The 581st saw extensive combat in the Korean War, printing and then dropping millions of surrender leaflets on the enemy in countless PSYWAR operations.
It supported the Central Intelligence Agency by performing agent drops and extractions, and resupplying South Korean partisans operating behind enemy lines.
Its crews drew upon the lessons of the World War II Eighth Air Force 492d Bombardment Group, the "Carpetbaggers".
The Carpetbaggers had performed precisely the same kind of clandestine missions over Nazi-occupied Europe in support of the Office of Strategic Services.
Its B-29s were modified for low level agent and special team drops.
Except for tail guns, all armament was removed, and its aircraft were painted black underneath.

In January 1953, the 581st lost one of its B-29s and its entire fourteen-man crew while flying a leaflet drop mission over North Korea near the Chinese border.
The aircraft had already dropped leaflets over five North Korean towns and was beginning its last run over the village of Cholson.
Some of the leaflets carried war news, but others warned of an impending bombing attack by United Nations forces.
Suddenly enemy searchlights lit up the sky, and in a rare night attack, a MiG-15 fighter attacked the B-29, setting its right inboard engine on fire.
The bomber shook as the tail gunner responded to the attack.
  Two more MiGs swept by the bomber, this time hitting the number three and four engines with machine gun and cannon fire.
With the plane falling from the sky, the crew bailed out.
Three of the crew died in the crash, but the remaining crewmen, including the 581st Wing Commander, were captured and sent to a camp in China.
They were imprisoned as war criminals engaged in "espionage” by the Chinese.
They were held past the June 1953 Korean Armistice and subjected to an international publicized propaganda trial.
  Later under growing international pressure, the Chinese released the eleven airmen on 3 August 1955, making them the last Korean War American prisoners to be released by the Chinese communists.

As the war wound down in 1953, the 581st responded to an urgent request by the French Government in Indochina for assistance.
 The wing was tasked to resupply French forces fighting the communist Viet Minh in the First Indochina War.
581st C-119 Flying Boxcars shuttled cargo and troops back and forth continuously between Clark Air Base and French enclaves in Da Nang, Hanoi and Haiphong, Indochina.
The 581st also trained civilian C-119 pilots for the Civil Air Transport (CAT), a CIA front company that continued to fly combat missions throughout Indochina until 1954.
The 581st saw extensive combat in the Korean War, printing and then dropping millions of surrender leaflets on the enemy in countless PSYWAR operations. It supported the Central Intelligence Agency by performing agent drops and extractions, and resupplying South Korean partisans operating behind enemy lines. Its crews drew upon the lessons of the World War II Eighth Air Force 492d Bombardment Group, the "Carpetbaggers". The Carpetbaggers had performed precisely the same kind of clandestine missions over Nazi-occupied Europe in support of the Office of Strategic Services. Its B-29s were modified for low level agent and special team drops. Except for tail guns, all armament was removed, and its aircraft were painted black underneath.
In January 1953, the 581st lost one of its B-29s and its entire fourteen-man crew while flying a leaflet drop mission over North Korea near the Chinese border. The aircraft had already dropped leaflets over five North Korean towns and was beginning its last run over the village of Cholson. Some of the leaflets carried war news, but others warned of an impending bombing attack by United Nations forces. Suddenly enemy searchlights lit up the sky, and in a rare night attack, a MiG-15 fighter attacked the B-29, setting its right inboard engine on fire. The bomber shook as the tail gunner responded to the attack.   Two more MiGs swept by the bomber, this time hitting the number three and four engines with machine gun and cannon fire. With the plane falling from the sky, the crew bailed out. Three of the crew died in the crash, but the remaining crewmen, including the 581st Wing Commander, were captured and sent to a camp in China. They were imprisoned as war criminals engaged in "espionage” by the Chinese. They were held past the June 1953 Korean Armistice and subjected to an international publicized propaganda trial.   Later under growing international pressure, the Chinese released the eleven airmen on 3 August 1955, making them the last Korean War American prisoners to be released by the Chinese communists.
As the war wound down in 1953, the 581st responded to an urgent request by the French Government in Indochina for assistance.  The wing was tasked to resupply French forces fighting the communist Viet Minh in the First Indochina War. 581st C-119 Flying Boxcars shuttled cargo and troops back and forth continuously between Clark Air Base and French enclaves in Da Nang, Hanoi and Haiphong, Indochina. The 581st also trained civilian C-119 pilots for the Civil Air Transport (CAT), a CIA front company that continued to fly combat missions throughout Indochina until 1954.
Air Resupply And Communications Service