Page "USAF units and aircraft of the Korean War" Paragraph 20

* North American F-82F / G Twin MustangBased in Japan, the F-82s were among the first USAF aircraft to operate over Korea.

They were the only fighter aircraft available with the range to cover the entire Korean peninsula from bases in Japan.

The first three North Korean airplanes destroyed by US forces were shot down by F-82s on June 27, 1950.

However, the F-82 played a secondary role in Korea as compared with its distinguished predecessor, the single-engined F-51.

The Twin Mustang saw extensive service in Korea initially for counterair and ground attack work, but their importance as night fighters caused them to be used mostly for defense purposes.

1951 was the last full year of F-82 operations in Korea, as a shortage of spare parts limited their operations along with them being replaced by the jet-powered F-94 Starfire.

Twin Mustangs destroyed 20 enemy aircraft, four in the air and 16 on the ground during the conflict.

By summer 1952, the last surviving Korean War veteran F-82s were withdrawn from combat.