Taiwan's most secretive military operations against China since 1949 were "successful" but costly reconnaissance missions for the US, says the military official in charge of the project.
"It was indeed a great success but was achieved at the cost of the lives of more than 140 brave pilots," said retired Air Force Lieutenant General I Fu-en (|蝝_徑).
I, now in his 80s, reflected on the missions as dozens of his decommissioned squadron members gathered for their first group reunion in Taipei this week.
The operation was carried out by the 34th and 35th squadrons in conjunction with the US government, he said.
"The 34th squadron was developed as a front for the CIA in Taiwan, and existed in the form of a company called `Western Enterprise,'" the general said.
"The squadron was equipped with P-2V and B-17 aircraft provided by the US. Its task was to collect electronic information about communist China's land-based air defense system through low-flying missions by the two types of aircraft," he said.
"Our pilots usually flew at an altitude of 300 to 500 feet under the threat of ground fire," said retired Air Force Colonel Chao Chin (
The 35th squadron was responsible for taking aerial photos of major military sites on the mainland through high-altitude flights with U2 spy aircraft.
"The U2s reached as far as Xinjiang (
Thanks to the electronic intelligence collected by the 34th squadron, he said, fewer unarmed U2s were shot down, he said.
A total of six U2s were downed while flying over the mainland between 1962 and 1969, with four pilots killed and two others captured.
The 34th squadron suffered a much heavier casualty figure of 140 deaths during its missions.
But despite this, he said, the missions made important gains in two areas.
"Militarily, it found targets for attacks on the mainland for the US. If we hadn't done that, the US military would not have known where to attack in the event of a war against China," he said.
"Politically, it gave the White House added leverage in dealing with China since all of its military secrets were given to the US president," he said.
The crucial military intelligence which the Air Force collected helped the US Strategic Command Command Post build its "target folders" regarding China, he said.
It was a pity, however, that Taiwan itself did not benefit from the missions that the 34th and 35th squadrons conducted, he said.
"All the information collected from the reconnaissance missions was of great significance to the US, but of no practical help to Taiwan," Lieutenant General I said.
"This was because Taiwan had no weapons to help itself cash in on the information," he said.
Lieutenant General I said that Taiwan had asked the US to sell 16 bombers to Taiwan at the time but was turned down.
"The only benefit for Taiwan in the matter was probably the establishment of China Airlines (
"The Taiwan government could have asked for more from the US, but it didn't," he added.
The reconnaissance missions came to an end in the late 1960s as more advanced spy satellites came in use.
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