Battle of Sunchon (air) 1951
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 1 December 1951 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1951 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | North Korea | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Korean War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 39.4167, 125.9330 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Sunchon was an air battle fought near the city of Sunchon, North Korea on 1 December 1951, during the Korean War. Up to 14 Gloster Meteor jets of the RAAF's No. 77 Squadron were attacked by at least 20 MiG-15s of the Soviet Union's 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (176 GIAP). The MiGs carried Chinese air force markings, as the USSR was not officially a combatant in the Korean War. Its experience in the battle led to No. 77 Squadron's being redeployed to ground attack duties.
No. 77 Squadron was engaged in an offensive sweep, at 19,000 feet (5,800 metres) when the action commenced, at about 0900 hours. During the ensuing 10 minute action, air combat ranged across North Korean air space, at altitudes of 20,000 to 33,000 feet (6,100 to 10,000 metres). Pilots on both sides were veterans of World War II, with several years experience flying fighters. However, the Meteor was a World War II-era design that was outclassed by the new MiG-15.
Soviet pilots, according to the RAAF, destroyed three Meteors. A total of nine kill claims were made by Soviet pilots, including one by a future ace, Captain Sergei Kramarenko.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Sunchon (air) (revision 1376275386), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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All 64 battles of the Korean War →
Browse more: battles in North Korea · Asia · Post-1945 battles