Dark Eagles: A History of the Top Secret U.S. Aircraft

Ibid., 118-20. During the testing of the Rivet Bouncer system, an unusual incident occurred. Due to a family emergency, a technical representative working on Rivet Bouncer was allowed home leave. He booked the first available flight, which was on Air France. He did not check the route, so was very surprised to discover its first stop was Hanoi. He remained on the plane and his passport was not checked.

259

59. Ibid., 213.

260

Levinson, Alpha Strike Vietnam, 177-79, 214, 215, 223, 250, 251.

261

'Chinese Pilots Guided by the Thoughts of Mao,' New York Times, January 15, 1968, 3. The 'Heroic Sea Eagle Regiment' of the Chinese Navy was described as being inspired 'to completely wipe out the bourgeois military line and smash the illogical, stereotyped foreign programs and manuals.' The thoughts of Chairman Mao were described as better than compasses and radar. 'With Mao Tse-tung's thoughts in our minds,' one pilot was quoted as saying, 'we can tell exactly where we are heading, even in clouds or dense fog.'

262

'U.S. Plane Downed, China Says,' New York Times, April 30, 1967, 5.

263

'U.S. Plane Downed, Says China,' New York Times, June 13, 1967, 3.

264

Pocock, Dragon Lady, 113.

265

Wagner, Lightning Bugs and Other Reconnaissance Drones, 133, 134.

266

Ibid., 135, 136.

267

Ibid., 136, 137.

268

Ibid., 134.

269

'U.S. Plane Claimed by Hanoi,' New York Times, June 9, 1968, 9.

270

Wagner, Lightning Bugs and Other Reconnaissance Drones, 191.

271

A. J. Wang, 'The Air Force of the Dragon,' Air Combat (September 1991): 19.

272

'Hanoi Will Demand Reconnaissance Flights' End,' New York Times, May 13, 1968, 4.

273

Gene Roberts, 'Enemy Increases Convoys in North,' New York Times, November