accurate, no hits were made. The closest shot splashed in the water 10 feet (3 m) from Waxbill which caused shrapnel damage. Twelve shots were fired in return.[1][2]
Waxbill came under fire again on December 19. Three rounds were fired her way but none struck the ship. A few days later, USS Toledo received the same treatment while bombarding the city but was not damaged either. On December 23, while providing gunfire support for the minesweepers in Wonsan Harbor, USS Marshall, USS McGowan received approximately thirty rounds of estimated 75-millimeter shells. During the firing, four to nine airbursts fell near McGowan, sixty to seventy near Marshall, and several rounds between the minesweepers. Throughout the engagements the North Koreans failed to cause any damage. McGowan engaged in another shore battery action two days later.[1][2]
Height of the fighting
January 2, 1953 marked the first day in a large-scale North Korean bombardment of the UN held islands in Wonsan Harbor. Over the course of the next few months, enemy shore batteries in and around Wonsan fired hundreds of rounds primarily against Hwangto-do and Yo-do. The operation lasted until May and less sporadically thereafter. It was also a failure as UN intelligence estimated that ninety percent of the North Korean shore batteries were active against UN islands rather than the blockading fleet, though throughout the bombardments, which occurred almost on a daily basis, only four UN personnel were killed and fifteen wounded. During the operation, UN ships constantly responded with counter battery fire.[1][2]
On February 9 and February 10, a maximum strike effort by American naval aircraft was conducted against supply concentrations and transport targets from Wonsan through Songjin to Chongjin and Hoeryong.
On March 5, during a heavy UN bombardment in Wonsan Harbor, USS Missouri was challenged by five rounds of 105-millimeter shore battery fire. Missouri was not hit and she hastily silenced the battery. Five days later Missouri received fifteen more rounds of 75-millimeter to 155-millimeter cannon fire while bombarding the city. The American ship escaped damage again, the nearest shot landing 500 yards (460 m) off her location. USS Merganser was also engaged with the nearest shot splashing harmlessly 200 yards (180 m) from her.[1][2]
On March 18, 1953,
USS Los Angeles was hit by one enemy round on March 27 but the damage was light and no one was injured. A day later two air bursts landed 200 yards from Prichett and on March 30 and March 31, Prichett evaded thirty-five more enemy shots without damage. Eight days of combined naval and air operations then started against the defenses of Wonsan. TF-77 aircraft pounded the city but the results were negligible. On April 2, USS Los Angeles received another hit by Wonsan shore batteries. This time there was only minor structural damage to the mainmast though thirteen men were injured. Fourteen others, who were wearing body armor, were also hit but not wounded.[1][2]
The North Korean batteries targeted naval vessels on April 5, USS Maddox received six rounds of 75-millimeter while ROKN AMS-515 avoided fifty shots of 105-millimeter fire. Neither of the ships were struck. Two days later on April 7, the communists again targeted the blockading ships but without results. USS Los Angeles and
On April 16, Maddox was hit with one shot out of 156 fired at her during a forty-minute action against a ten-gun battery. The shot, a 76-millimeter, hit port side on the main deck, tearing a sixteen-inch hole and wounding three men. Maddox responded with counter fire but failed to silence the hostile guns. USS Shelton was fired at three times on April 17. April 19 was a lively day during the Blockade of Wonsan. Twenty-five rounds from 105-millimeter guns were fired at Eversole but as was typical, the North Koreans did not strike the ship.
North Korean bombardment of UN held islands
On April 22, the North Korean bombardment of UN held islands continued, with dozens of rounds being fired each day, some of which hit but only slightly damaged USS Manchester. Between 2:30 and 4:00 pm on April 23, the island of
On the next day, Wonsan guns fired around 100 rounds of 76-millimeter to 105-millimeter rounds at the
April 1953 was reported by the United States Navy as being the height of the three-year battle with enemy forces. The North Koreans fired over 2,000 artillery rounds in defiance of the blockade alone, and over 1,000 more at the friendly guerrilla-held islands. Usually the average was about 500 rounds a month. North Koreans troops also constructed hidden batteries on Ho-do Pan-do, which the Americans bombarded with 5-inch guns but to no effect. Because of this, UN naval forces were ordered to stay out of the area in daylight until the weapons could be destroyed by cruisers and battleships or naval aircraft.[1][2]
Mine warfare also increased during the month of April. After months of finding nothing, thirty-two new mines were found in Wonsan Harbor. On May 2 the hidden guns made two hits and two near misses each on USS Maddox and USS Owen. Both ships received slight damage but suffered no casualties. Over two hundred shells were fired by the enemy. Gurke came under fire on the following day, along with the friendly islands of Wonsan Harbor.
Allied air strike against Yo-do island
On May 15, TF-77 aircraft attacked an airfield on Yo-do island while American ships silenced the batteries on the islands. USS Brush was hit in the mount that day, making it inoperable, and nine men were wounded, four seriously. The battleship New Jersey was fired at on May 27 but her 16-inch guns quickly put an end to it. Meanwhile, the islands were still receiving their daily barrage which continued in June. Heavy gun strikes also continued and the communists resisted every UN attack but very few hits were made. On June 3, Wonsan shore batteries fifteen 105-millimeter shells at
USS LSMR-409 was hit on June 4, causing moderate damage to the messing compartment and the radio room, and resulting in five men wounded. The enemy fired thirty rounds of 76-millimeter fire before being silenced by over 200 rockets from the LSMR.
Three days after this incident USS Bremerton, USS Lofberg and USS John A. Bole exchanged fire with the batteries, several guns were destroyed and there were no friendly casualties. Lofberg, John A. Bole and
Irwin and Rowan would fight another battle the following day. In it the North Koreans scored their highest number of hits in one engagement. USS Irwin was hit by one round from Kalmagak and it tore a 3-foot (0.9 m) hole in the main deck. Five American sailors were wounded. Rowan suffered five hits and ten wounded and she received forty-five rounds of different caliber altogether. The destroyer was moderately damaged. Thirty-six shells were fired at Saint Paul but she was not hit.[1][2]
A small surface engagement occurred the same day. An armed South Korean Army intelligence boat encountered a North Korean thirty foot patrol boat and for ten minutes the vessels fought until the North Koreans withdrew under cover of a battery. The patrol boat had a speed of twenty knots, carried a radio and was armed with rocket launchers, machine guns and the crew carried various small arms. On June 19 Rowan and Bremerton were fired on but no hits resulted.[1][2]
USS Manchester was conducting a heavy bombardment of Wonsan on or about July 3 when fragments from a near miss put a two-inch hole in the after stack and through the door of a powder room. On July 7, North Korean gunners on Ho-do Pan-do fired on the blockade. Over 300 rounds of 76-millimeter to 122-millimeter fire landed near USS Lofberg, USS Thomason and
A few days after, North Korean artillery fired forty-eight rounds of 76-millimeter to 105-millimeter shells at USS Saint Paul and scored a hit on a gun mount. Two guns were damaged but nobody was wounded. For the next several days, the North Koreans focused on attacking UN islands until July 23, when Saint Paul drew twelve rounds of 155-millimeter fire, all of which splashed in the water ten to fifty yards from the ship. On July 27 Saint Paul fired the last American shots of the battle against shore batteries. With the signing of an armistice, the fighting came to an end after 861 days of action.[1][2]
Aftermath
United Nations ships at Wonsan achieved a significant goal by maintaining a blockade against hostile territory for so long. UN naval forces inflicted heavy casualties on the North Korean forces while sustaining comparatively few casualties of their own. The North Korean artillerymen who defended Wonsan were mostly ineffective, thousands of dollars' worth of artillery shells were wasted. Wonsan was destroyed and remained so for years after the war, but due to its location, it was eventually rebuilt and is still an important strategic point.[1][2]
See also
References
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca "U.S. Navy Ships: Sunk & Damaged in Action during the Korean Conflict (Partial)". Naval history and heritage command. Archived from the original on 2007-12-16. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
- ^ "The Siege of Wonsan". U.S. Naval Institute.
- ^ "Two U.S. Navy Minesweepers Sink After Striking Mines Off Korea" (Press release). United States Navy. October 17, 1950. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ a b "Korean War Educator: Memoirs - Jake Huffaker". www.koreanwar-educator.org. Retrieved Oct 23, 2020.
- ^ a b "June 12 1951". Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
- ^ a b "USS Walke DD 723 Photos". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
- ^ a b c d "Korean War: Chronology of U.S. Pacific Fleet Operations, June-December 1950 (may)". Naval history and heritage command. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
- ^ L. Collier, Rebecca (2003). "The Korean War. Reference Information Paper 103" (PDF). National Archives Records.
Appendix A p. 218
- ^ a b "The USS O'BRIEN DD-725". members.tripod.com. Retrieved Oct 23, 2020.