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

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Chapter 5
Detachment G Missions Over Laos and North Vietnam
In the aftermath of the Powers loss, both of the overseas U-2 detach­
ments returned to the United States and their aircraft and personnel
were incorporated into Detachment G at Edwards Air Force Base in
California. This detachment was now responsible for providing cover­
age in Asia, and its first mission came in Laos. After the neutralist
Laotian Government of Souvanna Phouma collapsed in early
December 1960, reports began circulating that leftist antigovernment
forces were using Soviet arms. Then on 30 December, a new Laotian
Government appealed for UN aid against what it said was an invasion
from North Vietnam and possibly Communist China. Alarmed over
the possibility of the civil war expanding because of the introduction
of foreign troops, the Eisenhower administration ordered Detachment
G to gather more information on the events in Southeast Asia.
Five Detachment G pilots and planes were ferried to Cubi Point
Naval Air Station in the Philippines to conduct an operation known as
POLECAT. During the period 3 to 18 January 1961, these U-2s made
. s~yen flights over Laos and North Vietnam. To search for the reported
foreign troops, these missions concentrated on the lines of communi­
cations leading into Laos from North Vietnam and China. In addition,
the U-2s scanned North Vietnamese airfields for Soviet aircraft to
determine the magnitude of the airdrop operation allegedly supporting
the Pathet Lao troops. NPIC sent photointerpreters to Clark Air Force
Base in the Philippines to obtain an immediate readout of the results
of each mission. The photography did not substantiate the Laotian
claims, and on 26 January the Laotian Government retracted its
charges of a foreign invasion. Detachment G's U-2s returned to
California in early February l 96 I. 31
During the final stages of Operation POLECAT, there was a ma­
jor threat to the security of the mission. The film from the flights
made on 16 and I 8 January had been sent to the United States for du­
plicate processing. Afterward the film was put aboard an Agency
C-47 on 14 March to ferry it to Washington. During the flight one of
the aircraft's engines failed, forcing the crew to jettison 43 boxes of
highly classified film over mountainous terrain around Williamsport,
Pennsylvania, to keep the craft airborne. After making an emergency
" Ibid., chap. 16. p. 17 (TS Codeword).
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