35th  SQUADRON  

 R.o.C.A.F.

WE ARE WATCHING YOU

The only other U-2 operator was the Republic of China (Taiwan), which flew missions mostly over the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since the 1950s, the Republic of China Air Force had used the RB-57A/D aircraft for reconnaissance missions over the PRC, but suffered two losses when MiG-17 and SA-2 SAM were able to intercept the aircraft. In 1958, ROC and American authorities reached an agreement to create the 35th Squadron, nicknamed the BlackCat Squadron, composed of two U-2Cs in Taoyuan Airbase in northern Taiwan, in an isolated part of the airbase. To create the typical misdirection's at the time, the unit was created under the cover of high altitude weather research missions for ROCAF. To the US government, the 35th Squadron and any US CIA/USAF personnel assigned to the unit were known as Detachment H on all documents. But instead of being under normal USAF control, the project was known as Project RAZOR and was run directly by CIA with USAF assistance, after a long tussle between the two agencies. Main ground rule of each of the 35th Squadron's operational missions had to be approved by both the US and the Taiwan/ROC presidents beforehand. To add another layer of security and secrecy to the project, all US military and CIA/government personnel stationed in Taoyuan assigned to Detachment H were issued official documents and ID with false names and cover titles as Lockheed employees/representatives in civilian clothes. The ROCAF pilots and ground support crew would never know their US counterpart's real name and rank/title, or which US government agencies they were dealing with.

	35th SQUADRON I HAVE IT Thanks Mory Tsai	R.O.C.A.F. On 14 December 1960, Detachment H was created in Taiwan. The "Blackcat" nickname associated with the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron was started by Detachment H.
Det H flyers would frequent an establishment called the "Blackcat" in a nearby town. The name "Blackcat" soon became synonymous with the members of the U-2 Det. The original Blackcat patch was designed in 1961 by Lieutenant Colonel Chen, Whei-Shen. Lt Col Chen was shot down on 1 September 1962.

A total of 26 out of 28 ROC pilots sent to the US completed training between 1959 and 1973, at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. On the night of 3 August 1959, a U-2 on a training mission, out of Laughlin AFB, Texas, piloted by Maj. Mike Hua of ROC Air Force, made a successful unassisted night time emergency landing at Cortez, Colorado, that was later known as "Miracle at Cortez", and Major Hua was later awarded the US Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross for saving the top secret aircraft.

In July 1960, the CIA provided the ROC with its first two U-2Cs, and in December the squadron flew its first mission over mainland China. Other countries were also covered from time to time by the 35th Squadron, such as North Korea, North Vietnam and Laos, but the main objective of the ROC 35th Squadron was to conduct reconnaissance missions assessing the PRC's nuclear capabilities. For this purpose the ROC pilots flew as far as Gansu and other remote regions in northwest China. Some of the missions, due to mission requirements and range, plus to add some element of surprise, had the 35th Squadron's U-2s flying from or recovered at other US air bases in Southeast Asia and Eastern Asia, such as K-8 (Kunsan) in South Korea, or Tikhli in Thailand. All US airbases in the region were listed as emergency/alternate recovery airfields and could be used besides the 35th Squadron's home base at Taoyuan airbase in Taiwan.

Initially, all film taken by the Blackcat Squadron would be flown to Okinawa or Guam for processing and development, and the US forces would not share any of the mission photos with Taiwan. Only in late 1960s did the USAF agree to share a complete set of mission photos and help Taiwan set up a photo development and interpretation unit at Taoyuan AB.

In 1968, the ROC U-2C/F/G fleet was replaced with the newer U-2R. However, with the coming of the Sino-Soviet split and the rapprochement between the US and the PRC, the ROC U-2 squadron stopped entering Chinese airspace, and instead only conducted electronic surveillance plus photo reconnaissance missions with new Long-Range Oblique Reconnaissance (LOROP) cameras on the U-2R while flying over international waters. The last U-2 aircraft mission over mainland China took place on 16 March 1968. After that, all missions had the U-2 aircraft fly outside a buffer zone at least 20 nautical miles around China.

The last 35th Squadron mission was flown by Sungchou "Mike" Chiu on 24 May 1974. At the end of ROC's U-2 operations, out of a total of 19 U-2C/F/G/R operated by the 35th Squadron from 1959 to 1974, 11 aircraft were lost. The squadron flew a total of about 220 missions^[ with about half over mainland China, resulting in five aircraft shot down, including three fatalities and two pilots captured, and another six U-2 were lost in training with six pilots killed. On 29 July 1974, the two remaining U-2R aircraft in ROC possession were flown from Taoyuan AB in Taiwan to Edwards AFB, California, US, and turned over to the USAF 

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R.O.C.A.F.

REPRODUCTION

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Seen on page 280 of Chris Pococks "50 Years of the U-2" Book 

 35th SQUADRON

R.o.C.A.F.

R.o.C.A.F.

R.o.C.A.F.

WANTED