Korean War order of battle: United States Air Force

World War II-era prop-driven P-51D Mustangs were pressed into the ground-air support role, and large formations of B-29 Superfortress bombers flew for the last time on strategic bombardment missions.

[4] Shaped in World War II by an increasing concentration on the strategic role of attacking an enemy's homeland, the Air Force now faced a conflict almost entirely tactical in character and limited as to how and where airpower could be applied.

AT-6 Mosquitoes, trainers used as airborne controllers, provided communication links between ground troops and supporting aircraft.

Although President Truman wasn't willing to risk extensive use of the U.S. bomber force, which was being used as a deterrent for possible Soviet aggression in Europe, a few groups of Strategic Air Command aging B-29 Superfortress bombers that were not part of the nuclear strike force were released for combat over the skies of Korea.

These bombers were employed effectively against North Korean military installations, government centers and transportation networks.

Yet despite these limitations, the Air Force responded quickly and effectively, proving in many ways the utility of airpower in modern war.

It transported troops and equipment from Japan to Korea, evacuated American nationals, provided significant intelligence through aerial reconnaissance, and most importantly helped to slow the North Korean advance so that the United Nations forces could construct a defensive position on the peninsula.

By 1955 the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress would be entering the inventory in substantial numbers, as the prop-driven B-36s were quickly phased out of heavy bombardment units.

During World War II, The Group, each with three or four flying squadrons, was the basic combat element of the Army Air Forces.

The new wing also controlled three additional groups with the same number to operate the airbase, maintain the aircraft and provide medical care at the base.

Formed to assist in the projection of force to Korea, these temporary wings provided facilities, administration, services, and operational control for assigned and attached combat units.

The task was formidable, for the installations the wings controlled were usually "bare base" operations with no amenities and only marginally serviceable airfields.

Logistically, poor roads and rail lines, limited port facilities, and overextended airlift hampered the wings.

They struggled to keep pace with the dynamically changing battle lines, opening new bases and forward operating locations as needed.