Evening star., 1950-08-14
Few IFS, Writer Says,
Could Have Changed
Situation in Korea
Six Additional Aircruft
Carriers and 4 ButtIeships
Would Reverse Picture
By David Laurence

y
This is the story Of what Just
O few IFS" could have meant to-
the fathers and mothers Of those
boys who are fighting against
great odds in Korea and to the
fathers and mothers Of those
boys soon to fight-they all
should know more about why the
battles have been going against
us.
/. If, in addition to the three
big aircraft carriers in the Pacif-
ic. six more were in operation of
the coast Of Korea-and we have
available II large-sized and so
smaller sized carriers still in
"mothballS"- would con-
ceivably be no loss Of the port Of
Pohang today and no loss Of the
valuable airstrip behind 1t, thus
3 leaving us only one airfleld be-
hind our lines in South Korea.
2. II, along with the light cruis-
ers and destroyerS. there was In
Korean waters division of four
battleships-we have several In
Observation-Disclosures would not be
a railroad operating within IL
miles inland on either coast and
no substantial amount Of supplies
would be able to move down from
North Korea, Russia or Commu-
mist China. The big 16-inch shells
Of the battleships, firing from
short distances on shore with un-
erring aim in all KINDS Of wealth
er. can do more damage by steady
bombardment than can be done
by similar weight projectiles
dropped indiScriminately from
high attitudes by the large bomb
ers at infrequent intervals. If the
battleship Missouri had only been
stationed in the Far East, the
news would be different today.
3. II there were nine big air.
craft carriers of the Korean
coasts with a total Of approx
mately 900 planes aboard, there
could be 24-hour bombing and
strafing and air artillery support
given to our ground troop move
mentS. AS it is. the enemy moves
men and supplies at night and
We do not have enough planes
there with those flares giving q
huge candlepower Of illumination
to carry on strafing and bombing
around the clock.
Aircraft Carriers Needed,
4. If enough Of the big aircraft
carriers Of the Navy were in Ko-
rean waters, the ground troops
would not have to worry about
protecting the only two airstrips
they have had behind their lines.
For planes dependent on ground
bases alone must remain there for
Servicing part of the time and this
leaves them open to attack by
enemy artillery or planes. The
aircraft carrier, on the other hand.
moves its floating base offshore
at viii and is ready a hours q
day to attack or defend itself be-
cause 1t gets a vast amount Of
anti-aircraft protection from the
cruisers and destroyers that sur
round it in what is known as
carrier task force"
S. II the American people had
been properly informed, they
would never have consented to the
sabotage Of naval aviation carried |
on during the last three years by
the generals in the Pentagon and
their civilian secretary supporters
who placed all the emphasis on
intercontinental bombing over the
Atlantic and forgot the 8,000-mile
distances in the Pacific and its
trouble areas.
Some Of the same miSconcep-
tions which resulted in mistaken
policies before the Korean war
are being perpetuated today in
the news dispatches and official
communiques. The work of all
airmen is Jumped together and
the same stories are widely printed
as heretofore about the weight Of
the total number Of bombs dropped
AS If this has anything to do
with the effectiveness of the fire
II targets are missed as they were
repeatedly by high-fiying bombers
in the last war and as official re-
ports and surveys testified.
The recent news dispatches and
ofncial releases do not clearly Diff
ferentiate, for example, between
the frequent and numerous Sorties
flown by naval air force flyers
from the decks Of carriers just a
few miles offShore and the fewer
sorties necessarily flown from dis
tant bases in Japan at less fire.
quent intervals and with less time
over the targets by Air Force
flyers.
Not Getting Proper Credit.
The Air Force isn't getting
proper credit for these hazardous
missions. In the announcements,
the total of the sortieS is COM
bined and the public doesn't know
what each service is doing-and
Congress is not learning what to
provide to strengthen our airpower
In all its phases.
There is needed q definite desig-
nation for the Navy flyers. They
have right to be given separate
name, such as the United States
Naval Air Force. The news dis
patches and official communiques
should enable the reader to
identify these three different air
operations:
/. Flying from Japanese land
bases, the high-fying strategic
bombers Of the Air Force when
engaged in strategic bombing or
medium bombers when engaged
50 bravely in strafing for which
they are not fitted. Such hazard
Gus and extraordinary missions
deserve great praise.