The second and last U.S. airborne combat operation of the Korean War, notable for the first successful drop of 105mm howitzers and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Paratroopers dropped
- 3,437 (187th RCT) plus 12 Indian Army personnel
- Aircraft used
- Over 120 C-119 Flying Boxcars and C-46s
- PVA/KPA killed
- 136 personnel
- PVA/KPA captured
- 149 personnel
- 187th RCT fatalities
- 19 personnel
- Drop distance behind front line
- 30 km
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Operation Courageous sought to trap large PVA and KPA forces between the Han and Imjin Rivers north of Seoul. US I Corps was to advance rapidly toward the Imjin River, while a separate airborne insertion would cut off enemy retreat. The 187th RCT was selected to execute this blocking role approximately 30 kilometres north of the existing front line.
On 23 March 1951, over 120 C-119 and C-46 aircraft dropped 3,437 paratroopers of the 187th RCT and 12 members of the Indian Army's 60th Parachute Field Ambulance near Munsan-ni. Upon landing, the force linked up with armored and infantry elements of Task Force Growdon and advanced toward their objectives, marking the first successful aerial delivery of 105mm howitzers and heavy equipment.
The PVA/KPA had already withdrawn before the airborne force could encircle them, resulting in only light resistance—mainly minefields. The operation yielded 136 enemy killed and 149 captured, with 19 American fatalities. It remained the last full-scale U.S. combat parachute jump until Operation Junction City in Vietnam in 1967.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent