Battle of Suwon Airfield Battle of Suwon Airfield The Battle of Suwon Airfield was the first aerial battle of the Korean War occurring on June 27, 1950 over Kimpo Airfield and Suwon Airfield. The battle, between aircraft of the United States and North Korea, ended in a victory for the US Air Force after nine of its aircraft successfully shot down seven North Korean People's Air Force aircraft. It was the first direct engagement of the Air Battle of South Korea. With the outbreak of the war two days earlier, the US forces were attempting to evacuate US civilians and diplomats from the city
Soviet Union in the Korean War asylum were offered as a reward, and North Korean pilot Lieutenant No Kum-Sok eventually defected in September 1953 (claiming to be unaware of the reward), finally providing the US with an example for testing. Though the Soviet Union never acknowledged its participation in the conflict, it is clear that many suspected it. Soviet pilots, though forbidden from communicating in any language other than basic Korean across their radios, often resorted to Russian when stressed or when swearing. This was picked up by American pilots. Reports of Soviet involvement in the conflict quickly made their way up the United Nations chain