page_title: Australia in the Korean War
section_title: RAAF in Korea
hierarchical_section_title: Australia in the Korean War / RAAF in Korea
caption_attribution_description: Kunsan, South Korea. 1954-06-23. Pilots of No. 77 Squadron RAAF left to right, Roy (Nugget) Hibben, John Arthurson, and Keith Cottee after an operation in their Meteor MK8 jet fighter aircraft. Meteor A77-867 is at left rear and the tail of A77-368 is in the foreground. The latter aircraft is preserved and displayed at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
context_page_description: The military history of Australia during the Korean War was eventful. Japan's defeat in World War II heralded the end to 35 years of Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula. The surrender of Japan to the Allied forces on 2 September 1945 led to the peninsula being subsequently divided into North and South Koreas, with the North being occupied by troops from the Soviet Union, and the South, below the 38th Parallel, being occupied by troops from the United States.
  The Soviet forces entered the Korean peninsula on 10 August 1945, followed a few weeks later by the American forces who entered through Incheon. US Army Lieutenant General John R. Hodge formally accepted the surrender of Japanese forces south of the 38th Parallel on 9 September 1945 at the Japanese General Government Building in Seoul.
  Although both rival factions tried initially to diplomatically reunite the divided nation, it was the Northern faction that eventually decided to try and do so with military force. Troops from the Soviet backed Korean People's Army crossed the 38th Parallel on 25 June 1950 beginning a civil war.
  The invasion of South Korea came as a surprise to the United Nations.
context_section_description: The Royal Australian Air Force was heavily involved in the Pacific War during World War II. Following the Japanese surrender, No. 77 Squadron was selected as part of Australia's contribution to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force and, after converting to P-51D Mustang fighters, arrived in Japan in February 1946. Occupation duties proved uneventful, and No. 77 Squadron was preparing to leave Japan for Australia when the Korean War broke out in June 1950.
  No. 77 Squadron was committed to action over Korea as part of the UN forces, and flew its first ground attack sorties on 2 July 1950, making it the first UN unit to see action.
  No. 30 Communications Flight, No. 491 (Maintenance) Squadron, and No. 391 (Base) Squadron were attached to the UN Command in Korea and grouped into No. 91 (Composite) Wing in October 1950. No. 91 Wing was based in Iwakuni, Japan.
  No. 77 Squadron fully deployed to Korea in October to support the UN advance into North Korea but was withdrawn to Pusan in November in response to the PVA counter-attack.
  The Squadron was withdrawn to Japan in April 1951 to re-equip with Gloster Meteor jet fighters and returned to action with these new aircraft in July, where they met with greater success against the Soviet MiG-15 pilots. However, the MiGs were still far superior to the Meteor.
  Following heavy losses from MiG-15 fighters, No. 77 Squadron operated in the ground attack role from December 1951 until the end of the war; it remained in South Korea on garrison duties until returning to Australia in November 1954.
caption: No. 77 Squadron pilots and Meteor aircraft in Korea
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