Bombing of North Korea

Bombing of North Korea
Part of the Korean War
Douglas A-26 Invaders releasing bombs over North Korea, 18 October 1951
TypeStrategic bombing
Location
North Korea
Commanded byUnited Nations Command
Date1950–1953
Casualties282,000 deaths[1]

Following the North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950, air forces of the United Nations Command began an extensive bombing campaign against North Korea that lasted until the end of the Korean War in July 1953. It was the first major bombing campaign for the United States Air Force (USAF) since its inception in 1947 from the United States Army Air Forces. During the campaign, conventional weapons such as explosives, incendiary bombs, and napalm destroyed nearly all of the country's cities and towns, including an estimated 85% of its buildings.[2]

A total of 635,000 tons of bombs, including 32,557 tons of napalm, were dropped on Korea.[3] By comparison, the U.S. dropped 1.6 million tons in the European theater and 500,000 tons in the Pacific theater during all of World War II (including 160,000 on Japan). North Korea ranks alongside Cambodia (500,000 tons), Laos (2 million tons), and South Vietnam (4 million tons) as among the most heavily-bombed countries in history.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Harden (2017), p. 9
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Armstrong 2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309284611_Making_More_Enemies_Than_We_Kill_Calculating_US_Bomb_Tonnages_Dropped_on_Laos_and_Cambodia_and_Weighing_Their_Implications%7Ctitle=Making More Enemies than We Kill? Calculating U.S. Bomb Tonnages Dropped on Laos and Cambodia, and Weighing Their Implications