As the Eighth Army pushed northwards into western North Korea, and farther from the supply port at Inchon, its logistics situation became increasingly difficult. Short of necessities, under pressure to speed its advance and with winter coming on, the Army appealed to the Navy for help. A small port was opened at Haeju, but much more cargo capacity was badly needed. Chinnampo, port city for the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, was a logical answer, but one presenting a full plate of difficulties: it was at the end of a very long, well-mined channel and had the extreme tidal range typical of western Korea. In addition, until late October, available minecraft were largely needed elsewhere.
Opening the route to Chinnampo involved applying the painful lessons of Wonsan and fine teamwork by U.S. Navy patrol planes and helicopters, the British aircraft carrier Theseus, U.S., South Korean and contract Japanese minesweepers, Underwater Demolition Teams, and good intelligence work. In a phased approach, aircraft, small craft and UDT swimmers searched for mines, sinking some. Following the searchers, larger minesweepers cleared a thirty-mile long approach through the Yellow Sea, while smaller minecraft, including converted landing craft, worked through another thirty to forty miles of river channels. Chinnampo also marked the appearance of a mine force "mother ship", as USS Catamount (LSD-17) arrived to provide a home for the smallest minecraft.
A shallow channel to Chinnampo was opened by 3 November and cleared completely by the 10th, allowing smaller ships to start relieving Eighth Army's supply woes. With the completion of a deep-water channel ten days later, the port was ready for full service and was soon handling nearly 5000 tons of cargo daily.
This page features pictures of mine clearance operations off Chinnampo, North Korea, in November 1950.
For visual coverage of other aspects of the September-November
United Nations' offensive in Korea, see:
For a precis of our Korean War images, and links to more
comprehensive pictorial coverage of that conflict, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions. |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: 80-G-422837 Opening of Chinnampo, North Korea, October-November 1950 A LCVP bucks in the well of USS Catamount (LSD-17), during mine clearance operations off Chinnampo, circa November 1950. USS Forrest Royal (DD-872), flagship for this operation, is in the left background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 92KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-423788 Opening of Chinnampo, October-November 1950 A minesweeping boat (MSB, converted from a LCVP) tows sweep gear in the Chinnampo harbor vicinity, during mine clearance operations. The original photo is dated 6 November 1950. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 113KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 97140 Mine Clearance off Chinnampo, Korea Sailors streaming minesweeping gear from LCVP minesweeping boats, off Chinnampo. Photograph is dated 5 December 1950. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the "All Hands" collection at the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 70KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
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Photo #: 80-G-423775 USS Swallow (AMS-36) and USS Gull (AMS-16) Tied up at Chinnampo, North Korea, in November 1950, after taking part in clearing a channel more that sixty miles from out in the Yellow Sea and up the Taedong River to that city. Note flags and sweep gear at the ships' sterns, including depressors hanging over the transoms, otters on deck and floats and cable reels further forward. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 121KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-423162 Martin PBM "Mariner" Patrol Bomber Explodes Russian-type mines with machine gun fire, in the channel near Chinnampo, North Korea. The original photo is dated 20 August 1953, after the Korean War armistice. It may have been taken in October-November 1950, when patrol aircraft were employed to search for and destroy mines to open Chinnampo for the use of advancing United Nations' forces. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 79KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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For visual coverage of other aspects of the September-November
United Nations' offensive in Korea, see:
For a precis of our Korean War images, and links to more
comprehensive pictorial coverage of that conflict, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions. |
3 January 2000