Two U.S. Navy Douglas AD-4N <i>Skyraider</i> of Composite Squadron VC-35 "Night Hecklers" en route to the Hwacheon Dam in Korea. Lieutenants Atlee Clapp and Addison English were the pilots. After several futile attempts to destroy the dam, Carrier Air Group 19 (CVG-19) assaulted the dam with eight <i>Skyraider</i>s that were equipped with Mk 13 torpedoes and escorted by twelve Vought F4U-4 <i>Corsair</i>s. Seven of eight torpedoes struck the dam and six exploded. The attack alleviated the dam as a flood threat, destroying one sluice gate and damaging several others. One of the participating U.S. Navy squadrons, VA-195, was renamed from "Tigers" to "Dambusters" following the strike. This raid constitutes the last time globally that an aerial torpedo was used against a surface target, and was the only time torpedoes were used in the Korean War.<br>CVG-19 was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS <i>Princeton</i> (CV-37) for a deployment to Korea from 9 November 1950 to 29 May 1951.
U.S. Navy
1951-05-01
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