First tour: 5th May, to 8th November, 1952

Air Crew Casualties

Second tour: 17th May, 1953 to; End of Hostilities

Air Crew Casualties

Honours and Awards

Specificiations and Brief history
 
 

First tour: 5th May, to 8th November, 1952

Ship's Officers
Captain C.L.G. Evans, DSO, DSC
Carrier Air Group Commander: Commander (P) A.F. Black, DSC, (Promoted Captain   30/6/1952)
No.802 Squadron CO: Lieutenant-Commander (P) S.F. Shotton, DSC
No.825 Squadron CO: Lieutenant-Commander C.K. Roberts
 

When Ocean relieved Glory at the end of her second Korean tour, Glory transferred several aircrew to Ocean, who had been onboard to gain operational experience. Glory also flew her two Westland Sikorsky S.51 Dragonfly helicopters to Ocean, and Ocean sailed from Hong Kong at 0845, on Tuesday 6th May 1952, arriving at 0800 on the 9th. Whilst in Sasebo, a lecture was given to the aircrew on escape and evasion, and escape kits, and flying clothes were decided upon.

The escape kit was a 0.38calibre revolver with 24 rounds, a Sten gun, stowed in the cockpit, cloth escape maps, ground recognition panels, a commando knife, 2-star-red flares, a barter kit of, a blood chit, watch, fountain pen and compass, emergency rations, a fishing kit, mosquito net, medical kit, marching compass, spare socks, and various oddments, prompted by personal taste.

The First patrol began on 10th May, when Ocean sailed from Sasebo. Operations began on the 11th May, and were mainly, area acclimatization sorties, mixed in with AR sorties. This first day was costly in aircraft, three aircraft were lost, and three damaged. Three replacement aircraft were flown in. Water contamination in the aviation fuel was discovered on the 13th, which led to the cessation of flying after 1230. The next day, Lieutenant K. McDonald was shot down and killed, whilst on TARCAP, having been hit, just before attacking a gun position on the Amgak peninsula. His aircraft went into a spin and crashed, exploding on impact. A later TARCAP, spotted for a bombardment of the gun position suspected of having shot the Sea Fury down.

On the 15th, the carrier replenished, and the next day the railways were hit, and a CAS was carried out, in addition to the AR flights. A Firefly was shot down, and ditched South of Changyon, quickly being picked up by the USS Dumbo, and taken to Kimpo. On the 17th May, Ocean set a new daily sortie record, (of 123 sorties, 7 flown by 802, and 47 by 825,) and after the last detail had been launched, 28 of the 31 aircraft, were still serviceable. Only one aircraft was damaged during the day, Lieutenant Commander Terry's aircraft's port undercarriage leg collapsed, during the last land-on. Armament replenishment was carried out during the night, by an LST from Sasebo, while anchored off Paengyong-do.

Operations the next day resumed a more normal pace, with attacks against troops, and AR details. Lieutenant Peniston-Bird,  after being hit in the port wing,  baled out over the sea, quickly being picked up by the Dumbo, and eventually returned to the ship, unhurt. On the 19th, both Squadrons gave support to a small invasion landing, on the South coast of Ongjin. On this detail, 802 squadron first used 1,000lb bombs. They had to use RATOG to get airborne, and on the first detail, Lieutenant Commander Shotton, leading the first detail, armed with two 1,000lb bombs, plus overload fuel tanks, dropped off the end of the flight deck, without firing his rockets. Amazingly, he managed to ride the ground effect, having gained a couple of knots, until he had burnt off enough fuel to get airborne, having achieved, what most, would have believed impossible. The final day of the patrol was marred, when an RATOG master switch missfired, and blew a Fury's port side rocket battery. The blast blew the port Chockman, Naval Airman Herbert, overboard, and he sank before he could be rescued. The other incident, saw a Firefly on a CAS mission, crewed by Lieutenant Commander T.J.C. Williamson Napier, and Aircrewman L.M.E. Edwards,  shot down by AA fire, and explode on impact. At the end of the day's flying, Ocean departed the area, having been relieved by USS Bataan, and arrived in Sasebo, at 1730 the next day.. Unicorn provided replacement aircraft, and a new pilot arrived. Ammunition was scarce, as there was only one ammunition supply vessel, RFA Fort Sandusky, to provide the needs of the whole effort of the RN in Korea.

Ocean's second patrol began, when she sailed for the West coast, at 0930 on 28th May. She reached the operational zone on the 29th, and began operations, and the limited ammunition, restricted sorties to 68 per day. Fog over the operational area on the 29th, restricted the accuracy of the early details, and normal operations were flown, TARCAPS, and AR sorties, with some CAS missions flown for the UN forces. Lieutenant Watkinson landed at Paengyong-do, after a connecting rod failure, and, CAS was mounted in support of the Operation 'Billhook' landings, in the Ponghwait area of the Han river. Weather restricted flying on the 3rd to the morning only, flying was cancelled after three details, due to poor visibility, and a low cloud ceiling. The weather continued, the next day, but cleared later. Two Fireflies were lost, and one, written off.  Lieutenant Swanson bailed out into water, near the enemy-held Island of Chongyang-do, and was covered by Lieutenant Hallam, aided by four USMC Corsairs, until Swanson was picked up by helicopter. Lieutenant McEnery's craft ditched, with engine trouble, and was recovered by the ship's helicopter.

On the 5th, operations continued, and Lieutenant Commander Dick, in a display of luck, attacked a bridge from low level. His bomb went into a field, bounced, and followed the rail line for half a mile, before disappearing into a tunnel, and exploding. This developed, into the chancy ploy, of skip-bombing, some pilots' aircraft being hit by debris from their own bombs, in skip-bombs attacks, and having to pull up smartly, to avoid the mountains. Once again, the next day, Lieutenant McEnery suffered a rough engine, the third in two days, and force-landed at Paengyong-do. Ocean left for Kure at the end of the day's flying, and arrived at 0930, on the 8th. Replacement aircraft arrived from Iwakuni during the week, and a dockyard accident, damaged three Fireflies.

The third patrol sailed from Kure at 1630 on 13th June, with a contingent of Army officers onboard, to observe Navy operations. She anchored overnight in the approaches to the Shimonoseki Straits, in order to make the passage in daylight the following morning. She proceeded to Inchon all the next day, and arrived on the 15th, where Divisions were held for Lord Alexander, who addressed the ship's company. On completion of the ceremonies, Ocean proceeded to the operational area.

Operations began on the 16th, with a general reconnaissance, and in the early morning, Athabaskan received bombardment spotting, by Lieutenant Davis, on a village containing enemy troops, with exceptionally good results. Firefly and Fury operations continued as normal, throughout the day. Low cloud, and fog the next day, made operations South of Chinnampo impossible. The Furies spent the day in TARCAP areas, and attacking targets in the Hanchon areas. On the 18th, fog prevented operations until mid-afternoon, and again, on the next day. The 20th, saw good weather, and a full day's flying, achieving 80 sorties. The following day was replenishment. The 22nd saw brilliant weather, and operations were conducted against a concentration of 400 enemy troops, among other targets. On 18th June, the restriction against attacks on electrical power installations in North Korea was lifted, and this meant enemy reprisals might come against Ocean, and her CAP was altered, from two, at 5,000 feet, all day, to two, at 10,000 feet, and two, at 20,000 feet, all day. On the 24th, Ocean's aircraft participated in attacks against enemy electrical installations, including, seven transformer stations. Ocean set course of Sasebo on 24th, arriving at 1815 on the 25th, and on 29th Unicorn arrived, and exchanged replacement aircraft for Ocean's damaged examples. The crew also struck up many friendships, with crew aboard the USS Bonne Homme Richard, which was secured to a buoy nearby.

The fourth patrol began, when Ocean sailed, in company with Unicorn, from Sasebo, at 0600 on 3rd July, for operations on the 4th. Unicorn acted as a spare deck, 10 cables from Ocean. She also conducted Deck Landing Practice for three new pilots, who had recently joined 802 Squadron. CAS details, transformer stations, and stores dumps, were all hit by Firefly strikes. Lieutenant R.C. Hunter, ditched, in the afternoon after an engine failure, the helicopter managed to retrieve his observer Lieutenant J.R.A. Taylor, but, in the time it took to land Taylor and return, Hunter, had disappeared.

On the 5th, both Squadrons performed CAS details for a guerilla raid on the Southern tip of the Haeju Peninsula.. Comus, also performed shore bombardment, in support of the raid. Other aircraft continued routine details. On the 6th, Unicorn detached from the element, and returned to Japan in the afternoon, While Ocean's aircraft continued routine operations against enemy troops, and transport.

On the 7th, the Fireflies took over TARCAP from the Furies. CAS was also flown, for a guerilla landing off Haeju. The following day was replenishment, and the squadron maintenance personnel were fully occupied, with aircraft inspections. The 9th saw the Fireflies doing the majority of TARCAP details, with the Furies, and remaining Fireflies, on two major combined strikes, on the Silly-Myon Peninsula, Operation Boodles.

The 10th and 11th saw continuing operations, as Admirals Clark, and Ginrich, visited the West coast, in USS Iowa. On the 11th, Ocean's aircraft participated in the raid on Pyongyang, Operation, Pressure Pump, in concert with the USAF, TF 77, 1st Marine Wing, and 77 Squadron RAAF, with a total of 1,254 sorties recorded against the target throughout the day, except for a two-hour break for launch. Ocean contributed 39 sorties. As well as these strikes, routine operations were also flown.

Fog delayed the start of operations on the 12th, before two combined strikes were launched, against a large power and transformer station, North of Chinnampo. The attack was successful. An unsuccessful CAS followed, when six, out of eight, bombs failed to explode. There were also, by this time, strong feelings in 802 Squadron, that the whole CAS system, needed overhauling. Four Fireflies took passengers to Seoul in the afternoon, and one crashed, when it's undercarriage, failed on landing, and the nacelle tanks caught fire. Both Lieutenant Gandey, and his passenger, escaped, when the aircraft was destroyed. Ocean left the area at the end of the day's flying, arriving in Sasebo, in the evening. Two new Fireflies were embarked from Unicorn, and an unservicebale one was sent away.

The fifth patrol began, when Ocean sailed from Sasebo at 0600 on 21st July, the weather for much of the patrol was largely unfavourable, and the average daily sortie rate fell below 68 for the first time. While on passage, the ship's gunners exercised against a radio controlled drone, operated by a nearby American ship, shooting it down, and it then got entangled in a port-side gun sponson, and fell into the sea, to be retrieved by its parent ship after the Ocean's crew had unsuccessfully tried to haul it aboard.

Operations opened with an attack on Chinnampo, where a transformer was destroyed. The usual targets were attacked, transportation network tunnels, bridges, and depots, along with supply bunkers, and enemy troops. Poor weather, hampered operations on the 25th, the following day was replenishment, and four replacement aircraft were flown aboard from Iwakuni, via Seoul. Due to the continuing bad weather, Ocean shifted 70 miles North of her usual operating area, to operate over North Korea, where the conditions were entirely suitable. On the 27th, the pilots became the first British airmen to encounter the Russian built MiG, when aircraft from No.825 Squadron were attacked, this was mainly due to the weather, which had grounded all the  5th USAF. Three, possibly four, MiGs attacked Event Dog detail, North of Chinnampo, two of the MiGs made firing passes through the division, inflicting some serious damage on Sub-Lieutenenat Arbuthnot's aircraft. Lieutenant Watkinson's aircraft had been hit by flak, and ditched, after crossing the coastline. They were rescued almost immediately, and Sub-Lieutenenat Arbuthnot made an emergency wheels-up landing at Paengyong-do. Event Easy, the following detail, was also attacked, and retaliated at extreme range, with neither damage, nor success.

Adverse weather affected flying again the next day. On practically every mission, there was 6/8th to 8/8th's layered cloud, from 500 to 25,000 feet. The only good result of the day, was the destruction of a transformer station, 15 miles North of Chaeryong. On the 29th, the weather was so bad, that the Fireflies flew only one sortie that day, on a village in the Ongjin/Haeju area. During the day, an unfortunate accident occurred, when PO/REM Jordan, of 802 Squadron ,walked into the rotating propeller of a Fury, whilst changing it's radio set, and received injuries, of which, he later died. Two strikes were got off on the last day, when the weather broke after 1630, after which, Ocean left for Kure, where she arrived at 1000, on 1st August. The first RNVR pilots arrived in Korea from No.1832 Squadron, and joined Ocean during the layover period. Two replacement Fireflies were received from Iwakuni, and the inner rocket launchers were removed from the Fireflies, and replaced by 1,000lb bomb carriers, and No.825 Squadron was restricted to 1,000 rockets, for the next patrol, due to a shortage. The armament load was then either two 1,000lb bombs, or, eight rockets and two 500lb bombs, but  big bombs and rockets were never carried on the same sortie.

Ocean sailed for her sixth patrol from Kure, at 1700, on 8th August. The weather was good throughout the patrol, leading to 600 sorties, at an average of 75 a day, being flown. The opening days being enlivened, by the appearance of MiGs, over the Hanchon/Chinnampo/Pyongyang triangle. On the 9th, No. 802 Squadron was attacked by MiGs, North of Chinnampo, and Lieutenant Davies, and Sub-Lieutennat Ellis, fired on, and hit a MiG. Sub-Lieutenant Ellis, also fired on another MiG, which pulled up in front of him. The dog-fight lasted 4-5 minutes, and the MiGs disappeared as quickly as they had come. As they departed, an aircraft was seen to crash into a hillside, and blow up. It was thought to be a RN aircraft, but a tell-off, soon confirmed it to be the Royal Navy's first MiG kill of the war, with no damage to the four aircraft of the flight. Elsewhere, Lieutenant Clark was hit by Migs and caught fire, but by dropping his tanks and side-slipping, put the fire out, and returned to the ship. Lieutenant Hallam was obliged to do a wheels-up landing at Chodo, having sustained damage from a MiG. To Lieutenant Peter 'Hoagy' Carmichael, went the very rare distinction, of being the pilot of one of a few piston-engined aircraft, to shoot down a jet-engined aircraft. Apart from the MIG presence, operations continued as usual, with the normal targets being hit. New tactics were adopted for dealing with the MiGs, North of the River Taedong, the strikes being scheduled to coincide with the daily, sometimes twice-daily, USAF Sabre sweeps,  to contain no fewer than eight aircraft. Replenishment was on the 13th, and three replacement aircraft were also landed on.

On the 14th, Lieutenant Jenne, had to do a wheels-up landing at Paengyong-do, after his hydraulic lines were shot up by flak. A serious accident occurred during RATOG launches, when Sub-Lieutenant Clark's Fury's rockets, gave him height, instead of speed. He stalled when the rockets ceased firing, and his plane flipped onto its back, diving inverted, into the sea. He managed to leave his aircraft, and was picked up by helicopter. Probably saved, by his unusual habit, of having his oxygen turned on, it  not normally being turned on., until flying above 10,000 feet. On the 17th August, Lieutenant Reynolds, floated straight into the barrier without touching the deck, marking No.825 Squadron's first serious deck-landing accident, in 847 landings. At the end of the day, Ocean cleared the path of Typhoon Karen, and headed for Kure, where she arrived at 1745, on 19th August. Damaged aircraft were replaced by Unicorn. During this harbour period, 825 Squadron refitted their 1,000lb bomb carriers, and both Squadrons eliminated the black and white identification stripes, on the wings and fuselages of all the aircraft, so that enemy MiGs would have more difficulty seeing them.

Ocean's next patrol, her seventh, started on 26th August, when she sailed from Kure. The first six flying days, saw excellent weather, and poor weather, on Replenishment day. On 1st September, the Unicorn joined the patrol, and rough weather was encountered, the next two days. On the 4th, the weather was perfect, and 97 sorties were flown. The 30th August saw two guerilla raids, supported by Ocean's aircraft, being launched, the first raid inflicting casualties on the enemy, and some equipment was captured, the second, was unsuccessful, as the enemy was on alert. A third raid was carried out on the 10th
September, with more success.

Operations began on 27th, with the standard targets being attacked. The 28th, saw Sub-Lieutenant Mallace land at Paengyong-do, wheels-up, with a probable supercharger failure. Replenishment was on the 31st, and the Furies had their drop-tanks removed, enabling them to carry two 1,000lb bombs. Unicorn was operating CAP after she arrived, allowing Ocean to devote herself solely to offensive sorties. A Communist phoney 'Sitting duck', was discovered to be in operation that day, when an American voice claimed to be 'Sitting Duck', this was a fake, due to the fact the an English Frigate, was on air control that day. On the 4th, typhoon Mary moved through the area, preventing any flying, no damage was experienced, as Ocean moved North, to avoid the typhoon. On the 5th, more missions were flown against junks, and a CAS detail was mounted for the Commonwealth Division. A Sabre pilot had Ocean's aircraft, flying RESCAP over his position when he bailed out, at one point having 10 Furies and 4 Fireflies overhead..

Ocean arrived in Sasebo, at 1700 on 5th September, laying over until 13th September, when she commenced her eighth patrol. The eighth patrol, saw excellent weather, for 749 sorties, flown in 9 days, averaging 83 per day. By the 16th September, all the rail bridges between Pyongyang and Chinnampo, had been destroyed. Captain Evans, flew night reconnaissances, to catch the enemy trucks crossing dry river beds, to circumvent the destroyed road bridges, and despatched a number of laden ox-carts, and heavy attention was paid, to these alternative transport routes. On the 16th, the focus fell on PR sorties for the Furies, the communists now appeared to be falling behind, in their repairs to the bridges. On the 17th, the Fury effort was almost entirely devoted to destroying the Sluice gates, in three positions, at the mouths of rivers in the Haeju and Yonan areas, without which, the rice fields would be flooded. Two of the three dams were breached, and the remaining gates, were burst later in the day. Later details, planted delayed fuzed bombs, to delay repairs.

Replenishment was on the 19th, and the aircrew were lectured in the afternoon, on escape and evasion. MiGs were in evidence the next day, and thier reported tracks kept several sorties from their targets. On 22nd, 802 Squadron had a bad day, one Fury was severely damaged in a full-toss barrier, and another was written off, due to flak damage. On the last day, the 23rd, a new service was opened, in a truck hunting patrol, before dawn, looking for, and destroying, spotted trucks. Ocean headed for Kure at the end of the day, arriving at 0800 on the 25th. Aircraft were exchanged with Unicorn. Five new pilots joined the carrier, four of whom, were detached from Glory, to gain experience, prior to the Glory taking over in November.

Ocean left Kure on the 3rd October, beginning her ninth patrol. The weather was good, and a total of 746, sorties wer flown, achieving a daily average of 85. CAS, TARCAP, and supply stores, were all hit. On the 6th, Lieutenant McKeown led a pre-dawn reconnaissance, and a train was strafed and stopped, near Pyonghang. Damage, and unserviceability, meant 825 Squadron ran short of aircraft, but they managed to fulfill nearly all their tasks. Small arms fire, and AA fire, damaged three aircraft, which were forced to land at Seoul, but all returned to the carrier, later that day. A fourth returning, in the last land-on of the day.

On the 7th, fog lifted, to low cloud, after hampering the early morning details. The usual targets were attacked, and camouflaged bridges were attacked, these being finished off the next day. Replenishment was on the 9th, and operations resumed the following day. One of the sluice gates had been repaired, and was breached again. Rough seas, and low cloud, prevented flying until 1030 the next morning, and deck-landing conditions were not good, due to turbulence and high winds. On the 12th, another pre-dawn strike went off, attacking trucks, and destroying 11. During this patrol, enemy air activity increased, with MiGs being ground controlled, and they appeared, to have scrambled as soon as any of Ocean's aircraft, crossed the line of the Taedong Gang. Ocean left the area on the 13th, reaching Sasebo, at 1730 on the 14th.

Ocean sailed for her tenth and final patrol of this tour, on the 23rd October. Poor weather brought the sorties down to 493, in 6 flying days. The absence of Ocean, and no covering carrier, meant most of the bridges had been rebuilt, as reported by the first four bridge reconnaissance details, most now being protected by flak. The bridges were soon under attack again, and CAS details were also mounted. She replenished on the 28th, and CAS, filled the first two events the next day. After causing more damage to the transportation network, enemy troops, and supplies, Ocean departed the area for Sasebo, on the 30th October. She sailed from Sasebo at 1515 on 1st November, handing over to Glory, at Hong Kong, after both participated in Exercise Tai-Pan, the air defence of Hong Kong.

During her tour, Ocean had flown 5,601 sorties, with a total of 10,340 flying hours. 735, RATOG launches had been carried out, and a record of 123 launches in one day, had been achieved. 420, 1,000lb bombs, 3,454, 500lb bombs, 17,246 rockets, and 824,700, 20mm rounds, had been fired. 16 aircraft had been lost, to enemy action.