The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974

Text

This text came with the file. It may have mistakes. When the text and the image disagree, the image is right.

125
warnings to all pilots about the danger of opening the helmet face­
plate at high altitudes, several pilots were known to do so. Some ate
candy bars; Vito favored lemon drops. On the morning of 10
December, while Vito was undergoing prebreathing, the Air Force en­
listed man who oversaw his preflight regimen placed an L-pill in the
righthand knee pocket of Vito's flight suit, unaware that this pocket
also contained Vito's supply of lemon drops. After he took off. Vito
began indulging in his habit of sucking lemon drops. About midway
into the mission, he opened his faceplate and popped into his mouth
what he thought was another lemon drop. After closing the faceplate,
he began sucking on the object and thought it strange that it hard no
flavor and was much smoother than the previous lemon drops.
Although tempted to bite down, Vito decided instead to reopeIn his
faceplate and see what it was he had in his mouth. Spicting the object
into his hand, he saw that he had been sucking on the L-pill wi1th its
lethal contents of potassium cyanide. Just a thin layer of glass. had
stood between him and death. The loss of his aircraft over Bulgaria
would have exposed the U-2 program to worldwide publicity and
would probably have resulted in an early end to overflights.""
. . . _ Detachment A's security officer overheard Vito relating: the
L-pill story to a fellow pilot several days later and promptly reported
the conversation to headquarters. When details of Vito's close call
reached Washington. James Cunningham immediately ordered L--pills
placed in boxes so that there would be no chance of mistaking them
for anything else. The L-pill continued to be available for another
three years. Then in January 1960, the commander of Detachmernt B.
Col. William Shelton, raised an important question that had niever
been considered: what would happen if an L-pill with its volatile con­
tents accidentally broke inside the cockpit of a U-2? Realizing that
such an accident would result in the death of the pilot, James
Cunningham ordered the destruction of all L-pills and then turned to
the Technical Services Division (TSO) for a better idea. By this time
the state of the art in lethal devices was a needle poisoned with cJ1lgal,
an extremely deadly shellfish toxin. The needle was hidden in a tiny
hole in a silver dollar supplied by Cunningham. Only one poison--nee­
dle coin was made because Cunningham decided that, if any pilo1t had
to use it because of capture, there would probably not be any more
h
6s
overfl.1g ts.
"' Cunningham interview (TS Codeword); Carmine Vito. interview by Donald E.
Welzenbach. Washington, DC. 7 May 1986 (S).
~• Cable from Detachment B to Development Projects Division (DPD). 4 January 1960;
cabk: from DPD to Detachment 8, 7 January 1960. OSA records, job 67-B-972. box 18,
"Operation KNIFE EDGE" (TS Codeword).
Sec, et NOFORN
Chapter 3