On 25 January HMS Theseus departed from Sasebo with four
destroyers as escorts, this allowed the USS Bataan to return to port for its
harbour rest period. The operating zone for the air wing was around Suwon and
both the Fireflies and Sea Furies were carrying increased weapon loads with the
former adding rockets to the normal bomb load. Both types were attacking
targets under the control of FAC Mosquitoes and villages, vehicles and shipping
along the coast were attacked with some success. It was during these operations
that the Theseus lost an aircraft when a combat patrol Sea Fury, VR940, piloted
by Lt A C Beavan was seen to spin into the sea the and the pilot was lost. The
following day a similar pattern of operations was undertaken with the Fireflies
coming to the fore as buildings, troop emplacements and villages suspected of
containing enemy troops were attacked. Until 31 January flying operations
continued as before, the carrier then taking its rest and replenishment day.
Theseus resumed operations on 1 February, although flying was restricted by
weather conditions. Some sorties were undertaken in the afternoon, support
being given to beleaguered US forces in the Kumnojong area. Similar sorties
were undertaken the following day although one of the returning Sea Furies was
damaged on landing when the carrier pitched at the wrong moment causing damage
to the undercarriage and its mountings. The following day saw both of the air
wing’s squadrons undertake even more sorties in support of the Allies, the
Fireflies successfully attacked troop positions in the vicinity of Suwon while
the Sea Furies patrolled the coastal areas destroying vehicles and some
warehouses at Wonum. At the completion of that day’s flying HMS Theseus
departed for Kure handing over the duty to the USS Bataan. Once anchored in
Kure Theseus took replacement aircraft from Unicorn and returned its damaged
machines in return.
At the completion of its period of rest Theseus departed
Kure on 12 February to resume its station and activities. While the carrier had
been in port UN forces had recaptured the Inchon peninsula with Inchon and
Kimpo falling on 10 February. While in transit the Theseus pilots undertook
deck landing training to introduce the new pilots to the carrier and its deck
practices. Operations began the next day when the Fireflies undertook sorties
against enemy forces near Seoul and the Sea Furies concentrated on the area
between Seoul and Pyongyang with over-flights of Haejin and Ongjin airfield
also being undertaken. Sorties undertaken later that day saw the Sea Furies
hitting troop concentrations that had been marked by smoke, the fighters were
praised for their accuracy as the UN forces were only yards away. Over the next
four days the squadrons undertook a range of attacks against enemy forces and
conducted armed reconnaissance although bad weather did see some of the
missions cancelled or curtailed. On 19 February the carrier had its rest and
refuel day returning to its operations zone the following day. As before,
weather hampered operations although sorties were flown in support of UN forces
as well as their normal duties during which they destroyed the usual range of
trucks, vehicles and troop concentrations. On 23 February HMS Theseus was
replaced on station by USS Bataan setting course for Sasebo.
On 4 March HMS Theseus departed from Sasebo on its
penultimate patrol arriving on station so that flying could start in the
morning. The Sea Furies were tasked with over-flying the airfields of Ongjin
and Haeju while the Fireflies concentrated upon the bridges at Chaeryong,
successfully damaging them both. The afternoon sortie consisted of two Sea
Furies and three Fireflies, although one of the escorting fighters had to
return to the carrier with engine trouble. As the Fireflies were acting in the
bombing role they were carrying 1,000 lb bombs. As these bombs were of a higher
weight than normal the 20 mm cannon ammunition was removed. The bombs from the
Fireflies hit the tunnel at Haeju which blocked the line and the Sea Fury
undertook pre and post strike photo reconnaissance. On the following day flying
was restricted due to bad weather, however they air wing made up for it the
next day by successfully controlling bombardments from HMS Kenya on targets in
the Chinnampo area.
On 8 March the Sea Furies were tasked with reconnaissance
duties in the Seoul, Kaesong and Sinmak area. During these sorties railway
installations were successfully attacked as were troop concentrations and
artillery positions. Although one Firefly was badly damaged on landing all the
aircraft landed safely and the carrier was able to pull out for replenishment
on 9 March. Once again flying was cancelled the following day due to weather
although it resumed as normal on 11 March. During this mission railway
installations were again attacked successfully by both the Sea Furies and
Fireflies. Having caused chaos amongst the railway services the Sea Furies then
turned their attention to troop concentrations in the area of Sariwon while the
Fireflies again turned their attention to bridges in the area. The next day saw
the Sea Furies attacking the airfields at Ongjin and Changyon where they
encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire in the process. Even so the hangars at
Ongjin were successfully damaged by rockets while two ammunition dumps were set
alight. The afternoon sorties were dedicated to attacking troop positions under
the control of a Mosquito FAC. The final active day of the patrol found the Sea
Furies attacking targets in the Chinnampo area and they successfully bombed
various buildings and workshops and also destroyed a junk on the way home to
Theseus. The afternoon was another Mosquito FAC occasion although a Firefly was
lost after being hit by antiaircraft fire. The crew Lt G H Cooles and Flt Lt D
W Guy RAF perished. After this sad end the carrier departed for Sasebo arriving
on 14 March, on this day the UN forces recaptured Seoul again.
HMS Theseus departed from Sasebo on 22 March in company with
its usual flotilla of escorts. Upon arrival in the operational area the Sea
Furies were despatched to carry out a full reconnaissance of their assigned
operational area to find out if any significant changes had occurred. Once the
photos had been studied and tied into the intelligence the next batch of
sorties were planned. The first sorties involved the Fireflies attacking troop
concentrations in the region of the ridge near Kaesong while the afternoon
sorties again involved the Fireflies with 1,000 lb bombs against the bridge at
Kingyong-ni while the escorting Sea Furies attacked anything that moved in the
area. No flying took place the following day due to poor weather. The following
day the Sea Furies attacked concentrations of vehicles in the region of
Chosan-ni and Nanchonjon successfully destroying quite a few in the process. It
was during this sortie that Lt Cdr Gordon-Smiths aircraft was hit in the
fuselage fuel tank by an armour piercing shell, although the pilot managed to
make a successful landing at Suwon. However the aircraft was written off in the
process. The afternoon’s missions were under the control of the Mosquito FAC
during which the Fireflies successfully bombed their assigned targets. Bad
weather prevented any flying the following day but missions resumed on 26
March. As before targets in the usual area of operations were attacked while
the afternoon sorties were under the control of a Mosquito FAC. Another mission
saw three Fireflies with 1,000 lb bombs with a pair of Sea Furies in attendance
attack villages near Haeju after which the railway and its bridges near Kaesong
came in for some attention. The weather on the following day was poor which
curtailed flying and so the carrier departed the area for a replenishment
session. Theseus arrived off the Korean coast on 29 March and resumed its usual
range of sorties around Pyongyang. As before, railway installations and troop
concentrations were given close attention. Shipping was the order of the day on
30 March with six large vessels being badly damaged in Haeju harbour by the Sea
Furies while the Fireflies turned their attention to a bridge near Sariwon
which was damaged.
The final day of the patrol on 1 April saw the sorties
delayed due to low cloud over the target area. However, it cleared enough to
allow a Mosquito FAC sortie to be flown against designated targets around the
Sariwon area after which Theseus returned to harbour at Sasebo for rest,
recuperation and repair. Theseus returned to operational duty on 8 April
although this time the location was the Sea of Japan as the fleet carriers had
been transferred to Formosa as some indication had been given that Communist China
might invade that island. Although this did not happen it meant that the sea
going air support was purely in the hands of Theseus and USS Bataan. Although
this removed the carrier support from the west coast of Korea this was
compensated for by flying long range missions from the carriers. On 9 April two
Sea Furies of No.807 NAS were undertaking a reconnaissance in the area of
Wonsan when they were attacked by a pair of Vought F4U Corsairs whose aircraft
recognition was as always decidedly suspect. Noticing the American fighters
heading their way the Sea Furies decided to turn and break. That of Lt Leece
was hit by cannon fire which damaged the engine and set fire to the starboard
wing fuel tank. The other Sea Fury piloted by Lt Lavender managed to take
evasive action both aircraft returning to Theseus. The badly damaged Sea Fury
was found to have 21 bullet holes in it while the bottom skin of the integral
tank had burned away letting the remaining fuel vent away completely, the other
aircraft suffered a single-round strike. Two other Sea Furies were also lost
that day, one was lost to a 37 mm flak round which resulted in the pilot having
to make a forced landing. Unfortunately, the pilot was captured on touchdown.
The other fighter was also hit by anti-aircraft fire which forced the pilot to
make a high speed landing at Kangmung at the end of which the Sea Fury flipped
over, although the pilot escaped suffering just shock.
These losses notwithstanding the Theseus resumed operations
the next day and the Fireflies bombed the bridges at Hungnam with great success
although one aircraft had to be abandoned over the sea after the engine was
damaged by ground fire. After a few minutes in the sea the crew was picked up
by a rescue helicopter. Refuelling and rest occupied much of 13 April. Flying
resumed on 14 April with the Fireflies hitting bridges in the Hungmam area
while the Sea Furies concentrated upon the rail yards at Chinnampo. It was
during this attack that an aircraft, VW658, of Lt Bowman was hit by ground fire
which caused him to make a forced landing after which a rescue helicopter
collected him, the aircraft was destroyed by the circling fighters. Theseus
continued to provide air support until 19 April when TF 95.11 departed from
Korean waters for the last time arriving at Sasebo the next day to hand over
the duty to HMS Glory. On the morning of 25 April HMS Theseus departed for Hong
Kong en route to Portsmouth. The carrier arrived home on 25 April and was
presented with the Boyd Trophy by the First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet,
Lord Fraser.
HMS Glory took over officially from HMS Theseus on 23 April
1951. In command was Captain K S Colquhoun DSO. The air wing, 14th CAG,
commanded by Lt Cdr S J Hall consisted of No.804 NAS with Hawker Sea Furies
commanded by Lt Cdr J S Bailey and No.812 NAS operating Fairey Fireflies
commanded by Lt Cdr F A Swanton. Fortunately for the troops on the ground the
carrier’s arrival coincided with the Chinese spring offensive. Lt Cdr Hall was
most unfortunate as he was shot down whilst flying VW545 in September after the
aircraft was hit by flak, the Sea Fury crashed near Choppeki Point and Cdr Hall
was picked up by the ship’s helicopter. Unlike the previous offensives
intelligence gathering had shown that the enemy had built up even greater
forces than ever before. The offensive kicked off over the night of 22/23 April
against the 8th Army along the line from Kaesong to Chorwon to Kumhwa. The
initial point of attack was Kapyong but that was repulsed by ground forces.
This attack was followed by a similar push against Kaesong which saw the
Chinese crossing the river at Imjin. The Gloucester Regiment managed to hold
off the attack for three days losing many men in the process. Even this gallant
effort was not enough to completely hold back the Chinese forces which
continued to push hard against the 8th Army which had to fall back to Kimpo
putting Seoul in danger.
In the face of this HMS Glory departed Sasebo on 26 April
arriving on station only to find that the weather on 27 April cancelled flying.
The following day saw a Sea Fury combat patrol being launched while a single
Firefly was used for the anti-submarine patrol. Other aircraft from Glory
carried on from where Theseus left off attacking targets in the Haeju region.
It was during one of the Sea Fury attacks that Lt E Stephenson became detached
from the rest of the flight and apparently crashed into the sea. On 29 April the
carrier launched a Sea Fury mission at the request of the Mosquito FAC against
targets near Yanju and Chidong-ni with rockets and cannon. The last day of the
month was fairly easy for the Glory air wing as their allotted targets were any
ships near the coast. Over the first week in May the Sea Furies and Fireflies
attacked junks, sampans and ground targets all over their allotted area. During
one of these runs Lt Barlow had his Sea Fury, VX610, badly damaged by enemy
fire but, although the aircraft was destroyed, the pilot was safely collected
by a USAF rescue helicopter. HMS Glory returned to Sasebo on 7 May for rest and
recuperation.
Four days later HMS Glory was back on station and resumed
attacks on junks and sampans moving up the coast after which the Sea Furies and
Fireflies turned their attention to vehicles travelling along the road towards
Haeju. On 12 May the Fireflies attacked the bridges at Wontan and Yonan. The
Firefly crews were most surprised to find that the bridges had been rebuilt
overnight; this was a fact of life when fighting the Chinese. The Sea Furies
attacked tunnels with 60 lb rockets starting their attacks in a shallow dive
and successfully exploding stores and equipment hidden there. Replenishment
took place the following day and the carrier resumed station on 15 May sending
four Sea Furies out to attack targets along the coast and further inland.
During one of the attack runs the Sea Fury, VW669, piloted by Lt Winterbotham
was hit by antiaircraft fire, the damage was severe enough to cause the pilot
to ditch in the sea. Although the aircraft was lost the pilot was rescued by an
American vessel after the pilot had swum to a sampan which took him to a nearby
island. The following day saw a similar series of attacks carried out against
enemy targets before the carrier departed for Sasebo, however, the vessel could
only manage 19 knots as one of the propeller glands was overheating. Glory
finally arrived in harbour late on 20 May entering the dry dock for repairs the
following morning. Five days later the carrier was swinging at its buoy.
HMS Glory finally left Sasebo on 3 June to relieve USS
Bataan with operational flying restarting the next day. Shipping and railway
vehicles plus troops concentrations were given close attention although the air
wing would lose another aircraft when Lt Watson was forced to ditch and,
thankfully, he was rescued very quickly. Over the following few days the Sea
Furies and Fireflies continued attacking the usual range of targets although
the maintenance crews were being overworked as the Sea Furies were coming back
with little holes in the skinning. Investigation revealed that some were caused
by anti-aircraft fire, light weapons and shrapnel from their own rockets. On 9
June Glory underwent its replenishment day returning to station the following
day. The first strike was against the village of Osan-ni with both the
Fireflies and Sea Furies hit the village with full loads of bombs and rockets
and left the target with the village burning fiercely. Chinnampo was also
visited by the Sea Furies where warehouses were destroyed. Further operations
were curtailed when the aviation fuel aboard Glory was found to be contaminated
by water. The next day’s missions were limited to what the aircraft could
manage with the fuel left in the aircrafts’ tanks and consequently they were
limited to a quick attack against Osan-ni. With this completed the carrier
departed for Kure and cleaned the tanks en route. Upon arrival in harbour Glory
was moored to a quay shared with Unicorn. Using the dockside crane defective
aircraft were swapped for serviceable machines.
HMS Glory sailed from Kure on 21 June with the destroyer HMS
Cockade for company. The carrier was in position ready to begin flying
operations on 23 June. The first sortie involved the Sea Furies which were
requested by the Joint Operations Centre to attack Taegu while the Fireflies
were engaged on a bombing mission against a bridge near Sariwon and a stores
depot at Chinnampo. The following day both the Sea Furies and the Fireflies
carried out similar attacks against targets from the previous day the latter
successful in blowing up the railway bridge at Hwasan-ni causing extensive
damage. Over the next four days the Glory air wing undertook similar missions
blowing up junks and ox carts and communications routes. On 30 June the Sea
Fury detail was launching when the aircraft of Sub-Lt Howard suffered a cold
launch into the sea, although the aircraft was lost the pilot was safely
recovered. Unfortunately the launch trolley badly damaged the catapult putting
it out of action. As the remainder of the strike sortie was still on the flight
deck RATOG units were quickly attached which allowed the mission to continue.
The following day required all missions to be launched using RATOG, overall 29
Sea Furies and 18 Fireflies were despatched in this manner. The gap between
each set of mission was around two hours during which the flight deck crew had
to recover the returning aircraft, prepare them for relaunching while launching
those already waiting. After striking their usual range of targets the aircraft
returned to the carrier which in turn departed for Sasebo and much needed
repairs.
Two days later, on 3 July, HMS Glory reached Sasebo having
battled through the ferocious remnants of Typhoon Kate. Once secured in dock
dockyard parties set about repairing the catapult while the aircraft were
replaced where required and fuel, stores and ammunition were taken aboard. On 8
July Glory departed Sasebo and arrived at its operating position the following
day. The first mission for the carrier was a strange one as it involved the
recovery of a MiG 15 lost in shallow water and which the Americans required
recovering for study. While this recovery was being planned the first round of
Peace Talks had begun on 15 July 1951 at Kaesong. The recovery plan finally
began on 19 July using a Sea Fury flight to pick out a safe channel as the maps
of the area were inaccurate. Eventually, the small fleet of recovery vessels
reached the correct position managing to recover much of it before the tide
turned. Glory returned to Kure for rest and replenishment arriving on 22 July.
Time in port was curtailed as the carrier was needed to reinforce the presence
of USS Sicily as the ceasefire talks were in difficulty. Such was the haste of
departure that six aircraft and some aircrew were left behind. HMS Glory
arrived on station on 26 July although the sorties planned for the following
day were cancelled due to bad weather. A similar situation existed on the following
day although a few sorties were flown against those few targets visible. On 29
July the weather had improved and allowed the Sea Furies to operate in the
Yonan area throughout the day. The next day the weather worsened again; not
only was there extensive cloud but rough seas and high winds added to the
misery. A similar situation arose the following day and was also forecast for 1
August therefore the decision was taken to undertake the replenishment that
day. Returning to the operations zone the following day Glory found that the
weather was suitable for flying therefore Sea Furies were launched with
explicit orders to hunt down junks and rafts known to be operating along the
coast with supplies for the North Korean and Chinese forces. Intermittent bad weather
seemed destined to plague this period at sea as the sorties for 3 August were
reduced although the Sea Furies did manage to strafe and rocket a large body of
troops with great success. A similar situation occurred on 4 August although
again some troops were spotted with similar results to the previous day’s
exploits. As the weather was forecast to worsen it was decided that Glory
should return to Sasebo arriving there the following day.
Fortunately for Glory HMS Warrior, acting as an aircraft
support vessel was nearly at Sasebo finally arriving on 7 August with much
needed spare aircraft. A newly replenished Glory departed on 10 August sailing
via Iwakuni to collect more replacement aircraft before arriving at the
assigned patrol area on 13 August. Flying resumed on 15 August. The Sea Furies
attacked junks and sampans between Hanchon and Chinnampo damaging and
destroying three in the process. The Sea Furies also tried a new idea: that of
dropping full fuel tanks on a village suspected of harbouring enemy troops. As
the tanks hit the ground the Sea Furies strafed them setting them well alight.
While the Sea Furies were attacking shipping the Fireflies concentrated on
troops and communications links in the Yonan area with some success. Further
anti-shipping sorties occupied the Sea Furies the following day while the
Fireflies concentrated on shore based targets. A hasty move south that evening
was needed as Typhoon Marge was reported heading in that direction. Waiting for
the typhoon to blow itself out kept the carrier out of theatre for the next two
days. As there was little opportunity to continue attacking targets in Korea
Glory set out for Kure sailing via Okinawa and arrived at Kure on 25 August.
Post storm inspection of the aircraft lashed on deck revealed that some had
suffered surface finish damage and all would require extensive cleaning.
With its aircraft problems fixed HMS Glory was ready to
return to the fray, which duly took place on 2 September. Flying started soon
after arrival with both squadrons attacking light shipping and railway
infrastructure. It was during one of these attacks that the Sea Fury of Lt
Howard was struck by anti-aircraft fire which badly damaged the engine. The
pilot was left with little option but to make an emergency landing on the beach
at Paengyong although the aircraft did turn over leaving the pilot to dig
himself out of the sand. Over the following three days the Sea Furies continued
to attack shipping while the Fireflies continued to bomb buildings and bridges.
A replenishment day followed on 6 September although this was completed earlier
than expected. Given this extra time it was intended to launch a range of
missions, however, after two of the Sea Furies had been catapulted away it was
noticed that it was not functioning correctly. Investigations revealed that the
catapult would need repairing and so all aircraft launches would need RATOG
packs. Further work by the ship’s engineers overnight cleared the catapult for
further use, therefore any aircraft with RATOG fitted had them removed. The
final patrol day, 9 September, saw Glory launch 84 sorties which was a record
and was a credit to the engineers and deck handlers. After the aircraft had
returned to the carrier Glory started the journey to Kure arriving there on 11
September.
HMS Glory departed Kure on 15 September resuming operations on 18 September. Both squadrons launched aircraft on that day and concentrated on enemy positions in the Wonsan area. Flying was delayed the following day due to inclement weather. As soon as conditions had cleared the catapult decided to fail again which meant that all launches again required the use of RATOG. The Sea Furies were tasked with attacking buildings after which they spotted for the destroyers bombarding targets on shore. Having been forced to use most of their RATOG equipment Glory made a quick trip back to Sasebo to collect more plus extra fuel. Returning to the fray the carrier launched a limited range of sorties on 22 September. During one of these launches a Firefly failed to get airborne correctly and crashed into the sea, the pilot was rescued but the observer was lost. The ship’s engineers redoubled their efforts to repair the catapult and the efforts finally bore fruit much to the relief of the aircrews. With the catapult back in action it was time for the Sea Furies to attack the increased sea traffic in the Chinnampo area as well an increase in rail traffic. Once airborne the Sea Furies set about destroying these targets with gusto while the Fireflies attacked buildings and troop concentrations. The following two days saw a similar pattern of attacks undertaken during which one of the attacked junks exploded dramatically. On 25 September HMS Glory undertook her final set of missions. As before the Sea Furies attacked vessels with cannon and rockets while the Fireflies concentrated on harder targets. When the final aircraft returned to the carrier it turned away to begin its voyage to Kure. Berthing at Kure the Glory found that the replacement carrier, HMAS Sydney, berthed against the other face of the jetty. As Sydney was mainly equipped with Sea Furies it was decided to increase the vessels effectiveness by transferring the Glory Fireflies and spares to the Australian vessel. On 1 October HMS Glory sailed for Hong Kong calling there en route to Australia where a refit, repair and reconditioning was carried out.
HMAS Sydney would be the active carrier in Korean waters
from 30 September 1951 to 27 January 1952 the assigned air squadrons being Nos
805, 808 and 817 NAS.
