Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Korea, Volume VII

795B.5/5–2350: Telegram

The Ambassador in Korea (Muccio) to the Secretary of State

secret

Seoul, May 23, 1950—5 p. m.

744. Deptel 505, May 19. Felt here some confusion exists owing various recommendations sent Department (Randall report,¹ KMAG semi-annual report² and others) on proposed air program for ROK. This message concurred in by KMAG and ECA and should be regarded as definitive and authoritative recommended program for support ROK Air Force.

Following aircraft recommended: 40 F–51 aircraft complete with weapons and air signal equipment; 10 T–6 aircraft complete with weapons and air signal equipment; 3 C–47 aircraft complete with air signal equipment. All foregoing aircraft should be delivered complete with adequate stock of spare parts, maintenance equipment and special tools and items of equipment needed to maintain aircraft.

Recommend following air advisors be sent here to be charged against authorized strength to KMAG and to be an integral part thereof:

(a) Officers: One senior air advisor with air command and staff experience to act as tactical advisor. One technical advisor. One service supply and maintenance officer. Three flight instructors. Total six officers.

(b) Airmen: One armament technician. One communications technician. Three airplane mechanics. Two radio mechanics. One depot maintenance man. One aircraft electrician. One propeller mechanic. One photographic technician. Total eleven airmen.

Maintenance and other ground facilities adequate to support such aircraft are now in existence as far as air fields and buildings are concerned. Kit of spare parts, maintenance equipment and tools to be delivered to ROK with aircraft should be sufficiently complete to equip ground maintenance installations. Airfields and buildings now in need of limited amount to rehabilitation. Expenditures for this purpose estimated at 400 million won. It proposed initial expense rehabilitation such installations to be included in a ROK supplementary appropriation to support expanded air program. Mission will insist ROK raise sufficient additional tax revenues to cover supplemental appropriation. Study indicates first year cost of program including 400 million won mentioned above, to be 1,820,809,000 won. This sum includes won equivalent US $887,000 estimated cost of POL for expanded program to be procured with Korean foreign exchange; proportion of this cost falling within current fiscal year will of course be dependent on date initiation program.

It is intended to meet continuing cost of program by initial appropriation outlined above plus regular annual appropriations which Mission will insist in each case be offset by taxes or other revenues. Estimated annual cost of program for each year after first will be approximately 50 percent of first year expense for 910 million won. Foregoing estimates based on assumption no provision for such requirements exists in MDAP. Assuming NSC 8/2 is revised to provide support for air force,³ it will be possible revise first estimate of fiscal year—1951 MDAP to provide any equipment FEAF unable supply under this request.

Approximately 60 pilots now in Korean Air Force qualified for transition training to fighter aircraft. In this connection, 10 T–6 aircraft now in use by Korean Air Force being used to maximum extent in preparing pilots to fly fighter craft. Ground personnel now in training on liaison and T–6 aircraft. Comprehensive mechanic school system now in operation. Main reliance for pilot and mechanic training, however, must be on air advisory personnel recommended above.

It felt here reliance should not be placed in FEAF facilities to provide servicing and maintenance (periodic engine overhaul, for example) equipment and spare parts. FEAF reported currently converting jet fighter aircraft and presumably will not be in a position for long to service F–51 aircraft or maintain large supply of parts. In view reported discarding of F–51 aircraft it hoped FEAF will be in position supply most complete kit spare parts and maintenance equipment for F–51’s. Recommend, however, that a limited number Korean air technicians and mechanics be authorized for training with FEAF.

For description Korean Air Force facilities, attention invited to enclosure Embdes 777, December 7, 1949.⁴

Sent Department 744; repeated info CINCFE.

Muccio

1. Brig. Gen. Russell E. Randall, U.S.A.F., Ret., made a trip to Korea in November 1949 at President Rhee’s invitation to give advice on the proposed build-up of the South Korean Air Force for his recommendations, see Foreign Relations, 1949, vol. vii, Part 2, footnote 3, pp. 1102–1103.
2. Reference is to the report for the period ending December 31, 1949, which was transmitted to the Department with despatch no. 99, January 26, from Seoul, not printed. In the despatch, Ambassador Muccio called attention to and endorsed the KMAG recommendations for an increase in strength of the Korean Air Force (795.58/1–2650); see also Sawyer, Military Advisors in Korea, p. 94.
3. Between the time of the receipt of this telegram and the outbreak of hostilities, no effort was made to revise NSC 8/2.
4. The text of despatch no. 777 is printed in Foreign Relations, 1949, vol. vii, Part 2, p. 1105; the enclosure is not printed.