Black Cat Squadron
Encyclopedia
The Black Cat Squadron (not to be confused with Black Bat Squadron
) was a squadron
of the Republic of China Air Force
that flew the U-2
surveillance plane out of Taoyuan Airbase in northern Taiwan, from 1961 to 1974. The formal designation of the squadron was the 35th Squadron, operating under the cover of a high altitude weather research squadron. 26 ROCAF pilots successfully completed U-2 training in the US and flew 220 operational missions, including 102 surveillance flights over the People's Republic of China
.
When the squadron was formed in 1961, Colonel Lu Xiliang (盧錫良) became its first commander and would become its longest-serving squadron commander. Colonel Lu was born in Shanghai
on December 27, 1923 and completed his training in the US. After his retirement, he and his family immigrated to Los Angeles
in 1986, where he became an ardent activist for ROCAF
POWs' rights, particularly the right of POWs to return to Taiwan to reunite with their families after imprisonment in mainland China. Colonel Lu died on December 15, 2008. In addition to Lu Xiliang, another six former-members of the squadron eventually settled in the US, including Zhuang Renliang (莊人亮), Wang Taiyou (王太佑) in Los Angeles, Ye Changdi (葉常棣) in Texas, Hua Xijun (華錫鈞) in Maryland, and the deputy squadron commander Yang Shiju (楊世駒) in Las Vegas
.
During the squadron's 14 years of existence, five U-2's were shot down by PRC air defenses, with three pilots killed and 2 pilots captured. One other pilot was killed while performing an operational mission off China coast. Seven other Black Cat U-2s were lost during training missions, killing 6 pilots.
The squadron usually had only two U-2 assigned to it, sometimes down to just one aircraft. A total of 19 U-2s were assigned to the Black Cat Squadron, over fourteen years.
The intelligence gathered by the Black Cat Squadron, which included evidence of a military build-up on the Sino-Soviet border, may have contributed to the U.S. opening to China during the Nixon
administration by revealing the escalating tensions between the two communist nations. Shortly after Nixon's visit
to Beijing
, all reconnaissance flights over the People's Republic ceased, and the Black Cat Squadron was officially disbanded in the spring of 1974.
(Taiwan
), which flew missions mostly over the People's Republic of China
(PRC). Since the 1950s, the Republic of China Air Force
had used the RB-57A/D
aircraft for reconnaissance missions over the PRC, but suffered two losses when MiG-17s and SA-2
Surface-to-Air Missiles were able to intercept the aircraft.
In 1958, ROC and American authorities reached an agreement to create the 35th Squadron, nicknamed the Black Cat Squadron
, composed of two U-2Cs in Taoyuan Airbase in northern Taiwan, at an isolated part of the airbase. To create the typical misdirections at the time, the unit was created under the cover of high altitude weather research missions for ROCAF. To the US government, the 35th Squadron and any US CIA/USAF personnel assigned to the unit were known as Detachment H on all documents. But instead of being under normal USAF control, the project was known as Project RAZOR, and was run directly by CIA with USAF assistance.
Each of the 35th Squadron's operational missions had to be approved by both the US and the Taiwan/ROC presidents beforehand. To add another layer of security and secrecy to the project, all US military and CIA/government personnel stationed in Taoyuan assigned to Detachment H were issued official documents and ID with false names and cover titles as Lockheed employees/representatives in civilian clothes. The ROCAF pilots and ground support crew would never know their US counterpart's real name and rank/title, or which US government agencies they were dealing with.
A total of 26 out of 28 ROC pilots sent to the US completed training between 1959 and 1973, at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. On the night of 3 August 1959, a U-2 on a training mission, out of Laughlin AFB, Texas, piloted by Maj. Mike Hua of ROC Air Force, made a successful unassisted nighttime emergency landing at Cortez, Colorado
, that was later known as "Miracle at Cortez", and Major Hua was later awarded the US Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross for saving the top secret aircraft.
In July 1960, the CIA provided the ROC with its first two U-2Cs, and in December the squadron flew its first mission over mainland China. Other countries were also covered from time to time by the 35th Squadron, such as North Korea, North Vietnam and Laos, but the main objective of the ROC 35th Squadron was to conduct reconnaissance missions assessing the PRC's nuclear capabilities. For this purpose the ROC pilots flew as far as Gansu
and other remote regions in northwest China. Some of the missions, due to mission requirements and range, plus to add some element of surprise, had the 35th Squadron's U-2s flying from or recovered at other US air bases in Southeast Asia and Eastern Asia, such as K-8 (Kunsan) in South Korea, or Tikhli in Thailand. All US airbases in the region were listed as emergency/ alternate recovery airfields and could be used besides the 35th Squadron's home base at Taoyuan airbase in Taiwan. Initially, all film taken by the Black Cat Squadron would be flown to Okinawa or Guam for processing and development, and the US forces would not share any of the mission photos with Taiwan. Only in late 1960s did the USAF agree to share a complete set of mission photos and help Taiwan set up a photo development and interpretation unit at Taoyuan AB.
After the People's Republic of China conducted its third nuclear test on 9 May 1966, the US was eager to get information on the Chinese capabilities. To this end, the CIA initiated a program, code named Tabasco, to develop a sensor pod that could be dropped into the Takla Makan desert, near the Chinese nuclear test site. The pod was intended to deploy an antenna after landing and radio back data to the US SIGINT station at Shulinkou Taiwan. After a year of testing in the US, the pod was ready. Two pilots of the 35th squadron were trained in the dropping of the pod. On 7 May 1967, a ROCAF U-2 (article 383) flown by Spike Chuang took off from Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
with a sensor pod under each wing. The aircraft successfully released the pods at the target, near the Lop Nur
Nuclear Weapons Test Base, but no data were received from the pods. This was unfortunate, as the People's Republic of China conducted a test of its first thermonuclear device in Test No. 6 on 17 June 1967. A second U-2 mission was flown to the area by a Black Cat squadron U-2 flown by Bill Chang on 31 August 1967. This U-2 carried a recorder and an interrogator in an attempt to contact the pods. This mission was unsuccessful, as nothing was heard from the pods. This set the stage for Operation Heavy Tea, conducted by the Black Bat Squadron
.
In 1968, the ROC U-2C/F/G fleet was replaced with the newer U-2R. However, with the coming of the Sino-Soviet split
and the rapprochement
between the US and the PRC, the ROC U-2 squadron stopped entering Chinese airspace, and instead only conducted electronic surveillance plus photo reconnaissance missions with new Long-Range Oblique Reconnaissance (LOROP) cameras on the U-2R while flying over international waters. The last U-2 aircraft mission over mainland China took place on 16 March 1968. After that, all missions had the U-2 aircraft fly outside a buffer zone at least 20 nautical miles (37 km) around China.
During his visit to China in 1972, US President Richard Nixon
promised the Chinese authorities to cease all reconnaissance missions near and over China, though this was also made practical because US photo satellites by 1972 were able to provide better overhead images without risking losing aircraft and pilots, or provoking international incidents. The last 35th Squadron mission was flown by Sungchou "Mike" Chiu on 24 May 1974.
At the end of ROC's U-2 operations, out of a total of 19 U-2C/F/G/R aircraft operated by the 35th Squadron from 1959 to 1974, 11 were lost. The squadron flew a total of about 220 missions, with about half over mainland China, resulting in five aircraft shot down, with three fatalities and two pilots captured, and another six U-2s lost in training with six pilots killed. On 29 July 1974, the two remaining U-2R aircraft in ROC possession were flown from Taoyuan AB in Taiwan to Edwards AFB, California, US, and turned over to the USAF.
Black Bat Squadron
Black Bats 34th Squadron was the name of a corps of CIA reconnaissance plane pilots and crew based in Taiwan during the Cold War. Citizens of the Republic of China, they flew missions over mainland China, or the People's Republic of China , to drop agents and gathered military signal intelligences...
) was a squadron
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
of the Republic of China Air Force
Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
that flew the U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
surveillance plane out of Taoyuan Airbase in northern Taiwan, from 1961 to 1974. The formal designation of the squadron was the 35th Squadron, operating under the cover of a high altitude weather research squadron. 26 ROCAF pilots successfully completed U-2 training in the US and flew 220 operational missions, including 102 surveillance flights over the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
When the squadron was formed in 1961, Colonel Lu Xiliang (盧錫良) became its first commander and would become its longest-serving squadron commander. Colonel Lu was born in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
on December 27, 1923 and completed his training in the US. After his retirement, he and his family immigrated to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1986, where he became an ardent activist for ROCAF
Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
POWs' rights, particularly the right of POWs to return to Taiwan to reunite with their families after imprisonment in mainland China. Colonel Lu died on December 15, 2008. In addition to Lu Xiliang, another six former-members of the squadron eventually settled in the US, including Zhuang Renliang (莊人亮), Wang Taiyou (王太佑) in Los Angeles, Ye Changdi (葉常棣) in Texas, Hua Xijun (華錫鈞) in Maryland, and the deputy squadron commander Yang Shiju (楊世駒) in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
.
During the squadron's 14 years of existence, five U-2's were shot down by PRC air defenses, with three pilots killed and 2 pilots captured. One other pilot was killed while performing an operational mission off China coast. Seven other Black Cat U-2s were lost during training missions, killing 6 pilots.
The squadron usually had only two U-2 assigned to it, sometimes down to just one aircraft. A total of 19 U-2s were assigned to the Black Cat Squadron, over fourteen years.
The intelligence gathered by the Black Cat Squadron, which included evidence of a military build-up on the Sino-Soviet border, may have contributed to the U.S. opening to China during the Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
administration by revealing the escalating tensions between the two communist nations. Shortly after Nixon's visit
1972 Nixon visit to China
U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China was an important step in formally normalizing relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China. It marked the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC, who at that time considered the U.S. one...
to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, all reconnaissance flights over the People's Republic ceased, and the Black Cat Squadron was officially disbanded in the spring of 1974.
U-2 Operational missions by ROCAF 35th Sq
The only other U-2 operator than USAF and CIA was the Republic of ChinaRepublic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
(Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
), which flew missions mostly over the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(PRC). Since the 1950s, the Republic of China Air Force
Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
had used the RB-57A/D
B-57 Canberra
The Martin B-57 Canberra was a United States-built, twin jet engine light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, which entered service with the United States Air Force in 1953. The B-57 was initially a version of the English Electric Canberra built under license. However, the Glenn L...
aircraft for reconnaissance missions over the PRC, but suffered two losses when MiG-17s and SA-2
S-75 Dvina
The S-75 Dvina is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude, command guided, surface-to-air missile system...
Surface-to-Air Missiles were able to intercept the aircraft.
In 1958, ROC and American authorities reached an agreement to create the 35th Squadron, nicknamed the Black Cat Squadron
Black Cat Squadron
The Black Cat Squadron was a squadron of the Republic of China Air Force that flew the U-2 surveillance plane out of Taoyuan Airbase in northern Taiwan, from 1961 to 1974. The formal designation of the squadron was the 35th Squadron, operating under the cover of a high altitude weather research...
, composed of two U-2Cs in Taoyuan Airbase in northern Taiwan, at an isolated part of the airbase. To create the typical misdirections at the time, the unit was created under the cover of high altitude weather research missions for ROCAF. To the US government, the 35th Squadron and any US CIA/USAF personnel assigned to the unit were known as Detachment H on all documents. But instead of being under normal USAF control, the project was known as Project RAZOR, and was run directly by CIA with USAF assistance.
Each of the 35th Squadron's operational missions had to be approved by both the US and the Taiwan/ROC presidents beforehand. To add another layer of security and secrecy to the project, all US military and CIA/government personnel stationed in Taoyuan assigned to Detachment H were issued official documents and ID with false names and cover titles as Lockheed employees/representatives in civilian clothes. The ROCAF pilots and ground support crew would never know their US counterpart's real name and rank/title, or which US government agencies they were dealing with.
A total of 26 out of 28 ROC pilots sent to the US completed training between 1959 and 1973, at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. On the night of 3 August 1959, a U-2 on a training mission, out of Laughlin AFB, Texas, piloted by Maj. Mike Hua of ROC Air Force, made a successful unassisted nighttime emergency landing at Cortez, Colorado
Cortez, Colorado
The city of Cortez is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 8,482 at the 2010 census...
, that was later known as "Miracle at Cortez", and Major Hua was later awarded the US Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross for saving the top secret aircraft.
In July 1960, the CIA provided the ROC with its first two U-2Cs, and in December the squadron flew its first mission over mainland China. Other countries were also covered from time to time by the 35th Squadron, such as North Korea, North Vietnam and Laos, but the main objective of the ROC 35th Squadron was to conduct reconnaissance missions assessing the PRC's nuclear capabilities. For this purpose the ROC pilots flew as far as Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
and other remote regions in northwest China. Some of the missions, due to mission requirements and range, plus to add some element of surprise, had the 35th Squadron's U-2s flying from or recovered at other US air bases in Southeast Asia and Eastern Asia, such as K-8 (Kunsan) in South Korea, or Tikhli in Thailand. All US airbases in the region were listed as emergency/ alternate recovery airfields and could be used besides the 35th Squadron's home base at Taoyuan airbase in Taiwan. Initially, all film taken by the Black Cat Squadron would be flown to Okinawa or Guam for processing and development, and the US forces would not share any of the mission photos with Taiwan. Only in late 1960s did the USAF agree to share a complete set of mission photos and help Taiwan set up a photo development and interpretation unit at Taoyuan AB.
After the People's Republic of China conducted its third nuclear test on 9 May 1966, the US was eager to get information on the Chinese capabilities. To this end, the CIA initiated a program, code named Tabasco, to develop a sensor pod that could be dropped into the Takla Makan desert, near the Chinese nuclear test site. The pod was intended to deploy an antenna after landing and radio back data to the US SIGINT station at Shulinkou Taiwan. After a year of testing in the US, the pod was ready. Two pilots of the 35th squadron were trained in the dropping of the pod. On 7 May 1967, a ROCAF U-2 (article 383) flown by Spike Chuang took off from Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force facility. It is located in Central Thailand, approximately 144 miles northwest of Bangkok in Takhli district, Nakhon Sawan Province, near the city of Nakhon Sawan.- Units :...
with a sensor pod under each wing. The aircraft successfully released the pods at the target, near the Lop Nur
Lop Nur
Lop Lake or Lop Nur is a group of small, now seasonal salt lake sand marshes between the Taklamakan and Kuruktag deserts in the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, southeastern portion of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China.The lake system into which the Tarim...
Nuclear Weapons Test Base, but no data were received from the pods. This was unfortunate, as the People's Republic of China conducted a test of its first thermonuclear device in Test No. 6 on 17 June 1967. A second U-2 mission was flown to the area by a Black Cat squadron U-2 flown by Bill Chang on 31 August 1967. This U-2 carried a recorder and an interrogator in an attempt to contact the pods. This mission was unsuccessful, as nothing was heard from the pods. This set the stage for Operation Heavy Tea, conducted by the Black Bat Squadron
Black Bat Squadron
Black Bats 34th Squadron was the name of a corps of CIA reconnaissance plane pilots and crew based in Taiwan during the Cold War. Citizens of the Republic of China, they flew missions over mainland China, or the People's Republic of China , to drop agents and gathered military signal intelligences...
.
In 1968, the ROC U-2C/F/G fleet was replaced with the newer U-2R. However, with the coming of the Sino-Soviet split
Sino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
and the rapprochement
Rapprochement
In international relations, a rapprochement, which comes from the French word rapprocher , is a re-establishment of cordial relations, as between two countries...
between the US and the PRC, the ROC U-2 squadron stopped entering Chinese airspace, and instead only conducted electronic surveillance plus photo reconnaissance missions with new Long-Range Oblique Reconnaissance (LOROP) cameras on the U-2R while flying over international waters. The last U-2 aircraft mission over mainland China took place on 16 March 1968. After that, all missions had the U-2 aircraft fly outside a buffer zone at least 20 nautical miles (37 km) around China.
During his visit to China in 1972, US President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
promised the Chinese authorities to cease all reconnaissance missions near and over China, though this was also made practical because US photo satellites by 1972 were able to provide better overhead images without risking losing aircraft and pilots, or provoking international incidents. The last 35th Squadron mission was flown by Sungchou "Mike" Chiu on 24 May 1974.
At the end of ROC's U-2 operations, out of a total of 19 U-2C/F/G/R aircraft operated by the 35th Squadron from 1959 to 1974, 11 were lost. The squadron flew a total of about 220 missions, with about half over mainland China, resulting in five aircraft shot down, with three fatalities and two pilots captured, and another six U-2s lost in training with six pilots killed. On 29 July 1974, the two remaining U-2R aircraft in ROC possession were flown from Taoyuan AB in Taiwan to Edwards AFB, California, US, and turned over to the USAF.
External links
- Republic of China Armed Forces Museum - Black Cat Squadron Special Exhibition
- The Lost Black Cats
- Black Cat Squadron
- Freedom Flight - the true story of U2 pilot Chang-di Yeh
- TaiwanAirPower.org The Blackcat Squadron U-2 Operations
- General Mike Hua's page, including clips and video of Blackcat Squadron