The base was originally established during the Korean War as Suwon Air Base and hosted United States Air Force units. The base was evacuated on the night of 30 June 1950 in the face of the Korean People's Army attack, but the base was not occupied by the KPA until 2 July 1950. The base was recaptured on 24 September 1950 following the Inchon landings. The 811th Engineer Aviation Battalion arrived at the base on 1 October to repair the airfield and laid downPSP over the runway. The base was evacuated in the face of the Chinese Third Phase Campaign on 5 January 1951 and the base's buildings were destroyed. The base was recaptured on 28 January as part of Operation Thunderbolt and by 6 March, despite its poor condition, the base was used for the staging of F-86 patrols along the Yalu River and Mig Alley. USAF units based at Suwon included:
16th Fighter Squadron operating F-86Ds from 20 May 1951-July 1954
25th Fighter Squadron operating F-86Ds from 1951-4
35th Fighter Squadron operating P-51s in 1950 and operating F-80s from 1951–52 and operating F-86F Sabrejets from 1953–54
36th Fighter Squadron operating P-51s in 1950 and operating F-80s from 1951-4
39th Fighter Squadron operating F-86Ds from 1952-4
67th Fighter Squadron operating P-51s in December 1950
68th Fighter Squadron operating F-94s from March-19 April 1951, 23–27 June 1951 and 24 August 1951 – 23 March 1952
80th Fighter Squadron operating F-80s and later F-86s from 24 August 1951 – 21 October 1954
319th Fighter Interceptor Squadron operating F-94Bs from 10 March 1952 – 17 August 1954
334th Fighter Squadron operating F-86s from 10 March-1 May 1951
335th Fighter Squadron operating F-86s from 1 May-1 August 1951
336th Fighter Squadron operating F-86s from 6 April-27 June 1951
On 17 June 1951, at 01:10 hours, Suwon was bombed by two Korean People's Air Force Polikarpov Po-2s. Each biplane dropped a pair of fragmentation bombs. Two bombs burst on the flight line of the 335th Fighter Squadron. One F-86A, AF Ser. No. 49-1334 was struck on the wing and began burning; the fire took hold, gutting the aircraft. Eight other Sabres were also damaged in the attack. On 22 December 1952, a Hellenic Air ForceC-47D, Ser. No. 49-2612 was taxiing at Suwon Air Base when it was hit by USAF F-80, AF Ser. No. 49-0722, that was taking off, killing all 13 on board the C-47.
Postwar
USAF units based at Suwon included:
25th Fighter Squadron operating A-10s from 1981-1989
82nd Fighter Squadron operating F-102s from 30 January-20 February 1968 as part of Operation Combat Fox and on rotation from 1968–71
336th Fighter Squadron operating F-4s from 25 March – 17 April 1977
On 10 October 1984, a corporately-owned Northrop F-20 Tigershark, AF Ser. No. 82-0062, c/n GG1001, FAA registration N4416T, on a world sales tour, crashed at Suwon, killing Northrop chief test pilot Darrell Cornell. During the last manoeuvre of the final demonstration flight, the aircraft stalled at the top of an erratic vertical climb and dove into the ground from. On 23 May 1996, Korean People's Air Force Captain Lee Chul-Su defected in Shenyang J-6 #529, landing at Suwon. On 5 May 2006 Captain Kim Do-hyun of the ROKAF's Black Eagles display team was killed when he lost control of his A-37B Dragonfly during an air show.
