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USAF units and aircraft of the Korean War

The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was significant in the fact that it was the first war in which the newly independent United States Air Force was involved.

It was the first time U.S. jet aircraft entered into battle. Designed as a direct response to the Soviet MiG-15, the F-86 Sabre jets effectively countered these aircraft, tactics, and, on some occasions, pilots of the Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation Corps. World War II-era prop-driven P-51D Mustangs were pressed into the ground-air support role, and large formations of B-29 Superfortress bombers flew for the last time on strategic bombardment missions. The Korean War also saw the first large-scale use of rotary-wing helicopters.

The US suffered 4,055 service personnel killed and 2,714 aircraft lost with the USAF suffering 1,841 battle casualties, of which 1,180 were killed in action.

Overview
Shaped in World War II by an increasing concentration on the strategic role of attacking an enemy's homeland, the Air Force now faced a conflict almost entirely tactical in character and limited as to how and where airpower could be applied. The Far East Air Forces Fifth Air Force was the command and control organization for USAF forces engaged in combat. Its units were located in Korea and Japan. Fighter and troop carrier wings from Tactical Air Command and federalized Air National Guard units from the United States deployed to the Far East and reinforced FEAF units engaged in combat. These tactical units conducted interdiction strikes on supply lines, attacked dams that irrigated North Korea's rice crops and flew missions in close support of United Nations ground forces. AT-6 Mosquitoes, trainers used as airborne controllers, provided communication links between ground troops and supporting aircraft.

Although President Truman wasn't willing to risk extensive use of the U.S. bomber force, which was being used as a deterrent for possible Soviet aggression in Europe, a few groups of Strategic Air Command aging B-29 Superfortress bombers that were not part of the nuclear strike force were released for combat over the skies of Korea. Many of these B-29s were war-weary and brought out of five years of storage. These bombers were employed effectively against North Korean military installations, government centers and transportation networks.

As with the rest of the American armed forces, the Air Force was not well prepared for battle at the western rim of the Pacific. Yet despite these limitations, the Air Force responded quickly and effectively, proving in many ways the utility of airpower in modern war. With virtually no warning, the Air Force commenced operations within the first week. It transported troops and equipment from Japan to Korea, evacuated American nationals, provided significant intelligence through aerial reconnaissance, and most importantly helped to slow the North Korean advance so that the United Nations forces could construct a defensive position on the peninsula.

Effects
The Korean War signalled the end of widespread use of prop-driven combat aircraft by the active-duty USAF and signalled the primacy of jet-powered aircraft. All F-82 Twin Mustangs had been removed from the theater by 1952 and F-51D Mustang strength had been cut in Korea from 190 to 65. First generation straight-winged F-80C Shooting Star and F-84E/G Thunderjet jet aircraft were shown inadequate against the Soviet MiG-15s. However, the swept-wing F-86 Sabre proved more effective, bringing a new generation of swept-wing aircraft into the USAF arsenal in the 1950s.

However prop-driven aircraft continued in the specialized role of counterinsurgency aircraft (A-1 Skyraider, A-26A Invader) by the 56th Special Operations Wing which were flown over Laos during the Vietnam War. (The F-51D/H Mustang was used by some ANG units in the Air Defense role, but by 1957 it was out of the inventory).

With the end of fighting in Korea, President Eisenhower, who had taken office in January 1953, called for a "new look" at national defense. The result: a greater reliance on nuclear weapons and air power to deter war. His administration invested in the Air Force, especially Strategic Air Command. The nuclear arms race became of signal importance. The Air Force retired nearly all of its propeller-driven B-29/B-50s and they were replaced by new Boeing B-47 Stratojet aircraft. By 1955 the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress would be entering the inventory in substantial numbers, as the prop-driven B-36s were quickly phased out of heavy bombardment units.

Organization
During World War II, The Group, each with three or four flying squadrons, was the basic combat element of the Army Air Forces. This organization changed in 1947 when the new United States Air Forces adopted the wing-base plan. Each combat group then active received a controlling parent wing of the same number and nomenclature. The new wing also controlled three additional groups with the same number to operate the airbase, maintain the aircraft and provide medical care at the base. When combat forces began to fight the war in Korea, the USAF units did so in various organizational forms. In some cases, the combat arm of the wing plus a portion of the wing's supporting personnel deployed to the Korean theater, leaving the rest of the wing to operate the home base, to which the group returned after its tour of combat ended.

Early in the war, some combat group deployed and operated under other wings, including temporary four-digit wings. In December 1950, those groups' aligned (same number) parent wing moved on paper from their previous bases and replaced the temporary wing in combat. The personnel of the temporary wing's headquarters were reassigned to the headquarters of its replacement.

In 1951, the Strategic Air Command began to eliminate its combat group by reducing the group headquarters token strength and attaching the flying squadrons directly to the wing; therefore, wings replaced the medium bombardment groups attached to Far East Air Forces (FEAF) Bomber Command for combat. The groups were either inactivated or reduced in strength to one officer and one enlisted.

In most case, the personnel assigned to the group headquarters were simply reassigned to the wing headquarters which had moved on paper to the location of the headquarters. Most other combat organization in-theater continued to operate with both wing and group headquarters or with group headquarters only. In a few cases, individual squadron, such as the 319th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, were directly controlled by an organization higher than either wing or group level.

Types employed
F-51Ds, though obsolete as fighters, were better suited to the small airstrips of Korea than were the F-80s and F-82s based in Japan. Japan-based F-51Ds were immediately transferred to Korea and pressed into service in an attempt to halt the rapid North Korean advance. They carried out the majority of air support missions in the early days of the war, extant jet aircraft lacking the endurance to permit sufficient loiter time over the target. Although their primary mission was close support, USAF Mustangs did engage and shoot down several North Korean Yaks when these aircraft made their infrequent appearances. In instances where Mustangs were engaged by Chinese-piloted MiG-15 jet fighters, however, they were outmatched. Mustangs were however still able to perform well in the ground-attack role and substantial number were fitted with rockets and bombs. The Mustangs were instrumental in halting the North Korean advance, buying valuable time for United Nations forces to deploy. RF-51s were used for reconnaissance. The Shooting Star was operated extensively in Korea with the F-80C being instrumental in quickly gaining and maintaining air superiority over the Korean battlefield. The first jet versus jet aircraft battle took place on 8 November 1950 in which an F-80 shot down a MiG-15. However, the straight-wing F-80s were inferior in performance to the MiGs and were soon replaced in the air superiority role by the swept-wing F-86 Sabre. When sufficient Sabres were in operation, the Shooting Star was assigned to ground attack missions, primarily for low-level rocket, bomb, and napalm attacks on fixed targets. The Shooting Stars were superseded by later types as the Korean War proceeded. By the time of the armistice agreement of 27 July 1953, the only Shooting Stars still flying combat missions in Korea were RF-80As being used for reconnaissance. Because it carried a highly secret airborne radar system, the F-94s were at first not permitted to fly deep into enemy territory. However the F-94 radar proved ineffective on night missions against MiGs. Mounting losses of B-29 bombers following the Chinese and North Korean development of night interception tactics finally led to the lifting of this restriction in January 1953.
 * North American F-51D Mustang
 * Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star
 * Lockheed F-94B Starfire

Based in Japan, the F-82s were among the first USAF aircraft to operate over Korea. They were the only fighter aircraft available with the range to cover the entire Korean peninsula from bases in Japan. The first three North Korean airplanes destroyed by US forces were shot down by F-82s on 27 June 1950. However, the F-82 played a secondary role in Korea as compared with its distinguished predecessor, the single-engined P-51. The Twin Mustang saw extensive service in Korea initially for air to air and ground-attack work, but their suitability as night fighters caused them to be used mostly for defense purposes. 1951 was the last full year of F-82 operations in Korea, as a shortage of spare parts limited their operations along with them being replaced by the jet-powered F-94 Starfire. Twin Mustangs destroyed 20 enemy aircraft, four in the air and 16 on the ground during the conflict. By summer 1952, the last surviving Korean War veteran F-82s were withdrawn from combat. The F-84 arrived in Korea in December 1950. Initially assigned to B-29 escort duties, however, the F-84E proved too slow to match the swept-wing MiG-15, and MiGs were often able to outmanoeuvre the escort screen and make successful attacks on B-29s. F-84s were used to attack enemy airfields and other targets such as irrigation dams. The F-84 made daily attacks with bombs, rockets, and napalm on enemy railroads, bridges, supply depots, and troop concentrations. In two Thunderjet operations, attacks were made on Toksan Dam about 20 mi north of Pyongyang, and the Chasan Dam, a few miles to the east. The resulting floods extensively damaging rice fields, buildings, bridges, and roads. Most importantly, 2 main rail lines were disabled for several days. While unable to cope with the MiG-15 at high altitude, they were more effective at medium or low altitudes and scored several kills. RF-84s were used for reconnaissance. The F-86 Sabre survived many initial teething problems to become the premier USAF fighter of the Korean War. By the end of hostilities, all but one pilots in the UN airfleet, who claimed the status of ace flew a model of the F-86. Later models were more powerful and used both for air-to-air and ground support. The RF-86 was used for reconnaissance.
 * North American F-82F/G Twin Mustang
 * Republic F-84D/E Thunderjet
 * North American F-86A/E/F Sabre

Fighter units

 * 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing (Deployed) (F-86 Sabre)
 * Attached to Fifth Air Force, 28 November 1950 – 7 March 1955
 * Further attached to 314th Air Division 22 December 1950 – 7 May 1951
 * Further attached to 39th Air Division, 1–7 March 1955
 * Stationed at: Johnson AB, Japan, 28 November 1950; Suwon AB, South Korea, 7 May 1951; Kimpo AB, South Korea, 23 August 1951 – 1 October 1954

 * 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing (F-80 Shooting Star, F-82 Twin Mustang, F-86 Sabre)
 * Fifth Air Force, 1 March 1950 – 1 March 1955
 * Attached to 6131 Fighter [later, 6131 Tactical Support] Wing, 14 August-1 December 1950
 * Stationed at: Itazuke Air Field, Japan, 1 March 1950; Pyongyang, North Korea, 1 December 1950; Seoul AB, South Korea, 9 December 1950; Itazuke AB, Japan, 10 December 1950; Kimpo AB, South Korea, 25 June 1951; Suwon AB, South Korea, 23 August 1951 – 10 October 1954

 * 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing (F-51 Mustang, F-80 Shooting Star, F-86 Sabre)
 * Thirteenth Air Force, 1 June 1950
 * Attached to: Fifth Air Force, 28 July-3 August 1950
 * Attached to: 6002 Fighter [later, 6002 Tactical Support] Wing, 4 August-30 November 1950
 * Attached to: Fifth Air Force, 1 December 1950 – 31 October 1954
 * Stationed at: Pusan AB, South Korea, 1 December 1950; Pyongyang East, North Korea, 1 December 1950; Suwon AB, South Korea, 4 December 1950; Chinhae, South Korea, 10 December 1950; Osan-ni, South Korea, 26 December 1952 – 1 November 1954

 * 27th Fighter-Escort Wing (Deployed) (F-84 Thunderjet)
 * Attached to Far East Air Forces, 19–29 November 1950
 * Attached to Fifth Air Force, 30 November 1950 – 15 July 1951
 * 42d Air Division, 6 August 1951
 * Attached to Far East Air Forces, 6–13 October 1952
 * Attached to 39th Air Division [Defense], 13 October 1952-c. 13 February 1953
 * Stationed at: Taegu AB, South Korea, 5 December 1950; Itazuke AB, Japan, 31 January-2 July 1951; Bergstrom AFB, TX, 6 July 1951 – 16 June 1952. Misawa AB, Japan during 6 October 1952 – 13 February 1953

 * 35th Fighter-Interceptor Wing (F-51 Mustang, F-80 Shooting Star, F-82 Twin Mustang, F-94 Starfire)
 * Fifth Air Force, 1 March 1950
 * 314th Air Division, 25 May 1951
 * Japan Air Defense Force, 1 March 1952
 * Fifth Air Force, 1 September 1954
 * Stationed at: Yokoto AB, Japan, 1 April 1950; Johnson AB, Japan, 14 August 1950; Yongho, North Korea, 1 December 1950; Pusan AB, South Korea, c. 7 December 1950; Johnson AB, Japan, 25 May 1951 – 1 October 1954

 * 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing (F-51 Mustang, F-80 Shooting Star, F-84 Thunderjet)
 * Fifth Air Force, 1 March 1950
 * Attached to 58 Fighter-Bomber Wing, 16–31 March 1953
 * Japan Air Defense Force, 1 April 1953
 * Attached to Fifth Air Force, 1 April-7 November 1953
 * Stationed at: Misawa AB, Japan, 18 August 1948; Taegu AB, South Korea, 1 December 1950; Tsuki AB, Japan, 26 January 1951; Taegu AB, South Korea, 24 February 1951; Kunsan AB, South Korea, 1 April 1953 – 7 November 1953

 * 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing (F-80 Shooting Star, F-82 Twin Mustang, F-86 Sabre)
 * Twentieth Air Force, 16 May 1949
 * Attached to Fifth Air Force, 25 September 1950 – 1 August 1954
 * Further attached to 8 Fighter-Bomber Wing, 25 September-12 October 1950
 * Stationed at: Naha Afld (later, AB), Okinawa, 18 August 1948; Itazuke AB, Japan, 22 September 1950; Kimpo AB, South Korea, 10 October 1950; Itazuke AB, Japan, 10 December 1950; Tsuiki AB, Japan, 15 January 1951; Suwon AB, South Korea, 1 October 1951 – 26 July 1954

 * 58th Fighter-Bomber Wing (Deployed) (F-84 Thunderjet)
 * Tactical Air Command, 10 July 1952
 * Attached to Fifth Air Force, 10 July 1952 – 28 February 1955
 * Stationed at: Itazuke AB, Japan, 10 July 1952; Taegu AB, South Korea, August 1952– 15 March 1955

 * 116th Fighter-Bomber Wing (Deployed) (F-84 Thunderjet)
 * Federalized Georgia Air National Guard
 * Assigned to Tactical Air Command, October 1950
 * Attached to Far East Air Forces, July 1951
 * Further Attached to Fifth Air Force, July 1951 – 10 July 1952
 * Released from Active Service 10 July 1952
 * Stationed at: Itazuke AB, Japan

 * 136th Fighter-Bomber Wing (Deployed) (F-84 Thunderjet)
 * Federalized Texas Air National Guard
 * Consisted of:
 * 111th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (Ellington Field, Houston)
 * 182nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron (Brooks Air Force Base)
 * 154th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (Little Rock Airport)
 * Assigned to Tactical Air Command 27 June 1950
 * Attached to Far East Air Forces, 1951
 * Further Attached to Fifth Air Force, July 1951 – 10 July 1952
 * Released from Active Service 1952
 * Stationed at: Itazuke AB, Japan

 * 474th Fighter-Bomber Wing (Deployed) (F-84 Thunderjet)
 * Activated 10 July 1952, assigned to Tactical Air Command
 * Attached to Far East Air Forces,
 * Further Attached to Fifth Air Force, August 1952 – November 1954
 * Stationed at: Misawa, Japan, 10 July 1952; Kunsan, Korea, 10 July 1952; Taegu, Korea, 1 April 1953 – 22 November 1954

 * 319th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (Deployed) (F-94 Starfire)
 * Assigned to Strategic Air Command, 90th Bombardment Wing
 * Attached to Far East Air Forces,
 * Further Attached to Fifth Air Force, February 1952 – June 1953
 * Stationed at: Suwon AB, South Korea, (March 1952 – June 1953)

Source for unit history:

Types employed
By 1950, the B-29s had been reclassified as "medium" bombers, their long-range strategic mission having been taken over by the B-36 and B-50. Many aircraft were retrieved from postwar storage and refurbished. At least 16 B-29s were shot down over North Korea, and as many as 48 were lost in crash landings or written off because of heavy damage after returning to base. When the Korean War ended on 27 July 1953, the B-29s had flown over 21,000 sorties, nearly 167,000 tons of bombs had been dropped, and 34 B-29s had been lost in combat (16 to fighters, four to flak, and fourteen to other causes). B-29 gunners had accounted for 34 Communist fighters (16 of these being MiG-15s) probably destroyed another 17 (all MiG-15s) and damaged 11 (all MiG-15s). Losses were less than 1 per 1000 sorties. The bombers were also used as reconnaissance (RB-29), weather (WB-29), and rescue aircraft (SB-29).
 * Boeing B-29 Superfortress

When the North Korean army invaded the South on 25 June 1950, the USAF was critically short of light bombers. The B-26 Invaders in Japan proved to be invaluable in the night interdiction role, and it fell to the B-26 to fly the first and the last bombing missions of the Korean War. Their first mission was on 28 June 1950 when they attacked railroads supplying enemy forces. Their first attack against North Korea was on 29 June, when they bombed Pyongyang Air Base, the main airfield in Pyongyang. The Invaders flew some 60,000 sorties and were credited with the destruction of 38,500 vehicles, 3,700 railway cars, and 406 locomotives. The B-26 had the honor of flying the last combat sortie of the Korean War, when, 24 minutes before the Armistice Agreement went into effect on 27 July 1953 a B-26 of the 3rd BW dropped the last bombs of the Korean war. The bombers were also used for reconnaissance, as RB-26s.
 * Douglas B-26B/C Invader

Bombardment units
Far East Air Forces (FEAF)
 * Far East Air Force Bomber Command
 * Twentieth Air Force
 * Kadena Air Base, Okinawa
 * 19th Bombardment Group (B-29) (June 1950 – May 1954)
 * 28th Bombardment Squadron
 * 30th Bombardment Squadron
 * 93d Bombardment Squadron
 * Inactivated 19th BW assigned to SAC, June 1954

Strategic Air Command (SAC)
 * Attached to: Far East Air Force Bomber Command

 * Kadena Air Base, Okinawa
 * 22d Bombardment Group (B-29), (Jul–October 1950)
 * 2d Bombardment Squadron
 * 19th Bombardment Squadron
 * 33d Bombardment Squadron
 * 307th Bombardment Group (B-29), (August 1950 – November 1954)
 * 370th Bombardment Squadron
 * 371st Bombardment Squadron
 * 372d Bombardment Squadron

 * Yokota Air Base, Japan
 * 92d Bombardment Group (B-29), (July–October 1950)
 * 325th Bombardment Squadron
 * 326th Bombardment Squadron
 * 327th Bombardment Squadron
 * 98th Bombardment Group (B-29), (August 1950 – July 1954)
 * 342d Bombardment Squadron
 * 343d Bombardment Squadron
 * 344th Bombardment Squadron
 * 345th Bombardment Squadron

Fifth Air Force
 * 3d Bombardment Wing (B-26 Invader) 1 March 1950 – 1 March 1955
 * Stationed at: Johnson AB, Japan, 1 April 1950; Yokota AB, Japan, 14 August 1950; Iwakuni AB, Japan, 1 December 1950; Kunsan AB, South Korea, 22 August 1951 – 1 October 1954

 * 17th Bombardment Wing (B-26 Invader) 10 May 1952 – 16 March 1955
 * Stationed at: Pusan-East AB, South Korea, 10 May 1952 – 10 October 1954

 * 452d Bombardment Wing (B-26 Invader) 15 November 1950 – 10 May 1952
 * Attached to: 8 Fighter-Bomber Wing, 15–30 November 1950
 * Attached to: 314th Air Division, 1 December 1950 – 10 May 1952
 * Stationed at: Itazuke AB, Japan, 26 October 1950; Miho AB, Japan, c. 10 December 1950 ;Pusan-East AB, South Korea, 23 May 1951 – 10 May 1952

Source for unit history:

Types employed
The RF-51D was the photo-reconnaissance version of the P-51D, known as the F-6A in World War II. During the advance and later the retreat of U.N. forces into and out of North Korea that fall and winter of 1950, the RF-51 performed many deep penetrations for armed reconnaissance far north of the battle zone into what would become known as "MiG Alley." They were among the first Mustangs to be hunted by MiG-15s; it was only the fact that the unit pilots were experienced Second World War combat veterans that they were able to avoid losses in those combats. The Air Force began exchanging their RF-51Ds for RF-80As in the fall of 1952. By the end of the Korean War all had been taken out of the inventory. 66 production P-80A fighters were converted by Lockheed into reconnaissance aircraft and given the designation RF-80A-15-LO. The RF-80A proved itself in combat during the Korean War and took part in numerous sorties over North Korea as well as sorties along the border with North Korea and China, near the Yalu River. In 1953, several F-86Fs were fitted a suite of photo-reconnaissance cameras at the Tsuiki REMCO facility in Japan, in a project code-named *Haymaker*. All armament, radars, and gunsights were removed, and a camera suite fitted. In spite of the success of the RF-86 in combat, the USAF opted for the Republic RF-84F Thunderflash as its next-generation tactical reconnaissance aircraft. The Boeing B-17 was adapted for photographic mapping by having its bombing equipment deleted and replaced by photographic equipment. Some cameras were installed in the nose and in the aft fuselage as well. The RB-17G was operated in the Korean theater by the 6204th Photo Mapping Flight for three months in 1950 before being replaced. The 3rd Air Rescue Group used the SB-17G which was a B-17 modified to carry a lifeboat under the fuselage for air/sea rescue. SB-17s operating in Korean waters were refitted with cheek, waist, and tail guns for defensive purposes.
 * RF-51D Mustang
 * RF-80A Shooting Star
 * RF-86A/F Sabre
 * Boeing RB/SB-17G Flying Fortress

Nearly 120 B-29s were converted to the reconnaissance configuration and redesignated as RB-29s. The RB-29s were assigned to the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, which like other SAC units played a crucial role during the Korean War. In November 1950, MiG-15s jumped a flak-damaged 91st SRS RB-29 near the Yalu river. In the ensuing aerial battle, the RB-29 rear gunner shot down one of the MiGs – the first MiG-15 shot down by a B-29 gunner. The RB-29 limped back to Johnson AB, Japan and five crewmen were killed when it crashed during landing. The immediate answer to the vulnerabilities of the RB-29's was the modified RB-50A, being an uprated version of the B-29. The RB-50As operated out of Yokota AB, Japan, and was assigned to USAF's 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron. The Tornado was the first USAF four-jet bomber, and although the B-45 was available for combat in Korea, it was the RB-45 reconnaissance version that was used. First flown in April 1950, the Tornados managed to outrun and outmaneuver MiG's on numerous occasions, however they too eventually became targets. Many of these early missions were escorted by fighter aircraft and an eventual shift was made to night operations. The RB-45 operated out of Yokota AB Japan with the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron along with the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing in Korea. The Peacemaker was used for strategic reconnaissance. In late 1952, six RB-36's were sent to Yokota Air Base, Japan with the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron to fly high altitude reconnaissance over Manchuria. In addition to bomb damage assessment, targeting and aerial photography for Far East Air Forces, the 91st conducted ELINT (Electronic Signals Intelligence) and "ferret" missions to probe Soviet air defenses in theater and give an indication of just where the holes were in Soviet radar coverage. The 91st SRS conducted the first ferret missions ever conducted by the USAF.
 * RB-29 Superfortress
 * Boeing RB-50A Superfortress
 * North American RB-45C Tornado
 * Convair RB-36D Peacemaker

Reconnaissance units

 * 543d Tactical Support Group (RB-26 Invader, RF-80A Shooting Star, RF-51D Mustang)
 * Fifth Air Force
 * Temporary Wartime Unit Consisted of:
 * 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Photographic
 * 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
 * 162nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Night Photographic
 * 6166th Air Weather Reconnaissance Flight
 * Stationed at: Itazuke AB, Japan, September – October 1950; Taegu AB, South Korea (K-37), October 1950 – January 1951; Komaki AB, Japan, – 25 January February 1951
 * Unit inactivated 25 February 1951 – replaced by 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing

 * 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (RB-26 Invader, RF-80A Shooting Star, RF-51D Mustang, RF-86A/F Sabre)
 * Fifth Air Force, 25 February 1951 – 6 December 1954
 * Stationed at: Komaki AB, Japan February–March 1951; Taegu AB, South Korea March–August 1951; Kimpo AB, South Korea August 1951 – December 1954

 * 31st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (RB-29 Superfortress)
 * Far East Air Forces 29 June – 15 November 1950,
 * Reassigned to Japan from Kadena AB, Okinawa
 * Stationed at: Johnson AB, Japan 29 June – 15 November 1950
 * Unit reassigned to 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Beale AFB, California. Replaced by 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron

 * 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (RB-29/RB-50 Superfortress, RB-45 Tornado, WB-26 Invader, KB-29 Superfortress (Tanker) and RB-36 Peacekeeper)
 * Far East Air Forces 15 November 1950 – 1954
 * Activated in Japan
 * Stationed at: Johnson AB, Japan November 1950, Yokota AB, Japan November 1950 – 1954

 * 512th Reconnaissance Squadron (RB/WB–29 Superfortress)
 * Far East Air Forces 27 January 1950 – 20 February 1951
 * Performed weather reconnaissance
 * Stationed at: Yokota AB, Japan, 27 January 1950; Misawa AB, Japan, 11 August 1950 – 20 February 1951.
 * Replaced by 56th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron

 * 56th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (RB/WB–29 Superfortress)
 * Far East Air Forces 20 February 1951 – June 1952
 * Performed weather reconnaissance
 * Stationed at: Misawa AB, Japan, 20 February–September 1951; Yokota AB, Japan, September 1951 – June 1952

 * 6204th Photo Mapping Flight Detachment 1 (RB-17G Flying Fortress)
 * Far East Air Forces
 * Stationed at: Johnson AB, Japan July – November 1950

Source for unit history:

Types employed
Officially known as Skytrain but affectionately referred to as "Gooney Bird," the C-47 served in Korea as it had during World War II. During the Korean War, the C-47s hauled supplies, dropped paratroopers, evacuated the wounded, and pumped out flares to light the way for night bombing attacks. The C-119 Flying Boxcar (officially called C-119 Packet) was used extensively in the Korean War. Despite logistics problems that kept monthly flying time averages low, the C-119 worked well in Korea, In addition to airlifting supplies, the C-119s performed other tasks. For example, during Operation SNOWBALL in the fall of 1951, the 315th Air Division used the aircraft to drop napalm-filled 55-gallon drums on enemy troops. The C-119's greatest feat during the Korean War, however, was a mission to aid the retreat of United States Marine Corps and Army troops from Chosin in December 1950. Air Force C-119 "Flying Boxcars" dropped supplies to the US Marines, but on 7 and 8 December the Chinese closed the sack by blowing the bridge across an otherwise impassible 1500 ft-wide gorge south of Koto-ri. Without help, the Marines would be forced to leave behind their heavy equipment and make it out on foot, a trek many of the wounded and frostbitten would not survive. Air Force C-119s again answered the call and dropped eight two-ton spans of a treadway bridge for Marine engineers, who kept the column moving by bridging the gap under intense fire. A C-54 was the first USAF aircraft destroyed in the Korean War; one of the transports on the ground at Kimpo Airfield was strafed by North Korean aircraft on 25 June 1950. It was a Military Air Transport Service workhorse throughout the war.
 * Douglas C-47/C-53 Skytrain
 * Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
 * Douglas C-54 Skymaster

The World War II C-46 saw additional service during the Korean War being designed to carry troops or equipment and filled an airlift role in Korea, supplying everything from aircraft engines, ammunition, medical supplies, rations, and fresh fruit. The outbreak of the Korean War caught the US unprepared and scrambling for resources. C-46s were pulled out of mothballs or even bought back from commercial operators, and put into round-the-clock use with the USAF Combat Cargo Command. The C-46 was also used to spray insecticide over some parts of South Korea and to drop psychological warfare leaflets over North Korea. Performed heavy lift cargo operations to and from Korea. On 27 September 1951, a C-124A began FEAF-hosted service tests labeled Operation PELICAN. In a little over one month, the aircraft flew 26 missions between Japan and Korea, carrying an average load of 34,000 pounds, double the amount carried on the C-54. In one mission in 1951, a C-124 airlifted a record 167 patients from Pusan in South Korea. Unfortunately, because of the weight of the aircraft, it was limited to only four airstrips in Korea. A heavy-duty runway was constructed at Seoul Municipal Airport in October 1952, but logistical difficulties kept the C-124 from fulfilling its airlift potential. C-124s were used by the 374th Troop Carrier Wing and the 801st Medical Air Evacuation Squadron .
 * Curtiss C-46 Commando
 * Douglas C-124 Globemaster II

Transport units

 * 1st Troop Carrier Group (Provisional) (C-46 Commando, C-47 Skytrain)
 * Temporary unit assembled from
 * 46th Troop Carrier Squadron (P)
 * 47th Troop Carrier Squadron (P)
 * 48th Troop Carrier Squadron (P)
 * Stationed at: Ashiya AB, Japan, August 1950 – January 1951

 * 61st Troop Carrier Group, Heavy (C-54 Skymaster)
 * Far East Air Force Combat Cargo Command, Provisional, 10 December 1950 – 1 January 1951)
 * 1705 Air Transport Wing, 1 January 1951
 * Attached to: Far East Air Forces Combat Cargo Command, Provisional, 1–25 January 1951
 * Attached to: 315th Air Division, 25 January-1 October 1951
 * Eighteenth Air Force, 1 October 1951
 * Attached to: 315th Air Division, 1 October-5 November 1951
 * Attached to: 6122 Air Base Wing, 5 November 1951 – 26 March 1952
 * Attached to: 374th Troop Carrier Wing, 26 March-21 November 1952
 * Stationed at: Ashiya AB, Japan, 10 December 1950; Tachikawa AB, Japan, 26 March-15 November 1952

 * 314th Troop Carrier Group, Medium (C-82/C-119 Flying Boxcar)
 * Attached to: Far East Air Forces [FEAF], 7–9 September 1950
 * Attached to: FEAF Combat Cargo Command, 10 September-30 November 1950
 * Attached to: 314th Air Division, 1 December 1950 – 25 January 1951
 * Attached to: 315th Air Division [Combat Cargo], 25 January 1951-c. 1 November 1952
 * Attached to: 483rd Troop Carrier Wing, 1 January 1953 – 15 November 1954.
 * Stationed at: Ashiya AB, Japan, 7 September 1950 – 15 November 1954

 * 315th Troop Carrier Wing, Medium (C-46 Commando)
 * 315th Air Division, 10 June 1952 – 18 January 1955.
 * Stationed at: Brady AB, Japan, 10 June 1952 – 18 January 1955

 * 374th Troop Carrier Wing, Heavy (C-54 Skymaster)
 * Fifth Air Force, 5 March 1949
 * Attached to: 1 Troop Carrier Task Force [Provisional], 5–9 September 1950
 * Attached to: Far East Air Forces Combat Cargo Command, Provisional, 10 September 1950 – 1 December 1950
 * 314th Air Division, 1 December 1950
 * Remained attached to Far East Air Forces Combat Cargo Command, Provisional, to 25 January 1951
 * 315th Air Division (Combat Cargo), 25 January 1951 – 1 July 1957.
 * Stationed at: Tachikawa (later, Tachikawa AB), Japan, 5 March 1949 – 1 July 1957

 * 403d Troop Carrier Wing, Medium (C-54 Skymaster, C-46 Commando)
 * Eighteenth Air Force, 1 June 1951 – 1 January 1953
 * Attached to 315th Air Division, 14 April 1952 – 1 January 1953
 * Stationed at: Ashiya AB, Japan, 14 April 1952 – 1 January 1953

 * 1503rd Air Transport Wing, Heavy (C-118A Liftmaster)
 * Military Air Transport Service, June 1948
 * Stationed at: Haneda AB, Japan, 1946 – 1964

 * 437th Troop Carrier Wing, Medium (C-46 Commando)
 * Fifth Air Force, 8 November 1950
 * Attached to FEAF Combat Cargo Command, Provisional, 8 November 1950 – 1 December 1950
 * 314th Air Division, 1 December 1950
 * Remained attached to FEAF Combat Cargo Command, Provisional, through 24 January 1951
 * 315th Air Division (Combat Cargo), 25 January 1951 – 10 June 1952
 * Stationed at: Brady Field, Japan, 8 November 1950 – 10 June 1952

 * 483d Troop Carrier Wing, Medium (C-119 Flying Boxcar)
 * Tactical Air Command, 1 January 1953
 * Attached to 315th Air Division (Combat Cargo), 1 January 1953 – 30 June 1954
 * Stationed at: Ashiya AB, Japan, 1 January 1953 – 30 June 1954

Source for unit history:

Tactical air control units
The Texan trainer found a new life in Korea as a forward air control aircraft. To meet an urgent operational need for close air support of ground forces, the Texans flew "mosquito" missions, spotting enemy troops and guns and marking them with smoke rockets for USAF fighter attack. The T-6s of the 6147th Tactical Control Group performed invaluable work.
 * North American AT-6 Texan

Units that flew the AT-6 in Korea were:

 * 502nd Tactical Control Group
 * Temporary unit composed of:
 * 605th Tactical Control Squadron: duration.
 * 606th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: duration.
 * 607th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: duration.
 * 608th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: 2 November 1951–.
 * 6132d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: 9 October 1950 – 2 November 1951.
 * 1st Shoran Beacon Unit (later, Squadron): attached 27 September – 1 December 1950 and 6 September 1952–.
 * Stationed at: Pusan, South Korea, September – October 1950; Taegu, South Korea, October 1950; Seoul, South Korea, October 1950 – July 1953

 * 6147th Tactical Control Group
 * Temporary unit composed of:
 * 942nd Forward Air Control Squadron
 * 6148th Tactical Control Squadron
 * 6149th Tactical Control Squadron
 * 6150th Tactical Control Squadron
 * Stationed at: Taegu AB, South Korea, August – October 1950; Kimpo AB, South Korea October 1950; Seoul Afld, South Korea, October 1950; Pyongyang East Adrm, North Korea, October – November 1950; Taegu AB, South Korea, November 1950 – March 1951; Pyongtaek Adrm, South Korea, March 1951 – April 1952; Chunchon, South Korea, April 1952 – July 1953

Source for unit history:

Other units

 * 3rd Air Rescue Group
 * 1st Shoran Beacon Squadron
 * 5th Communications Group
 * 10th Liaison Squadron
 * 20th Weather Squadron Detachments
 * 30th Weather Squadron
 * 75th Air Depot Wing

 * 417th Engineer Aviation Brigade
 * 581st Air Resupply and Communications Wing
 * 801st Medical Air Evacuation Squadron
 * 3903rd Radar Bomb Scoring Group Detachments C (11), K (5), and N (22)
 * 6004th Air Intelligence Service Squadron Detachments 1, 2, 3, and 5
 * 6146th Air Force Advisory Group
 * 6167th Air Base Group
 * 6405th Korea Air Material Unit
 * 6408th Far East Air Force (FEAF) Engineering & Services Squadron

Source for unit history:

Temporary tactical support wings
In July 1950 United States Department of Defense planners did not foresee that the Korean campaign would be of long duration. Consequently, the Fifth Air Force modified its command structure only to meet immediate needs. When the time came to move tactical air units to Korean airfields, Fifth Air Force did not deploy its permanent wings because they were heavily committed to the air defense of Japan. Instead, it utilized temporary air base squadrons and air base units to support tactical units in Korea. By August, the situation called for larger organizations with greater allotments of personnel and equipment, and Fifth Air Force set up five temporary tactical support wings to support the combat groups.

Formed to assist in the projection of force to Korea, these temporary wings provided facilities, administration, services, and operational control for assigned and attached combat units. The task was formidable, for the installations the wings controlled were usually "bare base" operations with no amenities and only marginally serviceable airfields.

Logistically, poor roads and rail lines, limited port facilities, and overextended airlift hampered the wings. Organizationally, they were without regular status, such as authorization for personnel and equipment or for promotions. Even with these handicaps and hardships, the tactical support wings performed valiantly. They worked hard to make combat airfields operable and to provide the support and control combat units needed. They struggled to keep pace with the dynamically changing battle lines, opening new bases and forward operating locations as needed.

Their success bought time for the Fifth Air Force to reorganize, and on 1 December 1950, regular wings replaced them.

Organized effective 1 August 1950, at Taegu #1 AB (K-2), to support the 18th Fighter-Bomber Group. Forced to withdraw with its tactical units to Ashiya AB, Japan, on 8 August, it returned to Korea on 5 September and advanced to Pyongyang on 22 November. It retreated to Suwon AB (K-13) on 30 November, where it was replaced on 1 December 1950, by the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing. Organized effective 8 August 1950, at Pohang AB (K-3), to support the 8th Fighter-Bomber Group, the wing moved to Suwon AB on 7 October and to Kimpo AB (K-14) on 28 October. On 25 November, it advanced to Pyongyang AB (K-23), where it was replaced by the 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing effective 1 December 1950. This wing organized 12 August 1950 at Iwakuni AB, Japan, to support the 3d Bombardment Group and was replaced by the 3d Bombardment Wing on 1 December. Organized 5 September 1950 at Taegu AB (K-2) to support the 49th Fighter-Bomber Group, this wing was replaced by the 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing effective 1 December. Organized 5 September 1950 at Tsuiki AB, Japan, to support the 35th Fighter-Interceptor Group, the wing moved to Pohang AB (K-3) on 5 October and to Yonpo AB (K-27) on 27 November, where it was replaced by the 35th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 1 December.
 * 6002d Tactical Support Wing
 * 6131st Tactical Support Wing
 * 6133d Tactical Support Wing
 * 6149th Tactical Support Wing
 * 6150th Tactical Support Wing

Source for unit history:

Far East Air Force Korean airfields (K-sites)
During the Korean War, the large number of locations used for bases and the similarity of some geographical names prompted the Air Force to use alphanumeric identifiers for bases in addition to their proper designations. Under this system, each base in Korea received a "K number," simplifying positive identification when referring to the various bases. These are the known bases that the U.S. Far East Air Forces operated during the Korean War. The place name spellings used are those found in Fifth Air Force general orders designating the K-Sites and other official Fifth Air Force documents.

 * K-1 Pusan-West
 * K-2 Taegu (Taegu #1)
 * K-3 Pohang
 * K-4 Sachon
 * K-5 Taejon
 * K-6 Pyongtaek
 * K-7 Kwangju
 * K-8 Kunsan
 * K-9 Pusan-East
 * K-10 Chinhae
 * K-11 Urusan (Ulsan)
 * K-12 Mangun
 * K-13 Suwon
 * K-14 Kimpo
 * K-15 Mokpo
 * K-16 Seoul
 * K-17 Ongjin (Oshin)
 * K-18 Kangnung (Koryo)
 * K-19 Haeju (Kaishu)

 * K-20 Sinmak
 * K-21 Pyonggang
 * K-22 Onjong-ni
 * K-23 Pyongyang
 * K-24 Pyongyang East
 * K-25 Wonsan
 * K-26 Sondok
 * K-27 Yonpo
 * K-28 Hamhung West
 * K-29 Sinanju
 * K-30 Sinuiju
 * K-31 Kilchu (Kisshu)
 * K-32 Oesichon-dong
 * K-33 Hoemun (Kaibun)
 * K-34 Chongjin (Seishin)
 * K-35 Hoeryong (Kainsei)
 * K-36 Kanggye
 * K-37 Taegu No. 2

 * K-38 Wonju AB
 * K-39 Cheju-do No. 1
 * K-40 Cheju-do No. 2
 * K-41 Chungju
 * K-42 Andong No. 2
 * K-43 Kyongju
 * K-44 Changhowon-ni
 * K-45 Yoju
 * K-46 Hoengsong
 * K-47 Chunchon
 * K-48 Iri
 * K-49 Yangsu-ri
 * K-50 Sokcho-ri
 * K-51 Inje
 * K-52 Yanggu
 * K-53 Paengyong-do
 * K-54 Cho-do
 * K-55 Osan-ni
 * K-57 Kwangju


text:
Jacamar

The jacamars are a family, Galbulidae, of birds from tropical South and Central America, extending up to Mexico. The family contains five genera and 18 species. The family is closely related to the puffbirds, another Neotropical family, and the two families are often separated into their own order, Galbuliformes, separate from the Piciformes. They are principally birds of low-altitude woodlands and forests, and particularly of forest edge and canopy.

Taxonomy
The placement of the combined puffbird and jacamar lineage was in question, with some bone and muscle features suggesting they may be more closely related to the Coraciiformes. However, analysis of nuclear DNA in a 2003 study placed them as sister group to the rest of the Piciformes, also showing that the groups had developed zygodactyl feet before separating. Per Ericson and colleagues, in analysing genomic DNA, confirmed that puffbirds and jacamars were sister groups and their place in Piciformes.

The phylogenetic relationship between the jacamars and the eight other families in the order Piciformes is shown in the cladogram below. The number of species in each family is taken from the list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela C. Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC).

Description
The jacamars are small to medium-sized perching birds, 14 - 34 cm in length and weighing 17 - 75 g. They are elegant, glossy birds with long bills and tails. In appearance and behaviour they resemble the Old World bee-eaters, as most aerial insectivores tend to have short, wide bills rather than long, thin ones. The legs are short and weak, and the feet are zygodactylic (two forward-pointing toes, two backward-pointing). Their plumage is often bright and highly iridescent, although it is quite dull in a few species. There are minor differences in plumage based on sex, males often having a white patch on the breast.

Diet and feeding
Jacamars are insectivores, taking a variety of insect prey (many specialize on butterflies and moths) by hawking in the air. Birds sit in favoured perches and sally towards the prey when it is close enough. Only the great jacamar varies from the rest of the family, taking prey by gleaning and occasionally taking small lizards and spiders.

Breeding
The breeding systems of jacamars have not been studied in depth. They are thought to generally be monogamous, although a few species are thought to engage in cooperative breeding sometimes, with several adults sharing duties. The family nests in holes either in the soil or in arboreal termite mounds. Ground-nesting species usually nest in the banks of rivers (or, more recently, roads), although if these are not available they will nest in the soil held by the roots of fallen trees. Bank-nesting jacamars can sometimes be loosely colonial. Clutch sizes are between one and four eggs, and usually more than one. Both parents participate in incubation. Little is known about the incubation times of most species, but it lasts between 19 and 26 days in the rufous-tailed jacamar. Chicks are born with down feathers, unique among the piciformes.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Jacamar


text:
U.S. Eighth Army Korean War order of battle

This is the US Eighth Army order of battle during the Korean War.

 * Eighth United States Army CSIB.svg US Eighth Army
 * U.S. I Corps CSIB.svg US I Corps 13 September 1950-End of war
 * 1st Cavalry Division Patch.svg US 1st Cavalry Division 13 September 1950-January 1951; April 1951-December 1951
 * 2nd-infantry-division-united-states-army-shoulder-indian-army.png US 2nd Infantry Division 23 July 1950-End of war
 * 3rd Infantry Division SSI (1918-2015).svg US 3rd Infantry Division January 1951-; -11 July 1952; -January 1953
 * 7th Infantry Division SSI (1973-2015).svg US 7th Infantry Division January 1953-End of war
 * 24 Infantry Division SSI.svg US 24th Infantry Division 13 September 1950-January 1951; -January 1953
 * 25th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia.png US 25th Infantry Division January 1951-March 1952; January 1953-
 * 45th Infantry insignia (thunderbird).svg US 45th Infantry Division December 1951-January 1953
 * First Marine Division insignia.png US 1st Marine Division January 1953-End of war
 * British 27th Infantry Brigade Post War.svg British 27th Infantry Brigade 13 September 1950-January 1951
 * SSI of the 1st Commonwealth Division.svg British 1st Commonwealth Division March 1952-January 1953
 * ROKA 1st Infantry Division Insignia.svg ROK 1st Infantry Division 13 September 1950-April 1951; March 1952-End of war
 * 2division.png ROK 2nd Infantry Division January 1953-End of war
 * 8th Infantry Division (South Korea).svg ROK 8th Infantry Division March 1952-January 1953
 * ROKA 9th Infantry Division Insignia.svg ROK 9th Infantry Division March 1952-January 1953
 * ROKA 25th Infantry Division Insignia.svg ROK 25th Infantry Division January 1953-End of war
 * US IX Corps SSI.png US IX Corps 23 September 1950-End of war
 * 5INF DUI.png 5th Regimental Combat Team January 1952-
 * 187INF DUI.png US 187th Regimental Combat Team January 1951-March 1951
 * 1st Cavalry Division Patch.svg US 1st Cavalry Division January 1951-January 1952
 * 2nd-infantry-division-united-states-army-shoulder-indian-army.png US 2nd Infantry Division 23 September 1950 -January 1951; March 1952-January 1953
 * 3rd Infantry Division SSI (1918-2015).svg US 3rd Infantry Division -End of war
 * 7th Infantry Division SSI (1973-2015).svg US 7th Infantry Division March 1951-January 1953
 * 24 Infantry Division SSI.svg US 24th Infantry Division January 1951-January 1952
 * 25th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia.png US 25th Infantry Division 23 September 1950-January 1951
 * 40th Infantry Division CSIB.svg US 40th Infantry Division March 1952-January 1953
 * 45th Infantry insignia (thunderbird).svg US 45th Infantry Division January 1952-March 1952
 * First Marine Division insignia.png US 1st Marine Division January 1951-March 1951
 * British 27th Infantry Brigade Post War.svg British 27th Infantry Brigade 17 February 1951-
 * ROKA Capital Mechanized Infantry Division Insignia.svg ROK Capital Division March 1952-End of war
 * 2division.png ROK 2nd Infantry Division March 1951-January 1952; March 1952-January 1953
 * ROKA 3rd Infantry Division Insignia.svg ROK 3rd Infantry Division March 1952-January 1953
 * ROK 6th Infantry Division.svg ROK 6th Infantry Division January 1951-January 1952
 * ROKA 9th Infantry Division Insignia.svg ROK 9th Infantry Division January 1953-End of war
 * US X Corps SSI.png US X Corps 15 September 1950-End of war
 * 2nd-infantry-division-united-states-army-shoulder-indian-army.png US 2nd Infantry Division April 1951-March 1952
 * 3rd Infantry Division SSI (1918-2015).svg US 3rd Infantry Division 24 December 1950-April 1951
 * 7th Infantry Division SSI (1973-2015).svg US 7th Infantry Division 15 September 1950-April 1951
 * 25th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia.png US 25th Infantry Division March 1952-January 1953
 * 40th Infantry Division CSIB.svg US 40th Infantry Division January 1953-End of war
 * 45th Infantry insignia (thunderbird).svg US 45th Infantry Division January 1953-End of war
 * First Marine Division insignia.png US 1st Marine Division 15 September 1950-December 1950; -January 1953
 * 2division.png ROK 2nd Infantry Division October 1950-March 1952
 * ROKA 5th Infantry Division Insignia.svg ROK 5th Infantry Division October 1950-April 1951
 * ROK 6th Infantry Division.svg ROK 6th Infantry Division March 1952-January 1953
 * 7사단.svg ROK 7th Infantry Division April 1951-End of war
 * 8th Infantry Division (South Korea).svg ROK 8th Infantry Division October 1950-April 1951; -March 1952
 * ROKA 12th Infantry Division Insignia.svg ROK 12th Infantry Division January 1953-End of war
 * ROKA 20th Mechanized Infantry Division Insignia.svg ROK 20th Infantry Division January 1953-End of war


text:
U.S. Seventh Fleet Korean War order of battle

This is the United States Seventh Fleet Korean War order of battle.

 * Task Force 70
 * Task Group 70.6 Fleet Air Wing One
 * VP-1 7 August 1950 – 13 November 1950; April 1951 – 29 August 1951
 * VP-6 27 July 1951 – 15 January 1952
 * VP-28 14 July 1950 – 10 August 1950; 28 March 1951 – 11 October 1951; 26 May 1952 – 1 December 1952
 * VP-28 Detachment Able 11 October 1951 – 13 December 1951
 * VP-42 19 July 1950 – 10 August 1950
 * VP-46 1 December 1950 – 6 February 1951
 * VP-47 Detachment 7 July 1950 – 1 January 1951
 * VP-731 7 February 1951 – 13 August 1951
 * VP-892 12 February 1952 – 18 September 1952
 * Fleet Air Wing Six 4 August 1950 – End of war
 * VP-1 29 March 1952 – 5 October 1952; 27 May 1953 – End of war
 * VP-2 1 August 1951 – 2 December 1951
 * VP-6 7 July 1950 – 12 February 1951
 * VP-7 28 June 1953 – End of war
 * VP-9 27 June 1952 – 3 January 1953
 * VP-17 4 February 1953 – 1 August 1953
 * VP-29 27 September 1952 – 5 April 1953
 * VP-40 15 May 1951 – 12 December 1951
 * VP-42 11 August 1950 – 9 April 1951; 22 November 1951 – 11 June 1952
 * VP-46 25 September 1951 – 2 April 1952; 1 March 1953 – End of war
 * VP-47 Detachment 7 July 1950 – 1 January 1951; 26 July 1951 – 4 March 1952; 22 November 1952 – 1 June 1953
 * VP-50 Detachment 1 June 1953 – End of war
 * VP-731 29 May 1952 – 8 December 1952
 * VP-772 1 January 1951 – 3 August 1951
 * VP-871 October 1951 – 7 July 1952
 * VP-892 23 November 1950 – 9 June 1951
 * No. 88 Squadron RAF Detachment
 * No. 205 Squadron RAF Detachment
 * No. 209 Squadron RAF Detachment
 * Task Force 72 Formosa Patrol 12 September 1950
 * Task Force 77
 * Carrier Division One (USN)
 * USS Essex 18 August 1951 – 7 March 1952
 * US Air Group Five
 * Carrier Division Three (USN)
 * Carrier Division Five
 * USS Essex 27 July 1952 –
 * Cruiser Division One
 * Cruiser Division Three
 * Cruiser Division Five
 * USS Essex 26 June 1951 – 25 March 1952; 16 June 1952 – 6 February 1953
 * USS Boxer 24 August 1950 – 11 November 1950; 2 March 1951 – 24 October 1951; 8 February 1952 – 26 September 1952; 30 March 1953 – End of war
 * USS Bon Homme Richard 10 May 1951 – 17 December 1951; 20 May 1952 – 8 January 1953
 * USS Leyte 6 September 1950 – 3 February 1951
 * USS Kearsarge 11 August 1952 – 17 March 1953
 * USS Oriskany 15 September 1952 – 18 May 1953
 * USS Antietam 8 September 1951 – 2 May 1952
 * USS Princeton 9 November 1950 – 29 May 1951; 31 May 1951 – 29 August 1951; 21 March 1952 – 3 November 1952; 24 January 1953 – End of war
 * USS Lake Champlain 26 April 1953 – End of war
 * USS Valley Forge 25 June 1950 – 1 December 1950; 6 December 1950 – 7 April 1951; 15 October 1951 – 3 July 1952; 20 November 1952 – 25 June 1953
 * USS Philippine Sea 5 July 1950 – 26 March 1951; 28 March 1951 – 9 June 1951; 31 December 1951 – 8 August 1952; 15 December 1952 – End of war
 * USS Bataan 16 November 1950 – 25 June 1951; 27 January 1952 – 26 August 1952; 28 October 1952 – 26 May 1953
 * Task Group 77.3 Formosa Patrol 20 July 1950 – 11 September 1950
 * Task Group 77.7 Replenishment Group
 * Task Force 79 Service Squadron 3 21 July 1950


text:
Nixon in China

Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams's first opera, it was inspired by U.S. president Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.

To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as minimalist, the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action.

Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded at least five times. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera.

Historical background

During his rise to power, Richard Nixon became known as a leading anti-communist. After he became president in 1969, Nixon saw advantages in improving relations with China and the Soviet Union; he hoped that détente would put pressure on the North Vietnamese to end the Vietnam War, and he might be able to manipulate the two main communist powers to the benefit of the United States.

Nixon laid the groundwork for his overture to China even before he became president, writing in Foreign Affairs a year before his election: "There is no place on this small planet for a billion of its potentially most able people to live in angry isolation." Assisting him in this venture was his National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, with whom the President worked closely, bypassing Cabinet officials. With relations between the Soviet Union and China at a nadir—border clashes between the two took place during Nixon's first year in office—Nixon sent private word to the Chinese that he desired closer relations. A breakthrough came in early 1971, when Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong invited a team of American table tennis players to visit China and play against top Chinese players. Nixon followed up by sending Kissinger to China for clandestine meetings with Chinese officials.

The announcement that Nixon would visit China in 1972 made world headlines. Almost immediately, the Soviet Union also invited Nixon for a visit, and improved US-Soviet relations led to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT). Nixon's visit to China was followed closely by many Americans, and the scenes of him there were widely aired on television. Chinese premier Zhou Enlai stated that the handshake he and Nixon had shared on the airport tarmac at the beginning of the visit was "over the vastest distance in the world, 25 years of no communication". Nixon's change, from virulent anti-communist to the American leader who took the first step in improving relations with a great communist power, led to a new political adage, "Only Nixon could go to China."

Inception
In 1983, theater and opera director Peter Sellars proposed to American composer John Adams that he write an opera about Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Sellars was intrigued by Nixon's decision to make the visit, seeing it as both "a ridiculously cynical election ploy ... and a historical breakthrough". Adams, who had not previously attempted an opera, was initially skeptical, assuming that Sellars was proposing a satire. Sellars persisted, however, and Adams, who had interested himself in the origin of myths, came to believe the opera could show how mythic origins may be found in contemporary history. Both men agreed that the opera would be heroic in nature, rather than poking fun at Nixon or Mao. Sellars invited Alice Goodman to join the project as librettist, and the three met at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 1985 to begin intensive study of the six characters, three American and three Chinese, upon whom the opera would focus. The trio endeavored to go beyond the stereotypes about figures such as Nixon and Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao and to examine their personalities.

As Adams worked on the opera, he came to see Nixon, whom he had once intensely disliked, as an "interesting character", a complicated individual who sometimes showed emotion in public. Adams wanted Mao to be "the Mao of the huge posters and Great Leap Forward; I cast him as a heldentenor". Mao's wife, on the other hand, was to be "not just a shrieking coloratura, but also someone who in the opera's final act can reveal her private fantasies, her erotic desires, and even a certain tragic awareness. Nixon himself is a sort of Simon Boccanegra, a self-doubting, lyrical, at times self-pitying melancholy baritone."

Goodman explained her characterizations:

"A writer tends to find her characters in her self, so I can tell you ... that Nixon, Pat, Mme. Mao, Kissinger and the chorus were all 'me.' And the inner lives of Mao and Chou En-Lai, who I couldn't find in myself at all, were drawn from a couple of close acquaintances."

Sellars, who was engaged at the time in staging the three Mozart-Da Ponte operas, became interested in the ensembles in those works; this interest is reflected in Nixon in China's final act. The director encouraged Adams and Goodman to make other allusions to classical operatic forms; thus the expectant chorus that begins the work, the heroic aria for Nixon following his entrance, and the dueling toasts in the final scene of Act 1. In rehearsal, Sellars revised the staging for the final scene, changing it from a banquet hall in the aftermath of a slightly alcohol-fueled dinner to the characters' bedrooms.

The work required sacrifices: Goodman later noted that choruses which she loved were dropped for the improvement of the opera as a whole. The work provoked bitter arguments among the three. Nevertheless, musicologist Timothy Johnson, in his 2011 book about Nixon in China, noted "the result of the collaboration betrays none of these disagreements among its creators who successfully blended their differing points of view into a very satisfyingly cohesive whole".

Synopsis

 * Time: February 1972.
 * Place: In and around Peking.

Act 1
At Peking Airport, contingents of the Chinese military await the arrival of the American presidential aircraft "Spirit of '76", carrying Nixon and his party. The military chorus sings the Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention. After the aircraft touches down, Nixon emerges with Pat Nixon and Henry Kissinger. The president exchanges stilted greetings with the Chinese premier, Chou En-lai, who heads the welcoming party. Nixon speaks of the historical significance of the visit, and of his hopes and fears for the encounter ("News has a kind of mystery"). The scene changes to Chairman Mao's study, where the chairman awaits the arrival of the presidential party. Nixon and Kissinger enter with Chou, and Mao and the president converse in banalities as photographers record the scene. In the discussion that follows, the westerners are confused by Mao's gnomic and frequently impenetrable comments, which are amplified by his secretaries and often by Chou. The scene changes again, to the evening's banquet in the Great Hall of the People. Chou toasts the American visitors ("We have begun to celebrate the different ways") and Nixon responds ("I have attended many feasts"), after which the toasts continue as the atmosphere becomes increasingly convivial. Nixon, a politician who rose to prominence on anti-communism, announces: "Everyone, listen; just let me say one thing. I opposed China, I was wrong".

Act 2
Pat Nixon is touring the city, with guides. Factory workers present her with a small model elephant which, she delightedly informs them, is the symbol of the Republican Party which her husband leads. She visits a commune where she is greeted enthusiastically, and is captivated by the children's games that she observes in the school. "I used to be a teacher many years ago", she sings, "and now I'm here to learn from you". She moves on to the Summer Palace, where in a contemplative aria ("This is prophetic") she envisages a peaceful future for the world. In the evening the presidential party, as guests of Mao's wife Chiang Ch'ing, attends the Peking Opera for a performance of a political ballet-opera The Red Detachment of Women. This depicts the downfall of a cruel and unscrupulous landlord's agent (played by an actor who strongly resembles Kissinger) at the hands of brave women revolutionary workers. The action deeply affects the Nixons; at one point Pat rushes onstage to help a peasant girl she thinks is being whipped to death. As the stage action ends, Chiang Ch'ing, angry at the apparent misinterpretation of the piece's message, sings a harsh aria ("I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung"), praising the Cultural Revolution and glorifying her own part in it. A revolutionary chorus echoes her words.

Act 3
On the last evening of the visit, as they lie in their respective beds, the chief protagonists muse on their personal histories in a surreal series of interwoven dialogues. Nixon and Pat recall the struggles of their youth; Nixon evokes wartime memories ("Sitting round the radio"). Mao and Chiang Ch'ing dance together, as the Chairman remembers "the tasty little starlet" who came to his headquarters in the early days of the revolution. As they reminisce, Chiang Ch'ing asserts that "the revolution must not end". Chou meditates alone; the opera finishes on a thoughtful note with his aria "I am old and I cannot sleep", asking: "How much of what we did was good?" The early morning birdcalls are summoning him to resume his work, while "outside this room the chill of grace lies heavy on the morning grass".

Performance history
The work was a joint commission from the Houston Grand Opera, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Netherlands Opera and the Washington Opera, all of which planned to mount early productions of the opera. Fearful that the work might be challenged as defamatory or not in the public domain, Houston Grand Opera obtained insurance to cover such an eventuality. Before its stage premiere, the opera was presented in concert form in May 1987 in San Francisco, with intermission discussions led by Adams. According to the Los Angeles Times review, a number of audience members left as the work proceeded.

Nixon in China formally premiered on the Brown Stage at the new Wortham Theater Center in Houston on October 22, 1987, with John DeMain conducting the Houston Grand Opera. Former president Nixon was invited, and was sent a copy of the libretto; however, his staff indicated that he was unable to attend, due to illness and an impending publication deadline. A Nixon representative later stated that the former president disliked seeing himself on television or other media, and had little interest in opera. According to Adams, he was later told by former Nixon lawyer Leonard Garment that Nixon was highly interested in everything written about him, and so likely saw the Houston production when it was televised on PBS's Great Performances.

The piece opened in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Music Critics Association, guaranteeing what the Houston Chronicle described as a "very discriminating audience". Members of the association also attended meetings with the opera's production team. When Carolann Page, originating Pat Nixon, waved to the audience in character as First Lady, many waved back at her. Adams responded to complaints that the words were difficult to understand (no supertitles were provided) by indicating that it is not necessary that all the words be understood on first seeing an opera. The audience's general reaction was expressed by what the Los Angeles Times termed "polite applause", the descent of the Spirit of '76 being the occasion for clapping from both the onstage chorus and from the viewers in the opera house.

When the opera reached the Brooklyn Academy of Music, six weeks after the world premiere, there was again applause during the Spirit of '76's descent. Chou En-lai's toast, addressed by baritone Sanford Sylvan directly to the audience, brought what pianist and writer William R. Braun called "a shocked hush of chastened admiration". The meditative Act 3 also brought silence, followed at its conclusion by a storm of applause. On March 26, 1988, the work opened at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, where Nixon's emergence from the plane was again met with applause.

After the opera's European premiere at the Muziektheater in Amsterdam in June 1988, it received its first German performance later that year at the Bielefeld Opera, in a production by John Dew with stage designs by Gottfried Pilz. In the German production, Nixon and Mao were given putty noses in what the Los Angeles Times considered "a garish and heavy-handed satire". Also in 1988 the opera received its United Kingdom premiere, at the Edinburgh International Festival in August.

For the Los Angeles production in 1990, Sellars made revisions to darken the opera in the wake of the Tiananmen Square protests. The original production had not had an intermission between Acts 2 and 3; one was inserted, and Sellars authorized supertitles, which he had forbidden in Houston. Adams conducted the original cast in the French premiere, at the Maison de la Culture de Bobigny, Paris, on December 14, 1991. Thereafter, performances of the opera became relatively rare; writing in The New York Times in April 1996, Alex Ross speculated on why the work had, at that time, "dropped from sight".

The London premiere of the opera took place in 2000, at the London Coliseum, with Sellars producing and Paul Daniel conducting the English National Opera (ENO). A revival of this production was planned for the reopening of the renovated Coliseum in 2004, but delays in the refurbishment caused the revival to be postponed until 2006. The ENO productions helped to revive interest in the work, and served as the basis of the Metropolitan Opera's 2011 production. Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager, had approached Adams in 2005 about staging his operas there. Gelb intended that Nixon in China be the first of such productions, but Adams chose Doctor Atomic to be the first Adams work to reach the Met. However, Gelb maintained his interest in staging Nixon in China, which received its Metropolitan premiere on February 2, 2011. The work received its BBC Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall in London on September 5, 2012, although the second-act ballet was omitted.

While a number of productions have used variations on the original staging, the February 2011 production by the Canadian Opera Company used an abstract setting revived from a 2004 production by the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Alluding to Nixon's "News" aria, the omnipresence of television news was dramatized by set designer Allen Moyer by keeping a group of televisions onstage throughout much of the action, often showing scenes from the actual visit. Instead of an airplane descending in Act 1, a number of televisions descended showing an airplane in flight.

Adams conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale for performances of the opera at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2017 during a series of concerts celebrating his 70th birthday. This "musically and visually dazzling reimagining of the piece" included Super 8mm home movies of the visit to China (shot by H. R. Haldeman, Dwight Chapin, and others) projected onto a giant screen with the appearance of a 1960s television set. In some scenes the historical footage was a backdrop that was artfully synchronized to the live cast in the foreground, in other scenes the actors were lit from behind the translucent screen appearing inside the TV, adding to the surreal experience. The props and other details were simple but effective, including the miniature souvenir program designed after Mao's Little Red Book.

Despite a recent proliferation of performances worldwide, the opera has not yet been shown in China.

Houston Grand Opera is again producing the opera in 2017 on the 30th anniversary of the world premiere to mixed reviews.

A new production was premiered at Staatsoper Stuttgart in April 2019.

Reception

The original production in Houston received mixed reviews. Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein called Nixon in China "an operatic triumph of grave and thought-provoking beauty". Houston Chronicle reviewer Ann Holmes said of the work, "The music of Nixon catches in your ear; I find myself singing it while whizzing along the freeways." Los Angeles Herald Examiner critic Mark Swed wrote that it would "bear relevance for as long as mankind cherished humanity". Martin Bernheimer, writing in the Los Angeles Times, drew attention to the choreography of Morris ("the trendy enfant terrible of modern dance") in the Act 2 ballet sequences. Morris had produced "one of those classical yet militaristic Sino-Soviet ballets from the revolutionary repertory of Mme. Mao". Bernheimer also praised "the subtle civility of Alice Goodman's couplet-dominated libretto".

In a more critical vein, The New York Times chief music critic Donal Henahan alluded to the publicity buildup for the opera by opening his column, headed "That was it?", by calling the work "fluff" and "a Peter Sellars variety show, worth a few giggles but hardly a strong candidate for the standard repertory". New York magazine Peter G. Davis said that "Goodman's libretto, written in elegant couplets, reads better than it sings" and "the main trouble... is Adams's music... this is the composer's first opera and it shows, mainly in the clumsy prosody, turgid instrumentation that often obscures the words, ineffective vocal lines, and inability to seize the moment and make the stage come to life." St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic James Wierzbicki called the opera "more interesting than good ... a novelty, not much more." Television critic Marvin Kitman, just prior to the telecast of the original Houston production in April 1988, stated "There are only three things wrong with Nixon in China. One, the libretto; two, the music; three, the direction. Outside of that, it's perfect."

The critic Theodore Bale, in his review of a revival of the opera in Houston in 2017, said he continues "to enjoy being perplexed by its deep structure and quirky contemporary aesthetic. Adam's music is constantly shimmering with some new idea, Alice Goodman's libretto is constantly surprising and eloquent, and each of the three acts offers myriad opportunities for interpretation and commentary. The opera is filled with gorgeous ensemble passages and the chorus as an entity is at the heart of the work. I have, I suppose, "used" Nixon in China for three decades as one of the finest examples of late 20th-century American opera."

The British premiere at the 1988 Edinburgh Festival brought critical praise: "Through its sheer cleverness, wit, lyrical beauty and sense of theater, it sweeps aside most of the criticism to which it lays itself open." When the work was finally performed in London, 13 years after its Houston premiere and after a long period of theatrical neglect, Tempo's critic Robert Stein responded to ENO's 2000 production enthusiastically. He particularly praised the performance of Maddalena, and concluded that "Adams's triumph ... consists really in taking a plot chock-full of talk and public gesture, and through musical characterisation ... making a satisfying and engaging piece." Of the ENO revival in 2006, Erica Jeal of The Guardian wrote that "from its early visual coup with the arrival of the plane, Sellars' production is an all-too-welcome reminder of his best form". In Jeal's view, the cast met admirably the challenge of presenting the work in a non-satirical spirit. Reviewing the 2008 Portland Opera production (the basis of the 2011 Canadian Opera Company presentation in Toronto), critic Patrick J. Smith concluded that "Nixon in China is a great American Opera. I suspected that it was a significant work when I saw it in 1987; I was ever more convinced of its stature when I heard it subsequently, on stage and on disc, and today I am certain that it is one of the small handful of operas that will survive."

At the Met premiere in February 2011, although the audience—which included Nixon's daughter Tricia Nixon Cox—gave the work a warm reception, critical approval of the production was not uniform. Robert Hofler of Variety criticized Sellars for using body microphones to amplify the singing, thus compensating for the "vocally distressed" Maddalena. He further complained that the director, known for designing unorthodox settings for the operas he has staged (Hofler mentions The Marriage of Figaro in the New York Trump Tower and Don Giovanni in an urban slum), here uses visually uninteresting, overly realistic sets for the first two acts. Hofler felt that it was time that the opera received a fresh approach: "Having finally arrived at the Met, Nixon in China has traveled the world. It is a masterpiece, a staple of the opera repertory, and now it simply deserves a new look". However, Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times, while noting that Maddalena's voice was not as strong as it had been at the world premiere, maintained that due to his long association with the role, it would have been impossible to bring the opera to the Met with anyone else as Nixon: "Maddalena inhabits the character like no other singer". Tommasini also praised the performance of Robert Brubaker in the role of Mao, "captur[ing] the chairman's authoritarian defiance and rapacious self-indulgence", and found the Scottish soprano Janis Kelly "wonderful" as Pat Nixon.

Swed recalled the opera's reception in 1987 while reviewing the Metropolitan Opera's 2011 production:

"An opera that was belittled in 1987 by major New York critics – as a CNN Opera of no lasting merit when Houston Grand Opera premiered it – has clearly remained relevant. Reaching the Met for the first time, it is now hailed as a classic."

Music
Nixon in China contains elements of minimalism. This musical style originated in the United States in the 1960s and is characterized by stasis and repetition in place of the melodic development associated with conventional music. Although Adams is associated with minimalism, the composer's biographer, Sarah Cahill, asserts that of the composers classed as minimalists, Adams is "by far the most anchored in Western classical tradition".

Timothy Johnson contends that Nixon in China goes beyond minimalism in important ways. Adams had been inspired, in developing his art, by minimalist composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley, and this is reflected in the work by repetitive rhythmic patterns. However, the opera's complex harmonic structures are very different from the simpler ones in, for example, Glass's Einstein on the Beach, which Adams terms "mindlessly repetitive"; Johnson nevertheless considers the Glass opera an influence on Nixon in China. As Glass's techniques did not allow Adams to accomplish what he wanted, he employed a system of constantly shifting metric organizational schemes to supplement the repeated rhythms in the opera. The music is marked by metrical dissonance, which occurs both for musical reasons and in response to the text of the opera.

The New York Times critic Allan Kozinn writes that with Nixon in China, Adams had produced a score that is both "minimalist and eclectic ... In the orchestral interludes one hears references, both passing and lingering, to everything from Wagner to Gershwin and Philip Glass." In reviewing the first recording of the work, Gramophone's critic discusses the mixture of styles and concludes that "minimalist the score emphatically is not". Other commentators have evoked "neo-classical Stravinsky", and concocted the term "Mahler-meets-minimalism", in attempts to pinpoint the opera's idiom.

The opera is scored for an orchestra without bassoons, French horns, and tuba, but augmented by saxophones, pianos, and electronic synthesizer. The percussion section incorporates numerous special effects, including a wood block, sandpaper blocks, slapsticks and sleigh bells. The work opens with an orchestral prelude of repetitive ascending phrases, after which a chorus of the Chinese military sings solemn couplets against a subdued instrumental background. This, writes Tommasini, creates "a hypnotic, quietly intense backdrop, pierced by fractured, brassy chords like some cosmic chorale", in a manner reminiscent of Philip Glass. Tommasini contrasts this with the arrival of Nixon and his entourage, when the orchestra erupts with "big band bursts, rockish riffs and shards of fanfares: a heavy din of momentous pomp". Gramophone's critic compares the sharply written exchanges between Nixon, Mao and Chou En-lai with the seemingly aimless wandering of the melodic lines in the more reflective sections of the work, concluding that the music best serves the libretto in passages of rapid dialogue. Tommasini observes that Nixon's own vocal lines reflect the real-life president's personal awkwardness and social unease.

The differences in perspective between East and West are set forth early in the first act, and underscored musically: while the Chinese of the chorus see the countryside as fields ready for harvest, the fruits of their labor and full of potential, the Nixons describe what they saw from the windows of the Spirit of '76 as a barren landscape. This gap is reflected in the music: the chorus for the workers is marked by what Johnson terms "a wide-ranging palette of harmonic colors", the Western perspective is shown by the "quick, descending, dismissive cadential gesture" which follows Nixon's description of his travels.

The second act opens with warm and reflective music culminating in Pat Nixon's tender aria "This is prophetic". The main focus of the act, however, is the Chinese revolutionary opera-ballet, The Red Detachment of Women, "a riot of clashing styles" according to Tommasini, reminiscent of agitprop theatre with added elements of Strauss waltzes, blasts of jazz and 1930s Stravinsky. The internal opera is followed by a monologue, "I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung" in which Chiang Ch'ing, Mao's wife, rails against counterrevolutionary elements in full coloratura soprano mode that culminates in a high D, appropriate for a character who in real life was a former actress given to self-dramatization. Critic Thomas May notes that, in the third act, her "pose as a power-hungry Queen of the Night gives way to wistful regret". In this final, "surreal" act the concluding thoughts of Chou En-lai are described by Tommasini as "deeply affecting". The act incorporates a brief foxtrot episode, choreographed by Morris, illustrating Pat Nixon's memories of her youth in the 1930s.

Critic Robert Stein identifies Adams's particular strengths in his orchestral writing as "motoring, brassy figures and sweetly reflective string and woodwind harmonies", a view echoed by Gregory Carpenter in the liner notes to the 2009 Naxos recording of the opera. Carpenter pinpoints Adams's "uncanny talent for recognising the dramatic possibilities of continually repeating melodies, harmonies and rhythms", and his ability to change the mix of these elements to reflect the onstage action. The feel of the Nixon era is recreated through popular music references; Sellars has observed that some of the music associated with Nixon is derived from the big band sound of the late 1930s, when the Nixons fell in love. Other commentators have noted Adams's limitations as a melodist, and his reliance for long stretches on what critic Donal Henahan has described as "a prosaically chanted recitative style". However, Robert Hugill, reviewing the 2006 English National Opera revival, found that the sometimes tedious "endless arpeggios" are often followed by gripping music which immediately re-engages the listener's interest. This verdict contrasts with that of Davis after the original Houston performance; Davis commented that Adams's inexperience as an opera writer was evident in often "turgid instrumentation", and that at points where "the music must be the crucial and defining element ... Adams fails to do the job".

List of arias and musical sequences
Act 1
 * Orchestral introduction
 * "Soldiers of heaven hold the sky" (Chorus)
 * "The people are the heroes now" (Chorus)
 * Arrival of the Spirit of '76 (Orchestra)
 * "Your flight was smooth, I hope?" (Chou, Nixon)
 * "News has a kind of mystery" (Nixon, Chou, Kissinger)
 * "I can't talk very well" (Mao, Nixon, Chou, Kissinger, secretaries)
 * "We no longer need Confucius" (Mao and secretaries)
 * "Like the Ming Tombs" (Nixon, Mao, Chou, Kissinger, secretaries)
 * "The night is young" (Nixon, Pat, Chou, Kissinger, chorus)
 * "Ladies and gentlemen, comrades and friends, we have begun to celebrate ..." (Chou)
 * "Mr Premier, distinguished guests, I have attended many feasts ..." (Nixon)
 * "This is the hour!" (Nixon, Chou, Pat, Kissinger, chorus)

Act 2
 * "I don't daydream and I don't look back" (Pat)
 * "Look down, look down" (Chorus, Pat, secretaries)
 * "This is prophetic" (Pat)
 * "At last the weather's warming up" (Pat and chorus)
 * The Red Detachment of Women:
 * "Young as we are" (Secretaries)
 * "Oh what a day (Kissinger (as Lao Szu), chorus, secretaries)
 * "Whip her to death" (Kissinger (as Lao Szu), Pat, Nixon)
 * Tropical storm (Orchestra, Pat, Nixon)
 * "Flesh rebels" (Chorus)
 * "I have my brief" (Kissinger (as Lao Szu), Nixon)
 * "It seems so strange" (Chorus, Chiang Ch'ing, Pat, Nixon, secretaries)
 * "I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung" (Chiang Ch'ing, chorus)

Act 3
 * Orchestral introduction
 * "Some men you cannot satisfy" (Kissinger, Nixon, Pat, Chou, Chiang Ch'ing)
 * "I am no one" (Mao, Chou, Kissinger, Chiang Ch'ing, Pat, Nixon)
 * "Sitting around the radio" (Nixon, Pat)
 * "Let us examine what you did" (Mao, Chiang Ch'ing, Chou)
 * "I have no offspring" (Chou, Mao, Chiang Ch'ing)
 * "I can keep still" (Chiang Ch'ing, Nixon, Pat, Chou, Mao)
 * "Peking watches the stars" (Chiang Ch'ing, Mao, Chou)
 * "You won at poker" (Pat, Nixon, Chiang Ch'ing)
 * "I am old and I cannot sleep" (Chou En-lai)

Recordings
The opera has been recorded at least six times:

The only studio recording, made in New York by Nonesuch two months after the October 1987 Houston premiere, used the same cast, just a different chorus, orchestra and conductor: Edo de Waart led the Chorus and Orchestra of St. Luke's. Gramophone's Good DVD Guide praised the singing, noting James Maddalena's "aptly volatile Nixon" and Trudy Ellen Craney's admirable delivery of Chiang Ch'ing's coloratura passages. This recording also received the 1988 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition in the Classical category. It was reissued in 2011 to coincide with the opera's production at the Metropolitan Opera. The Denver live recording on Naxos has Marin Alsop conducting the Colorado Symphony and Opera Colorado Chorus, with Robert Orth as Nixon, Maria Kanyova as Pat Nixon, Thomas Hammons as Kissinger, Chen-Ye Yuan as Chou En-Lai, Marc Heller as Mao Tse-Tung and Tracy Dahl as Chiang Ch'ing. Sumi Jo and June Anderson star as the two wives in the Paris video.

title: Nixon in China