British troops with Lee Enfield .303 rifles and Sten guns in Korea circa 1951, The war was an international effort and the UK was no exception to this with 14,000 of it's troops dying.
Colonel Lewis Puller reading the US Marine Corps Birthday Proclamation, Korea, 10 Nov 1950
Source United States Marine Corps Oliver P. Smith Collection
Korean War. 1952. Two soldiers of 1st Battalion, The Black Watch, rest and enjoy a smoke before moving off on patrol after heavy fighting the previous night. On the left, Private Jim McHale and on the right Corporal Kim Man Kyogh of South Korea, a KATCOM (Korean Augmentation to the 1st Commonwealth Division) soldier fighting alongside British troops. Photo by Sergeant Mark Carson. [IWM KOR 616]
Crewman try to hastily camouflage a M26 Pershing with hay while a T-34 burns in the background during the Korean War - October 1950
The last three pictures show the same knocked out T-34 sometimes afterwards
LIFE Magazine Archives - Hank Walker Photographer
Korean War. c August 1951 - February 1952. A Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 fighter/bomber on the deck of the Majestic class light aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney (R17). The Sydney was mainly involved in patrolling off the west coast of Korea, while its Hawker Sea Fury aircraft of No. 805 and 808 Squadrons, and Fairey Firefly aircraft of No. 817 Squadron, carried out strikes against North Korean units and supply lines. Photo by Chief Radio Electrician Alan White RAN. [AWM P05890.050]
This could easily be mistaken for a photo from "The Battle of the Bulge".
A lone GI shivering in an exposed frozen foxhole with snow all around, armed with a trusty M1 rifle and a bandoleer of ammo.
It's actually Korea in the winter of 50-51.
Life could be tough in the infantry!
(LIFE / Mydans)
"Canon Ball"....an M19 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage in Korea, February 1951.
Although its crew are well-equipped for winter weather with their parkas, it must have been pretty darned cold manning an open-topped vehicle in such conditions!
The M19 was a late WW2 design which utilised the modified chassis of the M24 Chaffee light tank fitted with a turret mounting twin 40mm Bofors.
However, it arrived a little too late for deployment in WW2 so made its combat debut in Korea.
Like the M16 Quad MGMC, the M19 was used primarily against ground targets and with equally devastating results.
(LIFE / Mydans)
Welcome to Korea!
A lone OD M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage stands out against the stark, wintry, Korean landscape.
The M16 was originally designed in WW2 for mobile a/a defence. Its quad .50s could pour out a lot of lead!
However, as the threat posed by the Luftwaffe receded it was more commonly used against ground targets, earning itself a fearsome reputation and the gruesome nickname "Meat Chopper"!
The same applied in Korea where the threat from the air was minimal. It proved very effective at dealing with attacks by massed Communist infantry!
(LIFE / Mydans 01-51)
Lieutenant-General Edward "Ned" Almond, Commander of the US Army's X Corps, Korea 1951.
L-G Almond led "X Force" during the landings at Inchon.
Subsequently "X Force" was re-designated X Corps.
Unusually, L-G Almond wears a pile parka liner as an outer garment. This was designed to be worn under a windproof OG cotton sateen parka shell.
He displays the three stars of his rank on the upturned peak of his WW2 pattern pile cap.
(LIFE / Mydans)
A portrait of Brigadier Frank S. Bowen Jr., during his tenure of command of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team ( "Rakkasans") 11th Airborne Division, Korea 1951.
Brigadier-General Bowen wears his rank star and parachute qualification wings pinned through the peak of his WW2 pattern pile cap.
His name is stenciled on a strip of engineer tape and sewn to his parka shell.
He wears USAF pattern aviators' sunglasses.
The 187th...or "Rakkasans"...became famous as the only US Army airborne unit to make several combat jumps during the Korean War.
As a career officer, B-G Bowen went on to hold a number of high-profile commands post-Korea including command of the 101st Airborne Division in 1955.
(LIFE / Mydans)
A very striking and symbolic photograph from Korea, circa 1951.
Both the M1 helmet shell and liner show evidence of having being penetrated by rounds of ammunition...the entry hole and exit holes are clearly visible on the shell.
The fate of the wearer(s) is unknown.
The best case scenario is that the round maybe just passed right through and creased their scalp as a properly adjusted M1 does have some head-space. In fact, there are several famous images of WW2 GIs holding their M1 helmets which were similarly penetrated.
The worst case scenario is that the results were, sadly, fatal.
(LIFE / Mydans)
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