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ROKA Air Force - pre-war:
As illustrated by the two links below, there seem
to the "official" line (see the 1st link) and unofficial lines (2nd link, for
example).
The latter state that Rhee had about 1,900
men, including over 100 trained pilots (about twice as many as the official
line) as of June 2, 1950. Rhee's AF had an odd mix of planes
- Japanese planes left on Korean airfields in 1945, American
observation planes and trainers from the US, and a squadron of
fighter-bombers (F51D's?).
South Korean sources claim that the fighter-bombers
were bought via a 'private' channel with money donated by the citizens because
Amercica refused to give Rhee any 'modern' war planes. However, some
American sources claim that Gen. Chenault recommended 25 F-51s for Rhee's air
force. Gen. MacArthur rejected this recommendation at first but then
'reluctantly' approved it on Rhee's "I gotta have them' insistance, and the
transfer began in 1949.
The official line is that the transfer began after
the war started and Col. Hess (Rock Hudson) was there to prove it.
1) http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/korea/no71-2.htm
United States Air Force Operations in the Korean Conflict 25 June - 1
November 1950
ysk
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