105th Armored Division (North Korea)

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The 105th Armored Division is a military formation of the Korean People's Army.

It was North Korea's first armored unit, being established in October 1948 as the "105th Armored Battalion" and increased to regimental strength in May 1949. By June 1950, the "105th Armored Regiment" had become the 105th Armored Brigade with a strength of 6,000 men and 120 T-34 tanks. Its equipment-tanks, weapons, and vehicles-was Russian-made. The brigade had three tank regiments-the 107th, 109th, and 203rd-each with 40 tanks, and a mechanized infantry regiment, the 206th, with a strength of about 2,500 men. A tank regiment had three medium tank battalions, each having 13 tanks. The battalions each had three tank companies with 4 tanks to a company. Tank crews consisted of five men. Battalion, regimental, and division tank commanders each had a personal tank. The 105th Armored Brigade was raised to division status in Seoul at the end of June 1950 before it crossed the Han River to continue the attack southward.^[1]

It was part of the North Korean advance from Seoul to Taejon.

Fought in the Battle of Pusan Perimeter.^[2]

At the end of October and the first week of November 1950, the 105th Armored Division, partly reconstituted since the Naktong battles, was committed to help the Chinese and did so with tank fire in a few instances, but it played a negligible role in the fighting. The Fifth Air Force destroyed most of its tanks back of the battle front. On November 7, for instance, U.N. aircraft reportedly destroyed 6 tanks, 3 armored cars, and 45 vehicles in Pakch'on and the area eastward.^[3]

Another sources says that the 83d Motorized Regiment was another military unit of the Division during Korean War. The 83rd Regiment was part of the North Korean advance from Seoul to Taejon and fought in the Battle of Pusan Perimeter.^[4]