cameras were modified slightly to accommodate this lower altitude. The scorers were then serviced, loaded with film, and installed in the drones. Everything was ready for the Fire Fly's first overflight. The DC-130 was on the flight line, with all four engines running, awaiting clearance to head down the taxiway to the end of the runway. They were moments away from starting when the mission was aborted on orders of Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, the air force chief of staff. LeMay supported the drone effort but wanted to save the capability for something bigger. U-2 overflights resumed on November 5. Although radar continued to track the planes, no SAMs were fired.[220]
Shortly after the aborted launch, the air force issued a contract for a family of operational drones to undertake different types of missions. The first was the 147B, a specialized high-altitude drone. The wingspan was extended from the 13 feet of the 147A to 27 feet, which raised the altitude ceiling to 62,500 feet. Two test vehicles and seven production 147B drones were to be built.
It would take several months for the 147Bs to be ready. To provide an immediate reconnaissance capability, the air force ordered seven 147Cs, production versions of the 147As. The wingspan was increased from 13 to 15 feet, and the contrail suppression system was added. Three of the 147Cs were then modified to produce the 147D. This drone was designed to undertake a mission that would be impossible for a manned aircraft. The air force needed data on the proximity fuze of the SA-2; to get the data, the drone would have to be hit by the SAM. The three 147Ds were delivered on December 16, 1962. Six weeks after the Cuban Missile Crisis ended, the United States had a limited unmanned reconnaissance capability based on the 147C and D drones.
Because the Fire Fly code name had been compromised, a new one was needed. In keeping with the insect trend of earlier names, the new drones were called 'Lightning Bugs.'
On July 1, 1963, the 4028th SRS(W) — Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (Weather) — was declared operational and was placed on seventy-two-hour alert. The unit was initially equipped with two 147Cs and two 147Ds, pending arrival of the first of the production 147Bs. It was located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, outside Tucson, Arizona, in an old World War I hangar. Like the A-12 unit, the 4028th had its own patch. It showed a cartoon of a fire fly (with a lightbulb in its tail). From its antennas came two lightning bolts — hence a Lightning Bug.
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
The following day, the
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
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.
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
