Chinese missile tactic defeats U-2 reconnaissance in 1962



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The Chinese air defense applied an ambush tactic, turning off the radar to surprise before shooting down the American-made U-2 reconnaissance in 1962.

In the late 1950s, Washington and Taipei began launching a top-secret reconnaissance program called “Soft Touch” to track down the Beijing nuclear project. To access inland locations in northwest mainland China, the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruited and trained a number of Taiwanese pilots to fly U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.

“The U-2 recon has been flying regularly over Chinese airspace since 1957 to spy on Soviet territory. China has been a recon target since Washington learned that Moscow was supporting Beijing. Developing nuclear missile capabilities and ballistics, “said Dino A. Brugioni, a senior official at the CIA’s National Image Decoding Center (NIPC).

Brugioni said satellites and reconnaissance planes were the main source of intelligence data on Chinese nuclear and missile facilities because there was almost no public information at the time. “To some extent, China poses an even greater challenge than the Soviet Union because we have very little information to confirm what is happening,” he said.

Black Miao Squadron U-2 pilot and plane.  Photo: Taiwan Air Power.

Black Miao Squadron U-2 pilot and plane. Image: Taiwan Air Power.

Taiwanese pilots were brought to the United States for U-2 reconnaissance flight training since March 1959, while flights over mainland Chinese airspace were still entirely controlled by American pilots. This changed after the Soviet Union shot down a U-2 plane flown by pilot Gary Powers on May 1, 1960. Just five days later, US President Dwight Eisenhower agreed to sell a squad of U-2s to Taiwan

With the support of the CIA, the US-Dai mixed U-2 unit was established in 1959 as the 35th Squadron “Black Miao”, began reconnaissance of mainland China from 1962. In the first phase, reconnaissance flights were carried out performed without a hitch because the Chinese military failed to shoot down the U-2s.

“U-2 aircraft are usually reconnaissance during the day. We tried to attack them but could not reach the height of the American reconnaissance. The MiG-17 only had a maximum ceiling of 16,000 m, while the U-2 flew at an altitude of more than 20,000 meters. We could detect them entering the airspace but we couldn’t do anything, “revealed a Chinese pilot surnamed Han about the U-2 clashes at the time.

Then China abandoned its efforts to send interceptors and began deploying and cloaking the S-75 Dvina anti-aircraft missile system near nuclear facilities. This tactic was effective, causing the Hac Mieu squad to take the first damage on 9/9/1962.

The Chinese air defense fired an S-75 missile that day, shot down a U-2 near the city of Nanchang, and pilot Chen Huai died in a Chinese military hospital from his injuries. Washington denied any allegations about the flight, although in reality the U-2s of the Black Miao squadron were manufactured by the United States, maintained and replaced if necessary by CIA personnel.

“The S-75 is a limited-range missile. To hit the U-2 at cruising altitude, the bullet must be thrown almost directly below its flight path. China had only four battalions of arrows. the fire is capable of being ready to fight, without reinforcements from the Soviet Union, “Han revealed.

The HQ-2 missile launcher, a replica of the Chinese-made S-75, is housed in a museum in Beijing.  Photo: Flickr / Ken Patterson.

The HQ-2 missile launcher, a replica of the Chinese-made S-75, is housed in a museum in Beijing. Image: Flickr / Ken Patterson.

The shortage forced China to adopt guerilla tactics to intercept U-2 jets. Missile launchers are attached to trucks to increase maneuverability. Because China has a knowledge of the enemy’s priority targets, China places anti-aircraft missiles around that area and fires only when the U-2 enters a 15 km range.

Chinese air defenses also apply many measures to hide, such as camouflaging the battlefield, not turning on the fire control radar until the target is within range. “The U-2 has very poor maneuverability. When it comes into range, we will suddenly turn on the radar and fire it. The U-2 pilot has almost no response,” Han added.

China’s request to explore the nuclear program requires Washington and the island of Taiwan to step up their reconnaissance activities, in the context of Beijing deploying more S-75 battlefields and threatening U-2 flights. Two more aircraft were shot down on November 1, 1963 and July 7, 1964, prompting Taiwan to ask the United States to install stronger electronic warfare systems for the Hac Miao U-2 aircraft.

The U-2s at the time had a System XII irradiated radar warning system, but did not carry the modern System XIII jamming system due to the United States’ fear that they would fall into Chinese hands. The demand for espionage increased so the US Department of Defense subsequently agreed to install System XIII, but asked the Taiwanese pilot not to initiate them until it was discovered that he had been captured by the combined S-75 radar.

Another U-2 crashed in a situation that was kept secret for more than 50 years, leading Taiwan to refuse to spy on mainland China unless the pilot activated System XIII for the entire flight. However, this measure is not really effective against the hidden radar tactic of the Chinese air defense forces.

The United States decided to halt reconnaissance activities over China in 1968, but Taiwan’s U-2 reconnaissance continued to spy on areas more than 40 kilometers from the mainland until 1974, the time of sight. The Beijing-Washington system was greatly improved and the Black Miao Air Force was disbanded.

The body of a U-2 shot down by China is on display in the museum.  Photo: Flickr / Paul Cheese.

The body of a U-2 shot down by China is on display in the museum. Image: Flickr / Paul Cheese.

During its 15 years of service, the Black Miao squad numbered 19 U-2s in total and conducted 220 missions, half of which took place in the skies over mainland China.

The crew suffered extensive damage with five planes shot down, killing three pilots and capturing two. An aircraft was also destroyed on a mission off the continental coast, killing the pilot. 7 crashed during training, killing 6 pilots.

On July 29, 1974, the last two U-2 aircraft serving the Taiwan Defense Force took off from Taoyuan Base Camp to Edwards Military Airport in California to be delivered to the US Air Force.

Duy Son (According to the UPI)

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