Evening star., 1950-08-21
Bulk Of Aerial Support
For Korea Comes0ff
NavyCarriiers Decks
Foet Points Up Value
Of 'FIooting Boses' in
Oversees Operations
Bv David Laurence

Marines ana Gne OQlCeQ StaCeS
Army's Infantry-iS coming from
planes that are flying back and
forth constantly from the broad
decks Of the aircraft carriers of
the United States Navy.
Not only is the single air strip
in use behind the American lines
too small to take care of many
planes but the ground forces nee
essary to service and supply a big
base are still ITO miles away in
Japan.
This is no reflection on the
planning by any of the armed
services. 1t is the simple truth as
to what must necessarily happen
in the initial stages of an over
seas operation where land bases
are too far away to be used by
planes designed for air support of
ground troops. It accentuates the
tremendous value of the aircraft
carrier as a mobile base contain
ing its own service crews, fuel and
ammunition. Also, the sea bases
are far enough from the enemy's
lines to be protected against the
sudden attacks which can be so
dangerous to planes on the ground
at a base close to the enemy lines.
Splendid Joint Operation.
Last weeks splendid victory at
q critical point in the line -
which caused Gen. Church, COM
mander of the oath Division, to
say that the North Korean 4th
Division got a hell of a licking"
and has been impaired for fur
ther usefulness-was a splendid
example of joint operations. It
cannot properly be called uni
fication' because this vague term
implies merger and loss of spe-
cialized values. What happened
can best be described as "co-ordi-
nation" or "integration." Here
was ground-sea-air operation in
which each service did its own
essential job but was helped by
the other and there was single
overall command.
To say that Americas airpower
in Korea as it relates to ground
movements is today primarily
"sea-based" is not to diSparage in
any sense the high flying big
bombers which periodically try to
help out the ground troops by
bombing enemy concentrations
But tactical aviation" has come
into it's own. 1t means the use of
airplanes Immediately above troop
movements to knock out enemy
tanks and guns. It is a form of air
artillery with which the public is
not too familiar when it is sea-
based instead of land-based. Yet
1t is the heart and essence of our
successes these last few days in
Korea and probably will never
again be considered irrelevant as
it was by overzealous Spokesmen
of the big bomber school OF
thought at the hearings last
autumn before the House Armed
Services Committee.
Japan Is Long Round Trip Away.
The fact is that a condition
and not a theory has confronted
American forces for several weeks
In Korea. The nearest land bases
In Japan require a $40 mile
round trip from the fighting line.
This requires lots of gasoline and
hence means fewer bombs. Like
wise, it means less time over the
target.
The planes of the Marine Corps
and those of the United States
Nays aviation units were flying
only 40 miles each way from the
fiat decks of the carriers when
the Marines and the oath Division
of the United States Army were
on the south coast. Now that these
two splendid fighting groups have
been transferred to the area in
the north the line is still only rs
miles each way from the carriers
"a matter of Is minutes. 1t is
obvious that planes which have to
fly $50 miles instead Of $40 can
carry more bombs and stay over
the target for hours at time and
make more round trips.
But this isn't all of the story
The Marine Corps and Navy avi-
ators are trained to work with
ground personnel who direct the
fire by radiophone so that it is as
accurate as, if not more so in some
instances. than artillery fire. The
bombers dive to the targets in
stead of flying at high attitudes
There's nothing so stimulating to
ground troops than to see friendly
planes actually knocking out
enemy tanks and supply concen-
trations. Likewise the troops can
move ahead promptly and take
advantage of what this air artil-
lery has cleared for them just as
they always have been able to fol-
low up ground artillery barrages.
Unfortunately there are not as
yet enough Marines in Korea and
not enough aircraft carriers out
there to help all of the Army's in
fantry but it is significant that the
Oath Division troops have beer
co-ordinated quickly with the op-
erations of the Sea-baSed tactical
air force, a circumstance due un-
questionably to the Marine COM
bat communication teams which
have been spread out among the
Army troops, too.
Incidentally, these low-f1yine
aviators are using "napalm," &
kind of gasoline jelly or liquic
bomb that burns everything
around it when it lands and not
only strikes at personnel but their
supplies and equipment as we'll
More sea-baSed tactical air is or
the way. Sooner or later there
must be a big enough land base
prepared in Korea so that the
Navy and the Marine Corps f1iers
can also take off from and return
to land strips for quick refueling