The emergence of Army aviation during the Korean War provides another example of the close relationship that exists between equipment and tactics. According to a combat overview developed by the U.S. Army’s Aviation Center and School at Fort Rucker, Army aviation missions during the Korean War included dropping flares, adjusting artillery, resupplying troops, evacuating wounded, and flying courier missions.

In addition to its tactical application growth during the war years, the expansion of Army aviation activities was to play a key role in a longer-term reorganization of the entire division structure, an effect that can still be felt in some land force organizations to this day.

The Fort Rucker review goes on to state that “Two major changes occurred during the Korean campaigns: helicopters were introduced into the Army inventory and provisional aviation companies were formed within each division. The primary benefits from this centralized system of organization included supervision and control of aircraft maintenance and supply, the development and implementation of an effective integrated training program, and coordination and control of aircraft utilization, with the result that Army aviation support was weighted in favor of those tactical units having the major combat mission. The Department of the Army recognized the need for a general reorganization of the land forces, and embarked upon a long range program wherein the ATFA (Atomic Type Field Army) concept was a first transitional step to the ultimate goal of a universal division that would be capable of sustained combat under the changes that had been battle tested in Korea. Army aviation elements were consolidated into company-size units at division, corps, and field army levels. Organic aircraft in the division were almost doubled in number when the total was increased to 50.”

In the end, U.S. communications requirements in Korea were satisfied by an amazing array of systems, ranging from line-of-sight VHF radio systems to the use of actual carrier pigeons to convey some types of tactical information. At the other end of the technology spectrum, new communications systems introduced during the conflict included the AN/GRC-26 Mobile Radio-Teletype Station.

Among the technical challenges that emerged during the Korean War was the need to meet a spectrum of land force battlefield communications requirements in support of a rapidly moving front line.

As in many other areas, the commitment of the initial U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula found some troops with a shortage of radio support. Operations in mountainous areas were further complicated by the extreme difficulty in running “hard wire” communications across rugged hilltops. Some reports state that the wire challenges were further exacerbated by retreating refugees who cut the wires to obtain additional tie-down material to secure their belongings to carts or animals.

In the end, U.S. communications requirements in Korea were satisfied by an amazing array of systems, ranging from line-of-sight VHF radio systems to the use of actual carrier pigeons to convey some types of tactical information. At the other end of the technology spectrum, new communications systems introduced during the conflict included the AN/GRC-26 Mobile Radio-Teletype Station.

Along with larger self-propelled fire support systems cited earlier,  smaller “portable” weapons and combinations of weapons clearly proved their worth in Korea’s mountainous battlefield environments. A case in point can be seen in the combination of recoilless rifles and mortars.

The 75 mm recoilless rifle packed a significant target punch. Yet, with a system weight of 114 pounds, it was only slightly heavier than its less potent 57 mm sibling. Moreover, its relatively light weight and 90-second set up time allowed the system to be broken into heavy but packable loads and transported through mountainous areas where it could then be reassembled and used for direct fire engagement of enemy bunkers and fighting positions on opposing hillsides.

In contrast, mortars were a favored weapon for use against communist positions sited on the rear slopes of nearby mountains. Because of their high firing angles and lethal payload delivery capabilities, mortar fire played a key role in many mountain combat operations, retaining their key fire support status to this day, where their ballistic characteristics are equally important in the urban scenarios envisioned by today’s defense planners.

As with the evolution of the M109-series howitzer noted above, another equipment lesson from the Korean War that continues to be felt to this day involves the use of armored personnel carriers, or APCs.

The Korean War experience also reinforced the critical need to equip infantrymen with some means of effective man-portable defense against enemy armor. A case in point: Task Force Smith and the initial engagement between U.S. and North Korean forces on July 5, 1950. Composed of two rifle companies, a battery of 105 mm howitzers, two 4.2-inch mortar platoons, a platoon of 75 mm recoilless rifles, and six attached teams equipped with World War II-era 2.36-inch “Bazookas,” Task Force Smith held an entire enemy division for seven hours before being outmaneuvered by the numerically superior enemy. However, although the howitzers were credited with knocking out five of North Korea’s Russian-made tanks, the vintage Bazookas reportedly had little combat effect.

Fortunately for U.N. forces, the United States had previously conducted (and later dropped) development work on a more powerful 3.5-inch model of the Bazooka. Munitions developers quickly pulled the earlier drawings, which had been gathering dust on a shelf since 1943, and rushed the more potent weapon into production. Once in Korea, the new M20 “Super Bazooka” model showed significantly improved effects against North Korean armor.

As with the evolution of the M109-series howitzer noted above, another equipment lesson from the Korean War that continues to be felt to this day involves the use of armored personnel carriers, or APCs.

Like many of the operations during World War II, the Korean conflict saw infantrymen “hitching rides” on top of supporting tanks. However, when those armor assets weren’t available, the infantrymen were forced to put their boots back in the mud. Returning to the example of Task Force Smith, those U.S. soldiers moved from Pusan to Taejon by train before being put into trucks for the drive north toward initial enemy contact.
Infantry mobility experiences like this helped feed vehicle development activities back in the United States where, in 1951, engineers at the Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation (later FMC Corporation) designed and developed the M59 full-tracked, multipurpose, armored vehicle.

Manufactured from armor plate – ranging from 3/8-inch plate on top and 5/8-inch on sides, front, and rear to 1-inch plate on the bottom – and having a gross combat weight of 42,600 pounds, the basic M59 design was considered by planners to be a “battle taxi” that was capable of transporting 10 infantrymen plus commander and driver. With propulsion and steering – both on land and in the water – accomplished by the movement of tracks, the vehicle was capable of amphibious operations on inland lakes and streams, extended off-road cross-country travel, or high-speed movement on road networks. Given these features, it is easy to see how the Korean War experience affected the performance requirements for the new system.

Perhaps most significantly, planners began to view the M59 as the centerpiece for an entire “vehicle family” that could include infantry carrier, command post, ambulance, or weapons platform for systems like the 4.2-inch mortar.

In the entire history of warfare, there have been few occasions where the impact of one conflict can still be felt 60 years later. But such is the legacy of land operations during the Korean War that the much-proclaimed “21st century soldier” has many to thank from more than a half-century earlier.

Technological advances in the welding of armor plate would eventually allow the M59 to be replaced by a lighter, faster, air-transportable APC platform designated M113. The M113 was quickly embraced for its own expanding family of derivative platforms, making it a ubiquitous military presence around the world. In addition, like the M109A6 noted earlier, remanufactured versions of the M113 vehicle family remain a part of U.S. Army inventories 60 years after the start of the conflict that helped to foster the predecessor design concept. The wheeled family of Stryker vehicles performs many of the same functions as the M113, and while new vehicles are in development to replace both the M113 and Stryker, the APC concept is here to stay.

In the entire history of warfare, there have been few occasions where the impact of one conflict can still be felt 60 years later. But such is the legacy of land operations during the Korean War that the much-proclaimed “21st century soldier” has many to thank from more than a half-century earlier.

This article was first published in The Forgotten War: 60th Anniversary of the Korean War.