Battle of Korea Strait

The Battle of Korea Strait was a single ship action fought on the first day of the Korean War, 25–26 June 1950, between the navies of South Korea and North Korea. A North Korean troop transport carrying hundreds of soldiers attempted to land its cargo near Busan but was encountered by a South Korean patrol ship and sunk. It was one of the first surface actions of the war and resulted in an important South Korean victory.[2][3]

Battle of Korea Strait
Part of the Korean War

ROKS Bak Du San being rearmed in Hawaii, March 1950
Date25-26 June 1950
Location
off the coast of Busan, in the Korea Strait
Result South Korean victory
Belligerents
 North Korea  South Korea
Units involved
Korean People's Navy Republic of Korea Navy
Strength
1 steamer 1 submarine chaser
Casualties and losses
600 killed or wounded
1 steamer sunk		 2 killed
2 wounded
1 submarine chaser damaged [1]

Battle
Baekdusan (PC-701) with South Korean flag painting on the side of the ship

The Korean War began on 25 June 1950 with a massive North Korean invasion of South Korea which nearly overran the country. During the invasion, a North Korean steamer was assigned to insert troops along the peninsula's southeastern coast.[3] The merchant ship of 1,000 tons was armed with machine guns and loaded with 600 soldiers of the 766th Independent Infantry Regiment.[4]

It was early morning when the Republic of Korea Navy submarine chaser ROKS Bak Du San spotted the lone enemy steamer eighteen miles from Busan.[4] The chaser, also formerly American, was the lead vessel of the South Korean Navy.[5]

Bak Du San first challenged the steamer with signal lights and received no response. But when the South Koreans turned on their searchlights, the North Koreans opened fire, hitting the Bak Du San's bridge. The helmsman was killed and the officer of the deck seriously wounded. Bak Du San returned fire with her main 3-inch anti-aircraft gun and six .50-caliber machine guns.[5] After the North Koreans began taking hits, they attempted to flee the engagement, but were chased by the Bak Du San in a running battle that ended with the steamer being sunk near Tsushima Island, with heavy loss of life.

The victory was a major strategic gain. Busan was vital but only lightly defended, and if it had fallen the North Koreans would have been one step closer to completely overrunning the country. [6]

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See also

Notes
  1. "How a Lone $60,000 Patrol Boat and Its Single Deck Gun Changed the Course of the Korean War". The National Interest.
  2. J. Marolda, Edward (26 August 2003). "Naval Battles". Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  3. "Submarine Chaser Photo Archive: PC-823". NavSource. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  4. Rottman 2001, p. 171
  5. "ROK Navy Ships: Pak Tu San (PC-701, 1950–60)". Naval History & Heritage Command. 17 October 1999. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  6. "How a Lone $60,000 Patrol Boat and Its Single Deck Gun Changed the Course of the Korean War". The National Interest.

References
  • Rottman, Gordon (2001), Korean War Order of Battle: United States, United Nations, and Communist Ground, Naval, and Air Forces, 1950–1953, Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, ISBN 978-0-275-97835-8

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