Jinhae Air Base also known as Chinhae Air Base is a naval airfield of the

Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ), also known as the ROK Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and Amphibious warfare, amphibious operations. The South ...

Jinhae Jinhae District () is a district of Changwon, South Korea. This region is served by the Korean National Railroad, and is famous for its annual cherry blossom festival every spring. The city front is on a sheltered, island-studded bay, and is al ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

History

The airfield was originally established in 1942 as the 51st Navy Aircraft Factory (formerly 21st Navy Aircraft Factory Jinhae Branch) under the

Chinkai Guard District The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in Korea under Japanese rule before and during World War II. Located in southern Korea (at present-day Jinhae, South Korea, ), the Chinkai Guard District was responsible for control of th ...

, which was a major

navy base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...

for the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

Korea under Japanese rule From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

. The

Republic of Korea Marine Corps The Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC; ), also known as the ROK Marine Corps, ROK Marines or South Korean marines, is the naval infantry of South Korea. The ROKMC is a branch of the Republic of Korea Navy responsible for amphibious operat ...

(ROKMC) was founded at the airfield (then known as Deoksan airfield) on April 15, 1949. Korea Jinhae circa 1950

Korean War

During the Korean War the

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

designated the airfield as Chinhae Air Base and K-10 Chinhae. The field was refurbished with a

Marsden Matting Marston Mat, more properly called pierced (or perforated) steel planking (PSP), is standardized, perforated steel matting material developed by the United States at the Waterways Experiment Station shortly before World War II, primarily for the ...

surface over crushed gravel. 18th Fighter-Bomber Group North American F-51D-20-NT Mustang 44-12943 Chinhae Airfield South Korea 1951

USAF units stationed at Chinhae included: * 18th Operations Group from 9 December 1950 – 2 June 1952 * 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing operating F-51s from mid December 1950 Component units were: **

12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

** 67th Fighter-Bomber Squadron ** 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (March 1951 – March 1952) * 75th Air Depot Wing (arrived from U.S. in 1952) UN units stationed at Chinhae included: *

2 Squadron SAAF 2 Squadron is a squadron in the South African Air Force which was formed in 1940. The squadron has a long history, having been involved in every single combat action in which the SAAF has taken part. During the Second World War it made a name fo ...

operating F-51s attached to the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing (November 1950 – March 1951, April 1951 – June 1953)

Incidents and accidents

*24 August 1950, USAF C-47B #45-1126 was written off in a landing accident. *17 May 1951, F-51D #44-74822 crashed on landing, the aircraft was written off. *8 July 1951, USAF C-47D #44-77269 crashed on takeoff due to an engine failure, the aircraft was written off. *11 July 1951, F-51D #44-74495 crashed, the aircraft was written off. *17 September 1951, F-51D #44-74014 crashed on landing, the aircraft was written off. *8 October 1951, F-51D #44-74592 crashed on takeoff, the aircraft was written off.

Airlines and destinations

No scheduled services.

References

External links

* * Airports in South Korea Korean War air bases Changwon Airports in Korea under Japanese rule Military installations of Japan in Korea 1942 establishments in Korea {{Korea-War-stub