Operation Tomahawk

Operation Tomahawk
	Part of Korean War
Date	23 March 1951
Location	Korea
Result	United Nations victory
Belligerents
United Nations; United States; Philippines; Medical support);	China; North Korea
Commanders and leaders
	Frank S. Bowen
Strength
3,437; 12	unknown
Casualties and losses
19 killed, dozens wounded, one C-119 destroyed	136 killed, 149 captured

Operation Tomahawk was an

187th Regimental Combat Team (187th RCT) on 23 March 1951 at Munsan-ni as part of Operation Courageous in the Korean War. Operation Courageous was designed to trap large numbers of Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) and Korean People's Army (KPA) forces between the Han and Imjin Rivers north of Seoul, opposite the Republic of Korea Army (ROK) I Corps. The intent of Operation Courageous was for US I Corps, which was composed of the US 25th and 3rd Infantry Divisions and the ROK 1st Division

, to advance quickly on the PVA/KPA positions and reach the Imjin River with all possible speed.

Operation Tomahawk was the other half of the plan. This operation was designed to drop the 187th RCT about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of the then current front line. They did so,

minefields—because the PVA/KPA had retreated before they got there. 136 of the PVA/KPA forces were killed in action, and 149 were captured during the operation. The 187th RCT suffered 19 fatalities and dozens of wounded.^[2]^[3]

One hundred twenty C-119s and C-46s dropped 3,437 paratroopers of the 187th RCT and 12 officers and men of the Indian Army 60th Parachute Field Ambulance (PFA) near Munsan-ni in the second largest airborne operation of the war.^[4] The 187th Regiment airborne were also known as "Rakkasans", a Japanese term translating to "falling parachute man".^[5] This marked the first time 105 mm howitzers and other heavy equipment had been successfully dropped. One C-119, possibly hit by enemy bullets, caught fire and crashed on the way back.^[6]

Operation Tomahawk was the second and last United States airborne operation during the Korean war.^[3] The United States Army would not have another full scale combat jump until 1967 during the Vietnam War, known as Operation Junction City. ^[7]

References

^ "India-ROK Defence Relations". Retrieved 2017-02-27.
^ "Korea War Casualty database". Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
^ ^a ^b "Operation TOMAHAWK; The Last Airborne Operation of the Korean War". U.S. Army Pacific. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
^ "Korean War Timeline - 1951". Archived from the original on 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
^ "Operation TOMAHAWK; the Last Airborne Operation of the Korean War".
^ https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/1000korea/
^ "Battlefield:Vietnam | Timeline". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2023-04-29.

External links

A period piece written by Time on 2 April 1951 at Again at the Parallel
The Korean War in March 1951
List of operations and code names in the Korean War
35th Infantry Regiment in Korea Archived 2006-02-13 at the Wayback Machine

[1] "India-ROK Defence Relations". Retrieved 2017-02-27.

[2] "Korea War Casualty database". Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-11-27.

[:0-3] "Operation TOMAHAWK; The Last Airborne Operation of the Korean War". U.S. Army Pacific. Retrieved 2023-04-29.

[4] "Korean War Timeline - 1951". Archived from the original on 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-03-23.

[5] "Operation TOMAHAWK; the Last Airborne Operation of the Korean War".

[6] ttps://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/1000korea/

[7] "Battlefield:Vietnam | Timeline". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2023-04-29.

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v t e Philippine involvement in Korean War and the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea
Notable Members of the PEFTOK	Fidel Ramos Fortunato Abat Emilio S. Liwanag
Battles and Military Operations	Operation Tomahawk Battle of Bloody Ridge Battle of the Imjin River Battle of Yultong Battle of Heartbreak Ridge Battle of Hill Eerie
Related articles	Philippine Army Korean War Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea