Australia in the Korean War
No. 77 Squadron converted to P-51D Mustang fighters before arriving in Japan in February 1946 to participate in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. Occupation duties proved uneventful, and No. 77 Squadron was preparing to leave Japan for Australia when the Korean War broke out in June 1950. 77 Sqn was immediately dispatched to Korea, where they became the first UN air unit to enter the war, primarily in ground support, combat air patrol, and escort missions.
Horace Robertson
By mid-1950, the BCOF was winding down. All the contingents other than the Australians had departed, and the Australians were preparing to leave. For his services as commander of the BCOF, Robertson was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Military Division) (KBE) in the King's Birthday Honours List. Robertson intended to travel to London to be invested by King George VI but his plans were disrupted by the outbreak of the Korean War on 25 June 1950. Robertson passed on to the Australian government requests from MacArthur for BCOF assistance, which were agreed to. He committed the frigate and No. 77 Squadron RAAF but, although authorised to do so, he hesitated to deploy the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, as he considered the risks too great.
Robertson built up what became the British Commonwealth Forces Korea (BCFK). While the British government had hoped to have the Americans supply all their logistic support, Robertson realised that this was impossible. The US Army was being stretched to its limit just supporting itself and the army of the Republic of Korea, and British Commonwealth equipment was different in many respects. The British Army then scrambled to meet its own logistic needs, creating ad hoc arrangements and requesting support from Robertson and MacArthur. The Chief of the General Staff, Sydney Rowell, sent a cable to his British counterpart, Field Marshal Sir William Slim, warning of "a bugger's muddle in which the only people to suffer will be the soldiers". Slim agreed; a Maintenance Area was established in Korea to support Commonwealth forces there, which drew some resources from American sources, such as petrol, oil and lubricants, engineer stores, casualty evacuation and port operations, and the rest from BCOF in Japan.