RAAF Centenary Timeline
No. 77 Squadron in Korea – 1950 - 1953
The first Australians to enter the Korean War on 2 July 1950 were the men of No. 77 Squadron RAAF, still operating out of Iwakuni where they had been based with BCOF.[i] They were later joined by other RAAF units including 391 Base Squadron and 491 Maintenance Squadron - but none were as influential as No. 77 Squadron, who flew almost 19,000 individual sorties while in Korea.[ii]
RAAF’s first operation over North Korea, 2 July 1950 by Robert Taylor
AWM ART28996
As early as 7 July, No. 77 Squadron recorded its first casualty. South Australian Squadron Leader Graham Strout was killed during a raid on Samchok, becoming not only Australia’s first casualty of the war, but also the first non-American.[iii]
Portrait of Graham Strout supplied by Leigh Shearwin
VWMA
The Squadron was armed with bombs, rockets and napalm, which it used to attack railway lines, military installations and vehicles. The Mustangs that they had used while occupying Japan were replaced with Meteor Jets when the Chinese and their MiG-15 fighters entered the war in October 1950.[iv] Having to contend with MiGs, often piloted by seasoned Russian Air Force pilots[v] (who were unofficially working with the North Koreans), meant the job of No. 77 Squadron became far more perilous. Dogfights were commonplace, and by the end of the war 30 pilots had been killed in action, as well as a further 10 in accidents.[vi] Six men were taken prisoner, and 54 of the original 90 Meteors were lost.[vii]
A Meteor jet is hoisted onto the deck of the HMAS Vengeance at the end of hostilities, 1954
AWM 304548
Warrant Officer Turner sits in the cockpit of his Meteor, adorned with the South Australian coat of arms and his wife’s name ‘Audie’
AWM JK0677
In spite of their losses, No. 77 Squadron were a success-story of the war, garnering an excellent reputation and receiving hundreds of medals and accolades. Their work in destroying ground targets was imperative to the success of the troops on the ground and had diplomatic implications too, resulting in the signing of the ANZUS pact.[viii] When they finally arrived home in Sydney on 3 December 1953, No. 77 Squadron had been overseas of 11 years – a RAAF record.[ix]
[i] Australian War Memorial, Out in the Cold: Australia's involvement in the Korean War - War in the air: the Royal Australian Air Force in Korea, [online] Available at: <https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/korea/ausinkorea/raaf>.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Hurst, D 2008, The Forgotten Few: 77 RAAF Squadron in Korea, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, p. 39.
[iv] Australian War Memorial, Out in the Cold: Australia's involvement in the Korean War - War in the air: the Royal Australian Air Force in Korea, [online] Available at: <https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/korea/ausinkorea/raaf>.
[v] Hurst, D 2008, The Forgotten Few: 77 RAAF Squadron in Korea, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, p. 107.
[vi] Australian War Memorial, Out in the Cold: Australia's involvement in the Korean War - War in the air: the Royal Australian Air Force in Korea, [online] Available at: <https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/korea/ausinkorea/raaf>.
[vii] Ibid.
[viii] Ibid.
[ix] Air Power Development Centre 2012, Pathfinder: Air Power Development Centre Bulletin, ‘No. 77 Squadron Return After 11 Years Away’, No. 79.