The AD Skyraider
The new jet fighters that attracted the public’s attention during the Korean War eclipsed the fame of the Douglas AD Skyraider, which continues to be considered the most effective naval aircraft of the conflict. Too late for combat in World War 2, the AD had replaced Dauntless, Helldiver, and Avenger dive- and torpedo-bombers from that conflict on carrier decks during the late 1940s and was on hand to react to the surprise North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950.
As spring 1951 arrived, USS Princeton’s VA-195 and VC-35 would fly a mission to make history. On Apr. 5, Chinese and North Korean forces launched their fifth offensive since the Chinese invasion, with human wave attacks against Marine Corps units in the frontline. UN planners focused on the Hwachon Dam on the Pukhan River, almost 50 miles northeast of Seoul.
If the enemy managed to take control of the dam, they could either hold back the waters to facilitate their own advance or release floodwaters to hinder UN forces. The UN determined that the dam needed to be destroyed, as reported by Richard R. Burgess and Warren E. Thompson in their book AD Skyraider Units of the Korean War. B-29 strikes, however, were unable to breach it, and strong communist opposition forced a US Army Rangers raid to be abandoned.
The Hwachon Dam
The US Eighth Army sent a request for TF 77’s commander, Rear Admiral Ralph A. Ofstie, to open the dam’s floodgates immediately, according to Mark L. Evans and C. Ross Bloodsworth of Naval Aviation News. Ofstie assigned the task to CVG-19, commanded by Cdr. Richard C. Merrick, and USS Princeton (CV-37), skippered by Capt. William 0 Gallery. For flak suppression on April 30, Merrick led a force of six VA-195 Skyraiders (one flown by the CO, Lt Cdr Carlson), accompanied by five F4U-4s of VF-193 (commanded by Lt Cdr E A Parher). “Tiny Tim” rockets and two 2000-pound bombs were carried by every Skyraider.
Lt Cdr Carlson led the Skyraiders as they ran the gauntlet down the valley, striking in pairs. Despite AAA batteries desperately trying to shoot them down, the attack pilots managed to hole the dam with their bombs. The ‘Tiny Tim’ rockets were ineffective, however, and no sluice gates were damaged.
VA-195 Skyraiders struck a dam with aerial torpedoes during the Korean War
No aircraft were lost in what had proved to be a disappointing attack.
Capt. Gallery proposed firing Mk 13 anti-ship torpedoes to penetrate the dam during the post-mission debrief. But few VA-195 pilots had previously dropped a torpedo. Most had not even practiced such a drop. Three Naval Aviators from VC-35 Det 3—Lts. Clapp, Metzner, and English—were also assigned to the strike.
The following day, May 1, eight VA-195 AD-4/4Qs and three VC-35 AD-4Ns (each carrying a single torpedo) escorted by four VF-193 F4Us and eight VF-192s were led by Cdr. Merrick against the dam. Over the target at 1100 hrs, the ADs attacked in pairs at wave-top height, nervously adjusting their speed so as not to exceed the maximum drop speed for the torpedo. After the drop, each Skyraider climbed sharply to clear the dam. The torpedoes dropped by Lts Clapp and English proved faulty, veering away from the dam. The remaining nine torpedoes hit the dam, destroying the center sluice gate, gashing a second gate, and damaging an abutment. The cascading waters flooded the valley below for miles.
The dam remained inoperable for the rest of the war. Thereafter, VA-195 would be known as the ‘Dambusters’, like their Royal Air Force counterparts of No 617 Sqn in World War 2.
AD Skyraider Units of the Korean War is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by Drawing, Colored Pencil on Paper; by Herbert C. Hahn; C. 1951; Framed Dimensions 23H X 27W / Naval History and Heritage Command and Naval Aviation Museum / U.S. Navy
