Yonpo Airfield (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

: ), also known as Yonpo Air Base or K-27 Air Base, was an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

near

Hamhung Hamhŭng (''Hamhŭng-si''; ) is North Korea's List of cities in North Korea, second-most populous city, the capital of South Hamgyong, South Hamgyŏng Province and the 16th largest city in the Korea, Korean Peninsula. Located in the southern part ...

South Hamgyong Province South Hamgyong Province (, ''Hamgyŏngnamdo''; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Hamgyong Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Kor ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

History

Korean War

On 2 July 1950, the

19th Bombardment Group 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics Nineteen is the eighth prime number. Number theory 19 forms a twin prime with 17, a cousin prime with 23, and a sexy prime with 13 ...

launched a strike on Yonpo Airfield based on faulty intelligence there were 65

Korean People's Air Force The Korean People's Army Air Force (KPAF; ; Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍空軍) is the unified military aviation force of North Korea. It is the second largest branch of the Korean People's Army comprising an estimated 110,000 members.Task Force 77 attacked Yonpo destroying 15 aircraft. The Yonpo area was captured by the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

and

7th Marine Regiment The 7th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. Nicknamed the "Magnificent Seventh", the regiment falls under the command of the 1st M ...

s advancing from

Wonsan Wonsan (), previously known as Wonsanjin (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwon Province (North Korea), Kangwon Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...

on 30 October 1950 and the airfield was put into service by the UN forces. The USAF designated the base K-27. The

35th Fighter-Interceptor Group Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...

moved to the base on 18 November and was joined by the

Marine Aircraft Group 12 Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) is an active air group of the United States Marine Corps, tasked with providing fighter and assault support aircraft. It is currently part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW), itself an integral part of th ...

on 1 December, both provided close air support to the U. S. Army

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

and the 1st U.S. Marine Division surrounded at the

Battle of Chosin Reservoir The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Battle of Lake Changjin (), was an important battle in the Korean War. The name "Chosin" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation "''Chōshin'', instead of th ...

. X Corps established a casualty clearing and evacuation station at Yonpo for casualties evacuated from the Chosin. USAF units based there included: *35th Fighter-Interceptor Group from 18 November-7 December 1950, units attached included: ** 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron operating F-51Ds **

40th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron 4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky i ...

operating F-51Ds **

339th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 339th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force unit based at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is part of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, with a mission to certify aircraft as worthy to return to service. The squadron ...

operating F-82Gs *

437th Troop Carrier Wing 437th may refer to: *437th Airlift Wing, active unit of the United States Air Force *437th Bombardment Squadron, a unit of the Alaska Air National Guard *437th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 437th Operations G ...

operating C-46s *

6150th Tactical Support Wing __NOTOC__ Year 615 ( DCXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 615 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe ...

from 27 November-1 December 1950 USMC units based there included: *

from 1–17 December 1950, units attached included: **

VMF-212 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 212 (VMFA-212) was a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. Most recently known as the "Lancers", the squadron was last based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan and fell under the command of Mar ...

operating F4Us until 7 December 1950 **

VMF-311 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 311 (VMFA-311) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron consisting of F-35C Lightning II. Known as the "Tomcats", the squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls unde ...

operating F-9Fs from 10 to 14 December 1950 **

VMO-6 Marine Observation Squadron 6 (VMO-6) was an observation squadron of the United States Marine Corps which saw extensive action during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II and the Korean War, Korean and Vietnam Wars. The squadron was the first ...

operating OYs and HO3S' UN units based there included: * No. 77 Squadron RAAF operating F-51Ds attached to the 35th Fighter-Interceptor Group Following the successful retreat from the Chosin Reservoir, US Marines of Regimental Combat Teams 5 and 7 prepared a defensive line around Yonpo on 9 December, however General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

ordered the withdrawal of X Corps to South Korea. MacArthur met with General

Edward Almond Edward Mallory Almond (December 12, 1892 – June 11, 1979) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in World War I, World War II, where he commanded the 92nd Infantry Division, and the Korean War, where he commanded the U.S. X Corps ...

at Yonpo on 11 December and approved the X Corps' evacuation plan. From 14 to 17 December USAF

Combat Cargo Command Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is resorted to either as a method of ...

moved 228 patients, 3,891 passengers, and 20,088 tons of cargo from Yonpo. The aerial evacuation from Yonpo continued until 17 December when the field was closed and operations were moved to a temporary field at Hungnam harbour.

Incidents

* On 8 December 1950, a Curtiss C-46F-1-CU Commando of

Civil Air Transport Civil Air Transport (CAT) was a Nationalist Chinese airline, later owned by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), that supported the United States' covert operations throughout East and Southeast Asia. During the Cold War, missions consi ...

(XT-44) was damaged beyond repair on landing here, killing one passenger of the 10 occupants.

Current usage

Yonpo Airfield was demolished in 2021. A new greenhouse farm was built on the old airfield, named Ryonpho Greenhouse Farm.

References

* * {{authority control Airports in North Korea Korean War air bases