Sinmak Airfield (K-20)

Sinmak Airfield or K-20 was a Korean War airfield located in Sinmak, North Hwanghae, North Korea.

History

It was reported that the airfield was originally built by the USSR during the Soviet Occupation of Northern Korea before being abandoned in 1945.

Head of the Sinmak Labor Party Chong Un-kyong was in charge in the reconstruction of Sinmak Airfield. In order to make way for the airfield, many farmland were taken and that the owners would be given other pieces of land as compensation. This however never materialised and that most of the owners were sent to coal mining.

On the 1st of November 1949, construction work began on the Sinmak Airfield with a compulsory amount of one hundred labourers from each province expected to serve 10 days each in order to complete the airfield. These workers had to house and feed themselves during their service. People who had opposed to the Labor were given severe punishments.

Constant air-raids by the United Nations affected the construction and operations in which several tunnel-like shelters made of sandbags and camouflage were used to conceal aircraft.

Due to the insufficient amount of workers because of the availability of people, the airfield faced a lot of delays and did not meet the expected completion date.

In October 1950, the airfield served as a northern advancement point for the Eighth Army during the Korean War.

Incidents

On May 7, 1951, a Douglas A-26B-61-DL Invader operated by the USAF was shot down by anti-aircraft fire during a bombing mission over Pyongyang, North Korean. The aircraft crashed near Sinmak after losing its right engine. Unfortunately, captain was killed in a successful attempt to pilot the aircraft out of the combat zone in order for the other two crew members to bail out and survive.