At the beginning of the Korean War, there were few airfields in Korea able to support the modern aircraft of the U. S. Air Force. Most of the existing facilities had been constructed by the Japanese before 1945, and they lacked runways long enough or strong enough to support multiple landings by large four-engined cargo aircraft such as C-54s or jet fighters such as F-86s. The extensive use of the old runways by World War II vintage-USAF aircraft, such as F-51s, also demanded frequent and extensive runway repairs. To correct the problem, the Far East Air Forces deployed to Korea engineer aviation units, manned by Special Category Army Personnel with Air Force (SCARWAF) troops. Although they suffered chronic shortages of adequately trained personnel, as early as July 1950, the 802nd and 822nd Engineer Aviation Battalions were repairing and extending runways at Pohang and Taegu. By the end of the Korean War, the engineer aviation units in Korea included the 417th Engineer Aviation Brigade with its subordinate units: three groups, ten battalions, three companies, and one detachment. The engineer aviation units repaired, renovated, and expanded air bases all over Korea for the basing and staging of Far East Air Forces, Fifth Air Force, and other United Nations aircraft, including fighters, fighter-bombers, and transports. Among the airfields they repaired or expanded, besides Pohang and Taegu, were Kimpo, Suwon, Pyongyang, Pusan, Hoengsong, Chunchon, Chinhae, Chungju, Kunsan, Seoul, and Pyongtaek. At most of these airfields the engineers laid pierced-steel planking for runways and taxiways and replaced inadequate foundations. They also constructed airfield facilities such as jet fuel storage tanks and hardstands. At airfields captured from the enemy, the aviation engineer personnel filled in bomb craters and patched runways. In 1952, the engineer aviation battalions constructed new 9,000-foot concrete or asphalt runways for jet fighters at Taegu, Suwon, and Kunsan. That same year, three of the battalions built a new air base with a fourth 9,000-foot runway at Osan-ni. The new paved runways saved tires, lessened structural damage to aircraft, and reduced the need for jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) units. At Seoul, the aviation engineers strengthened and extended the runways to handle strategic airlift transports. At Pusan and Pyongtaek, they constructed airfield facilities for U.S. Marine Corps air units.

Engineer Aviation Units in Korea as of May 1953:

417th Engineer Aviation Brigade

420th Engineer Aviation Topographic Detachment
366th Engineer Aviation Battalion
733rd Engineer Aviation Supply Point Company
840th Engineer Aviation Battalion
841st Engineer Aviation Battalion
1903rd Engineer Aviation Battalion

930th Engineer Aviation Group
622nd Engineer Aviation Maintenance Company
808th Engineer Aviation Battalion
822nd Engineer Aviation Battalion

931st Engineer Aviation Group
809th Engineer Aviation Battalion
811th Engineer Aviation Battalion
919th Engineer Aviation Maintenance Company

934th Engineer Aviation Group
802nd Engineer Aviation Battalion
839th Engineer Aviation Battalion