Bug was
By New Year's of 1965, it was clear the 147B drones were a success.
Soon after the end of the holidays, Ryan Aeronautical began work on an improved version of the high-altitude 147B. This was done without a formal contract. Ryan and the air force had developed a good working relationship, and the effort could get under way without waiting for the paperwork.
The new version was the 147G drone. The major change was a more powerful engine for a higher altitude over the target area (at the cost of a shorter range than the 147B). A contrail suppression system was also added to the engine. This would lessen the chance of a visual sighting. The fuselage was stretched to 29 feet, while the wings spanned 27 feet. The formal contract for the 147G was issued in March 1965, and the first was delivered in July 1965.[243]
At this same time, the first changing of the guard was made in the skies of North Vietnam. During a photo run over Haiphong Harbor, an air force U-2 was fired on unsuccessfully by an SA-2. In response, a dual mission was planned — a 147B drone was to fly over an area defended by the SAMs, while a U-2 remained just out of range to observe. As the U-2 pilot watched in awe, an SA-2 rose up and consumed the drone. U-2 overflights of North Vietnam ended. They were shifted to 'signals intelligence' missions. This involved flying long hours outside North Vietnamese airspace to pick up radio and radar transmissions.[244] The 147B reconnaissance drones took over high-altitude, photo-reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam.
That fall, there was another changing of the guard. The first 147G mission was flown in late October 1965. The new drone soon replaced the 147B, which made its last flight in December. The first 147G lost over China was shot down on February 7, 1966. (This was the seventh drone brought down by the Chinese.)[245] The Chinese destroyed another 147G drone on March 5, 1966, over the central south region. They said the drone was on 'a provocative re-connoitering flight.' The
As the U-2s were giving way to the 147Bs, and they, in turn, were replaced by the 147Gs, work also began on a drone using a completely different mission profile. The normal weather pattern over North Vietnam was for clear skies between May and September. During the winter monsoon season, between November and March, there were thick clouds and heavy rain, with ceilings down to 500 feet.[247] Even with clear weather during the summer, smoke and ground haze would often cause the photos from high-altitude drones to be poor.
It was clear the drones would have to go in
In October 1965, a contract was issued to produce the 147J. This was a 147G modified for low-level operation, with a new altitude-control system and camera package. Development proved difficult, with the loss of three prototypes and damage to a DC-130 when 147XJ-2 collided with it just after launch.
To test the 147J's control system under combat conditions, two of the old 147C drones were modified. A new 'duck head' nose was added to house a larger camera. Both were soon lost; the C was marginal at best for so demanding a mission.[248]
In all, seventy-seven missions were flown over China and North Vietnam during 1965. These were made up of the last of the 147B drones, the first of the 147Gs, the two 147Cs flown to test low-altitude operations, two 147Ds flown as decoys, and the first of the 147E ELINT drones, in a program called 'United Effort.'[249]
With SA-2 sites spreading throughout North Vietnam, the need for the fuze data was all the greater. This mission was undertaken by 147E drones.
These were 147Bs with their cameras replaced by special ELINT equipment.
The data would be retransmitted to an RB-47, even as the drones themselves were destroyed. Three 147Es were sent to Bien Hoa in October 1965.
The first three 147E missions were not successful, due to ELINT package failures. The 147E drones were withdrawn from operations and underwent environmental chamber tests. The problem was traced to overheating of the ELINT equipment, and the drones returned overseas in early 1966.
Success came on February 13, 1966, with the fourth attempt. The ELINT equipment relayed data on the SA- 2's proximity fuze, radar guidance after the fuze activated, and the blast overpressure that destroyed the drone.
United States intelligence had been trying for years to get this data. This mission was later described as the most significant ELINT mission since the start of the Cold War. It paid for the whole 147 program. The data was incorporated into the design of new electronic countermeasures equipment (ECM).[250]
The first of this new ECM equipment, the ALQ-51 'Shoehorn,' was then tested aboard a drone against SA-2 missiles. Ryan modified a single 147 drone, B-7, to the 147F configuration. The Shoehorn was a large package, and it was difficult to fit it into the drone. The 147F drone was sent overseas and made several flights in July 1966. It was lost on July 22, 1966, but not before ten or eleven SAMs had been fired at it. The 147F was able to prove out the Shoehorn without risk to a pilot.[251]
BORN TO LOSE — THE 147N A N D NX DECOY DRONES
North Vietnamese air defenses had continued to expand and were taking a toll on the drones. Of a series of twenty-four missions, sixteen drones were lost. This loss rate was too high and, in early 1966, the air force asked Ryan to build a decoy drone. This led to yet another branch in the 147 family.
The new decoy effort was given priority to bypass normal procedures, even those of Big Safari. Over a ten- day period, ten Firebee target drones were modified with traveling wave tubes to make them look like larger aircraft. They were designated 147N drones. As the 147Ns were never meant to survive, they had only a ninety- minute fuel supply and no recovery parachute.
The first 147N mission was launched on March 3, 1966. The decoy 147N and a 147G were released from the DC-130 almost simultaneously.
They flew a parallel course until they approached the target area. The two drones then diverged, giving the North Vietnamese two possible targets.
The 147N, with a larger radar return, was flying at a vulnerable altitude. As expected, they went after the 147N, while the 147G returned to Da Nang.
Although all were lost, the eight 147Ns were credited with five MiG 'kills.' In the first case, a 147N headed out over the Tonkin Gulf with a MiG hot on its tail. The MiG pilot ran out of fuel and had to eject at sea.
Other kills were 'friendly fire' — a SAM was launched at a drone but destroyed a MiG. Still another MiG was shot down by its wingman.[252]
Their success led to a follow-on decoy. Despite expectations, several of the 147Ns had survived to reach Da Nang. Without a parachute, however, they could not be recovered. In August 1966, another order was placed for ten decoys. Like the 147Ns, these were to be Firebee target drones equipped to make them appear as bigger targets. Unlike the earlier decoys, the 147NX also carried an inexpensive, low-resolution camera. From medium altitude, it could take photos with a six-foot resolution. The 147NX could be used to spot trucks and provide general indications of activity. The first 147NX missions were flown in November. They would function as a confusion factor for the high-altitude 147Gs, rather than cover specific targets. If the 147NX made it back, the photos were a bonus.[253]
In late March 1966, the 147J began low-level operations over North Vietnam. It used a barometric low- altitude control system (BLACS) to remain a preset height above the ground. A dual camera system was added — one camera looked front and rear, the second looked left and right. The most visible difference with the 147J was the paint finish. All the earlier, high-altitude drones had been painted black; because the 147Js would fly at low altitude, they were painted gray on the upper surfaces and white underneath.
The 147Js soon were showing greater survivability over the target. They flew below the effective altitude of
