 Around mid @-@ afternoon on July 9 , observers with the 1st Battalion , 21st Infantry spotted a column of 200 vehicles led by 11 North Korean T @-@ 34 tanks , subsequently calling for an airstrike . For the next few hours the U.S. Air Force ravaged the North Korean column with repeated bombings and strafing , and by sunset half of the vehicles were destroyed or burning and a large portion of the infantry had also been killed . The next day , a similar airstrike by B @-@ 26 Invaders , F @-@ 80 and F @-@ 82 Twin Mustang aircraft of the Fifth Air Force took place around Pyongtaek , with 38 North Korean tanks , seven half @-@ tracks and 117 other trucks destroyed , in addition to a large number of infantry . Much of the village of Chonui was left burning , although it had already been abandoned by South Korean soldiers and civilians . In addition , the airstrikes caused some of the largest losses of North Korean armor of the war , and were a major blow against the T @-@ 34 tanks which had been so successful during previous encounters . 
