ROKAF (Republic of Korea Air Force)

  October 1949 to present

  South Korea

TYPE: Air force

IATA/ICAO CODES: Nil

HEADQUARTERS: Seoul, South Korea

OTHER NAME: ROK Air Force, South Korean Air Force

ROKAF started operations on 5 May 1948 with a liaison unit later equipped with 10 L-4 Grasshoppers provided by the USA. An Army Air Academy followed in January 1949, and the ROKAF was officially founded in October 1949.

ROKAF expanded tremendously during the Korean War, in order to match the growth of the North Korean Air Force, supported by the Soviets. During the course of the war, the ROKAF acquired 110 aircraft from the USA, mainly North American F-51D Mustangs, along with a contingent of USAF instructors. Growth continued in the 1960's to counter the threat of a North Korean aggression, still with US support. The ROKAF acquired North American T-28 Trojans, North American F-86D Sabres, Northrop F-5 Tigers and McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantoms. Air Force Operations Command was established in 1961 to secure efficient command and control facilities, and Air Force Logistics Command was established in 1966.

In parallel to countering North Korean threats, the ROKAF took part in a few foreign military operations. From 1966, Commandos were used to support Korean troops fighting alongside the South Vietnamese military. The ROKAF also supported the Western coalition during the First Gulf War in the early 1990's.

1966 to unknown date

The ROKAF operated a total of 23 or 28 Commandos through the EUNMA unit, designed from 1966 to support South Korean military forces fighting in South Vietnam.

The registration assigned to these aircraft was as followed:

• Generally the USAF serial number, with the year group replaced by "0-".
• More rarely, the same concept, but only keeping the last four digits of the USAF serial (i.e.: the digit following the year group was simply discarded).

• Curtiss C-46D-10-CU Commando: (44-77547), (44-77580), 0-77592, 0-77593, 0-77603, 0-77607, 0-77674, 0-77695, 0-7696, 0-77766