The first two sites in South Korea were too far away from the bomb line to be effective. In November the unit set up two new sites at Wonsan and Pyongyang in North Korea, but mountains around the Wonsan site interfered with its signals, and a Communist Chinese offensive soon forced evacuation of both sites.
Two new beacon sites set up in South Korea in December demonstrated the inadequacy of the unit's equipment. That and the continued advance of enemy troops forced the 1st Shoran Beacon Unit to move temporarily back to Japan at the end of the year, where it recalibrated and refurbished its equipment.
In early 1951, it returned to South Korea and set up Shoran beacon sites at several locations, some of which it had to defend periodically against enemy guerilla assaults.
During the year, the unit established four sites, two on islands off the coast of Korea and two on mountain tops just south of the 38th parallel. It also maintained other sites in Japan and Okinawa to train aircrews in Shoran operations. Redesignated the 1st Shoran Beacon Squadron in February 1952, the unit provided electronic signals that guided 3rd Bombardment Group B-26 bombardment missions until the armistice in mid-1953.