War at sea: the Royal Australian Navy in Korea - Page 1

Australian ships in the Korean War

• Destroyers: Bataan, Warramunga, Tobruk and Anzac
• Frigates: Shoalhaven, Murchison, Condamine and Culgoa
• Aircraft carrier: Sydney

Korea is surrounded by water on three sides. Sea power was crucial to the UN forces in the Korean War, as UN ground forces were outnumbered by the Chinese and North Koreans. Control of Korean waters enabled the UN forces to launch the Inchon landing, which altered the course of the war.

The UN forces soon took advantage of their superior naval forces and seized control of Korea's long coastlines, using many ships to transport large numbers of troops and supplies throughout the war. The use of aircraft carriers, including HMAS Sydney, increased the numbers of aircraft available to the UN forces, enabling complete air coverage of the Korean peninsula.

On 1 July 1950, Australian frigates HMAS Shoalhaven and the destroyer HMAS Bataan joined a fleet enforcing the UN blockade. A month later, Bataan saw its first action when shots were exchanged with a North Korean shore battery. Other RAN ships were deployed shortly thereafter, bombarding shore installations and supply lines.

After mid-1951 and the beginning of negotiations between the two sides, naval pressure was increased against Communist ground forces by bombardments and blockades. HMAS Murchison played an important role in a naval blockade of the Han River from July to September 1952, Operation Han. For the last two years of the war, RAN ships in Korean waters continued to protect the islands off the west coast of North Korea that were in South Korean possession.

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