The unit's activities were considered highly secret — the deputy commander for maintenance at the base was not told of their operations. He only learned of it by accident. When he asked the wing commander, he was told that he would be given no information until he received a "need-to-know" clearance.[221]
On December 20, 1963, the secretary of the air force approved a follow-on contract for fourteen more 147B drones. In January 1964, three 147Es were delivered. These were B models fitted with the equipment from the D version. To support the expanding production, Ryan moved its Black operation from the Frontier Street warehouse to a secure factory in Kearny Mesa, an industrial park a few miles north of downtown San Diego.
In early 1964, Castro began making threats over U-2 overflights.[222] On May 2, 1964, President Johnson ordered a review of alternatives. The drones quickly emerged as the preferred method. A memorandum of May 5 noted:
The examination of alternative means of overflights… has led to a sharp rise in support for handling this matter by drones. It appears that we have drones which might do this job with a level of efficiency which would enable them to continue even if Castro tried to bring them down, because new drones could be supplied faster than he could bring them down. This at least is the position of the Defense Department civilians. The Joint Chiefs have not yet expressed a final view. Probably the result of today's discussion should be a direction to accelerate preparation for the use of drones, and production of additional drones in case we decide to shift to them.[223]
The following day, the New York Herald Tribune newspaper published a story on possible use of the drones. This was the first public suggestion that the United States had developed an unmanned reconnaissance capability.
Under the headline, "U.S. Studies Drones For Use Over Cuba," it read:
Washington — A missile or pilotless plane to replace manned U-2s for surveillance flights over Cuba is being given serious consideration here, it was learned yesterday.
The use of a drone craft, some administration officials believe, would reduce the chances of a brink-of-war confrontation between East and West if the Castro regime decides to shoot down a U.S. reconnaissance vehicle in Cuban air space.
If an unmanned spy craft were brought down by Cuban antiaircraft missiles, it is felt, the incident would not be likely to require the same drastic countermeasures as the capture or death of a U.S. pilot.
There is still considerable controversy both within the administration and the Pentagon as to whether pilotless spy flights would produce the quality of photographs that high-altitude U-2s and low-level F-104 [sic] and F-8U Crusader jets are getting.
There is no technical barrier to sending pilotless craft over Cuba and taking photographs, military sources here said.[224]
Obviously, the discussions about the drones had leaked, and leaked very quickly. In any event, the A-12 was selected to back up the U-2s for the Skylark missions.
Three months later, the drones were at war.
On the afternoon of August 2, 1964, the destroyer U.S.S. Maddox was sailing in international waters off the North Vietnamese coast when it was attacked by three North Vietnamese PT boats, which were sunk. The Tonkin Gulf Incident set events in motion and the Vietnam War began in earnest.[225]
President Johnson and his advisors feared Chinese intervention in Vietnam. The drones were seen as a way to watch for any buildup. At 4:00 P.M. on August 4, the 147B drones were ordered to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, in preparation for overflights of Communist China. Specific targets were southeast China, near the border with North Vietnam and Laos, Hainan Island, and the coastal areas. The two launch DC-130s and four drones, 147B-8, B-9, B-10, and B-ll, were made ready. The preparations were interrupted for several days by a typhoon alert.
On the morning of August 20, 1964, the DC-130 launch aircraft rolled down the runway and took off. It carried two drones—147B-9, the primary drone, and 147B-8, the backup. As the launch aircraft approached the Chinese coast, the crew checked out B-9. Everything was in readiness; the DC-130 began its run to the launch point, the release was pressed… and nothing happened. B-9 would not come off the shackle, even with the emergency release.
The launch crew regrouped, checked out B-8, and made a successful launch. The drone climbed to its programmed altitude and set off for its overflight of southeast China. The DC-130, with B-9 still on the launch rack, headed back to Kadena. Thirteen minutes after B-8 was launched, B-9 just fell off the rack. Only the dye marker showed the impact point.
In the meantime, B-8 continued across China. At an altitude of about 62,000 feet, the sky above was a deep blue black. The drone's black paint finish hid it from visual sightings, while the radar blankets concealed it from electronic detection. The drone's navigation was later described as "not spectacular," but it did cover a number of primary targets and returned with "significant information." Once the photo runs were completed, B-8 turned east, toward Taiwan. When the recovery team picked it up on radar, it was only a few miles to the right of the desired track. The radar transmitted the recovery signal, and the drone descended under a 100-foot parachute. The recovery zone was a half mile wide and two miles long. B-8 landed in a rice paddy, but the parachute release did not operate. The wind dragged the drone until it flipped over, causing major damage. The drone was picked up by a helicopter and later returned to Kadena.
Unlike the U-2, Lightning Bug overflights were made every few days.
The second mission was flown by B-ll on August 29. Everything seemed to work satisfactorily until the recovery. A short had caused the programmer to stop operating, and the drone would not accept the recovery command.
B-ll kept flying, past the recovery zone and out to sea, until it ran out of fuel.
The third mission, of B-10 on September 3, had better luck. The only mishap was an engine flameout during the recovery sequence. It landed successfully with only minor damage. When processed, the photos were good.
On September 9, a pair of missions was attempted. Both ended in failure.
B-13 flew its mission, but as it descended through 30,000 feet toward Taiwan, the engine flamed out. The parachute was deployed, but the drone was lost at sea. The day's second mission never got started. B-6 was launched from the DC-130 and began its climb. Soon after, it crashed into the jungles of Laos.[226]
Thus, of the first five missions, only two had been successful. It was clear technical problems had to be resolved. Still, the Nationalist Chinese were very enthusiastic about the drones, due to the continuing U-2 losses to SA-2s over the mainland. A second U-2 had been shot down on November 1, 1963, and its pilot, Maj. Yei Chang Yi, was captured. A third U-2 loss occurred on July 7, 1964. Lieutenant Colonel Terry Lee died with his plane. The fourth Nationalist Chinese pilot lost was Maj. Jack Chang, who took off from Taiwan in the early evening of January 10, 1965. An SA-2 ended the mission forty-five minutes after he crossed the coast. Chang bailed out but landed so hard he broke both his legs. Medical attention saved his legs, but he and Yei would not be released until October 1983.
222
Dean Rusk, Memorandum for the President, Subject: Warning to Cubans and Soviets against Interference with Our Aerial Surveillance of Cuba (Lyndon B. Johnson Library: Austin, Tex., March 15, 1964).
223
Memorandum for the President, Re: NSC Agenda, Tuesday, May 5, 1964 (Lyndon B. Johnson Library: Austin, Tex.). Interestingly, the text of the original memo was changed after it was typed. It originally read, "we have drones which could do this job. " The word "could" was crossed out and "might" was written in with an underline. Another line originally read "which would enable them to continue indefinitely even if Castro tried to bring them down." The word "indefinitely" was crossed out. Clearly, at some point, second thoughts began to grow about the drones.
224
"U.S. Studies Drones for Use Over Cuba,"