This book presents a detailed assessment of the role of navies in the Korean War. It highlights that, despite being predominantly a land war, navies played a vital part. Moreover, the naval war was not solely a U.S. operation. Smaller navies from many countries made important contributions both in supporting the United States and carrying out independent and combined naval operations. This subject holds special importance since current Western strategic thinking and capabilities emphasise the necessity of combined naval operations involving multiple navies in any potential future naval conflict. The example set by the Korean War therefore offers valuable insights into the operational and strategic problems, and benefits and opportunities of contemporary and future combined coalition naval operations.

This book examines the dynamics of coalition naval operations. Since the end of the Second World War, few nations possess the capacity for large scale, sustained and independent naval operations; and even those that do, such as the USA, often find it economically, militarily and politically expedient to act multilaterally. As such, coalition naval operations increasingly became the norm throughout the twentieth-century, and there is little sign of this abating in the twenty-first. Multinational operations provide a number of benefits, but they also present a number of challenges. Examining the dynamics of coalition operations involving the Royal Navy (RN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the United States Navy (USN) during the Korean War, Vietnam War and the Iraq War, this book provides a broad overview of naval interoperability between the three navies. Using the naval gunfire support (NGS) capability as a lens through which to analyse operations, the study explores a diverse range of issues, including: command and control, communications, equipment standardisation, intelligence, logistics, planning, rules of engagement, tactics, techniques and procedures and training. Approaching the subject through both historical and contemporary perspectives not only provides a unique assessment of the variation in the effectiveness of interoperability over time, but also offers a platform for better understanding and enhancing the performance of future coalition naval operations. Based on extensive archival research in Australia, the UK and the US, as well as wide-ranging interviews, this book sheds new light on the dynamics of conducting coalition operations. This book will be of great interest to students of naval history, strategic studies, sea power, maritime security, military studies, and IR in general.

In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Korean War, the official history offices of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force and their respective historical associations collaborated to sponsor as comprehensive a symposium as possible, including as participants some of the coalition partners who contributed forces and weapons to the war. The intent of this symposium, titled Coalition Air Warfare during the Korean War, 1950 -1953, was to focus not only on the contributions made by the armed forces of the United States, but also on those of America's allies. The diverse group of panelists and speakers included not only scholars with subject matter expertise, but also veteran soldiers, sailors, and airmen who had served in that conflict. It was hoped that the melding of these diverse perspectives would provide interesting, if sometimes conflicting, views about the Korean War. The symposium organizers designated an agenda of six specific panels for investigation, including Planning and Operations; Air Superiority, Air Support of Ground Forces; Air Interdiction and Bombardment, Air Reconnaissance and Intelligence, and Logistical Support of Air Operations. Each session began with commentary by the panel chairman, which was followed by formal papers, and in some instances included a lively question and answer session. The papers and most of the proceedings found their way into print and are recorded here in an effort to permanently capture the activities, challenges, contributions, and heroics of the coalition air forces and the airmen who fought during the Korean conflict.

The topic of interoperability is increasingly relevant to contemporary defence policy and will become evermore important on both a national and international level due to the prevalence of coalition operations. The desire to economise force contributions by forming coalitions is counterbalanced by the necessity of military effectiveness, which has ensured that interoperability has historically been and will continue to be an essential aspect of multinational undertakings. This thesis is a historical study of coalition operations involving the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Royal Navy (RN) and the United States Navy (USN). Using naval gunfire support (NGS) as a window into the broader issue of interoperability, this thesis examines the involvement of at least two or all three of the navies during the Korean War, Vietnam War, and the 2003 Iraq War. This thesis addresses the wider aspects of naval coalitions such as command and control, communications, equipment standardisation, intelligence, logistics, planning, rules of engagement, tactics, techniques and procedures and training. The thesis assesses variations in the level of interoperability achieved over time and considers the extent to which the three navies are now interoperable. This thesis concludes that vast improvements have been made in NGS interoperability between the end of the Korean War in 1953 and the Iraq War in 2003. Standardised procedures, enhancements in equipment, regular training and sustained interaction in different regions of the world ensured that the provision of coalition NGS in 2003 was more efficient than at any other time in history. However, despite the progress that had been made, complete interoperability had not yet been achieved between the RAN, RN and the USN. The likelihood of frequent future interaction between the three navies will ensure that interoperability across the entire spectrum of naval operations requires constant attention.

In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Korean War, the official history offices of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force and their respective historical associations collaborated to sponsor as comprehensive a symposium as possible, including as participants some of the coalition partners who contributed forces and weapons to the war. The intent of this symposium, titled Coalition Air Warfare during the Korean War, 1950 -1953, was to focus not only on the contributions made by the armed forces of the United States, but also on those of America's allies. The diverse group of panelists and speakers included not only scholars with subject matter expertise, but also veteran soldiers, sailors, and airmen who had served in that conflict. It was hoped that the melding of these diverse perspectives would provide interesting, if sometimes conflicting, views about the Korean War. The symposium organizers designated an agenda of six specific panels for investigation, including Planning and Operations; Air Superiority, Air Support of Ground Forces; Air Interdiction and Bombardment, Air Reconnaissance and Intelligence, and Logistical Support of Air Operations. Each session began with commentary by the panel chairman, which was followed by formal papers, and in some instances included a lively question and answer session. The papers and most of the proceedings found their way into print and are recorded here in an effort to permanently capture the activities, challenges, contributions, and heroics of the coalition air forces and the airmen who fought during the Korean conflict.

In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Korean War, the official history offices of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force and their respective historical associations collaborated to sponsor as comprehensive a symposium as possible, including as participants some of the coalition partners who contributed forces and weapons to the war. The intent of this symposium, titled Coalition Air Warfare during the Korean War, 1950 -1953, was to focus not only on the contributions made by the armed forces of the United States, but also on those of America's allies. The diverse group of panelists and speakers included not only scholars with subject matter expertise, but also veteran soldiers, sailors, and airmen who had served in that conflict. It was hoped that the melding of these diverse perspectives would provide interesting, if sometimes conflicting, views about the Korean War. The symposium organizers designated an agenda of six specific panels for investigation, including Planning and Operations; Air Superiority, Air Support of Ground Forces; Air Interdiction and Bombardment, Air Reconnaissance and Intelligence, and Logistical Support of Air Operations. Each session began with commentary by the panel chairman, which was followed by formal papers, and in some instances included a lively question and answer session. The papers and most of the proceedings found their way into print and are recorded here in an effort to permanently capture the activities, challenges, contributions, and heroics of the coalition air forces and the airmen who fought during the Korean conflict.

This unique USAF publication presents a thorough history of the coalition air operations during the Korean War, the first war fought under United Nations auspices. The symposium examines the assumptions and effects of American and allied air power in all environments - ground, sea, and air combat, and considers the roles played by intelligence and air mobility operations. In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Korean War, the official history offices of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force and their respective historical associations collaborated to sponsor as comprehensive a symposium as possible, including as participants some of the coalition partners who contributed forces and weapons to the war. The intent of this symposium, titled Coalition Air Warfare during the Korean War, 1950-1953, was to focus not only on the contributions made by the armed forces of the United States, but also on those of America's allies. The diverse group of panelists and speakers included not only scholars with subject matter expertise, but also veteran soldiers, sailors, and airmen who had served in that conflict. It was hoped that the melding of these diverse perspectives would provide interesting, if sometimes conflicting, views about the Korean War. The symposium organizers designated an agenda of six specific panels for investigation, including Planning and Operations; Air Superiority, Air Support of Ground Forces; Air Interdiction and Bombardment, Air Reconnaissance and Intelligence, and Logistical Support of Air Operations. Each session began with commentary by the panel chairman, which was followed by formal papers, and in some instances included a lively question and answer session. Session I - Planning and Operations * Wayne Thompson, Panel Chair/Moderator * Command and Control of Air Forces during the Korean and Persian Gulf Wars * Mark D. Mandeles * Weapons, Tactics, and Training * Col. Richard J. Blanchfield . * A Gulf War Perspective on the Effectiveness of Air Power * Thomas A. Keaney * Session II - Air Superiority * The Contribution of the U.S. Marine Corps Night Fighter Squadrons * Ronald W. Harbison * A Wingman in Korea * Brig. Gen. Michael E. De Armond, USAF (Ret.) * The Korean Air War * AVM W. "Paddy" Harbison, RAF (Ret.) * Aces and -86s: The Fight for Air Superiority during the Korean War * Kenneth P. Werrell * Luncheon Address * A Half Century's Retrospective of the Korean War * Adm. James L. Holloway III, U.S. Navy (Ret.) * Session III - Air Support of Ground Forces * Charles D. Melson, Panel Chair/Moderator * Black Sheep in Korea: A Reflection of Mission Transformation * Fred H. Allison * The Generals and Close Air Support * William T. Y'Blood * The Army View of Close Air Support in the Korean War * Col. Donald W. Boose, Jr. USA (Ret.) * The Close Air Support Controversy in Korea * Capt. Keith F. Kopets, USMC * Session IV - Air Interdiction and Bombardment * Edward J. Marolda, Panel Chair/Moderator * The U.S. Navy's Air Interdiction Effort during the Korean War * Jeffrey G Barlow * British Commonwealth Carrier Operations in the Korean War * Comdr. David Hobbs, RN(Ret.) * Searching for Lucrative Targets in North Korea: The Shift from Interdiction to Air Pressure * Conrad Crane * Air Power Coordination during the Korean War * Vice Adm. Jerry Miller, USN (Ret.) * Dinner Remarks * Lt. Gen. Robert Keller, USMC (Ret.) * Keynote Address * An Infantry Platoon Leader in the Korean War * Brig. Gen. Philip L. Bolte, USA (Ret.) * Session V - Air Reconnaissance and Intelligence * R. Cargill Hall, Panel Chair/Moderator * The Intelligence War in Korea: An Army Perspective * John Patrick Finnegan * The Ghost Armies of Manchuria * Maj. Patrick C. Roe, USMC (Ret.) * USAF Reconnaissance during the Korean War * Col. Samuel T. Dickens, USAF (Ret.) * Session VI - Logistical Support of Air Operations * Roger G. Miller, Panel Chair/Moder

Despite American success in preventing the conquest of South Korea by communist North Korea, the Korean War of 1950-1953 did not satisfy Americans who expected the kind of total victory they had experienced in WW II. In Korea, the U.S. limited itself to conventional weapons. Even after communist China entered the war, Americans put China off-limits to conventional bombing as well as nuclear bombing. Operating within these limits, the U.S. Air Force helped to repel 2 invasions of South Korea while securing control of the skies so decisively that other U.N. forces could fight without fear of air attack.

This book sheds light on one of the most under-studied but powerful navies in the world. Using a multifaceted approach, it examines how the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) has sought to transform itself from a coastal naval force focused solely on deterring North Korea to a navy capable of operating in the blue waters of East Asia and beyond. The project argues that peninsular and regional security dynamics, technological developments, the US-South Korea alliance and internal politics combine to inform and shape ROKN modernisation.