The First American Covert Overflights of the Soviet Union

1st Lieutenant Bryce Poe II, USAF
(Gathering of Eagles Association)

The introduction of nuclear weapons at the end of the Second World War had a profound influence in many combat doctrines and none nowhere else as much as that of airborne reconnaissance. In November 1945, General Henry "Hap" Arnold of the US Army Air Forces warned the US government that in the future, American leaders would require "continuous knowledge of potential enemies, including all aspects of their political, social, industrial, scientific and military life" if the United States was to avoid a surprise attack with nuclear weapons. Traditional reconnaissance doctrines had the use of airborne assets in support of ongoing combat operations. General Arnold and many of his contemporaries at the dawn of the Cold War recognized that airborne reconnaissance was needed to provide an assessment and early warning of potential enemies, namely the Soviet Union that was rapidly tightening its grip on Eastern Europe. The start of the Berlin Blockade in June 1948 pressed the issue further that up-to-date reconnaissance was needed of the Soviet Union should tensions escalate to an all-out conflict. Interestingly while the highest levels of the US government tried to determine the best way to make such an assessment, the United States Far East Air Forces (FEAF) based in Japan took the initiative to begin its own assessment of Soviet forces in their region in response to the rising tensions during the Berlin Blockade. The commander in chief of the US FEAF, Major General George Stratemeyer, ordered the 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and its Lockheed RF-80 Shooting Stars to begin a series of covert overflights of the Soviet Far East. Based at Yokota Air Base, Stratemeyer ordered the 8th TRS to deploy to Misawa AB on the northern Japanese home island of Hokkaido. Two pilots were selected with 1st Lieutenant Bryce Poe as the primary pilot for the secret missions to assess Soviet air strength in the region. The RF-80s were modified with larger wingtip tanks for longer range. Poe was instructed that if the coastline was free of clouds, dash into Soviet airspace, photograph the targets and dash back out and head back to Misawa as fast as possible. 

The first reconnaissance overflight (and USAF jet reconnaissance mission) of the Soviet Union took place on 10 May 1948 with 1Lt. Poe departing Misawa AB to overfly targets on Kuril Islands. Missions were flown to photograph targets on Sakhalin Island as well further to the north. The first overflight of the Soviet mainland took place on 10 March 1950 to photograph bases around the port of Vladivostok. Most of the airfields Poe had photographed were full of not just only Lend-Lease Bell -39 Airacobras and P-63 Kingcobras, but also late model Lavochkin piston fighters like the La-9 and La-11. Although jet powered, the RF-80s had increased drag and lower speeds with the larger external tanks needed for the recon missions which cut down on the performance margin over the Lavochkin fighters which often tried to give chase to the missions. 

Lockheed RF-80 with the enlarged camera nose section
(Wikipedia)

What was impressive about these first overflights is that they were done at the initiative and discretion of General Stratemeyer without any prior clearance from Washington and they were done in the face of significant technical and logistical obstacles. The reconnaissance cameras used on the RF-80 were designed for piston-engined aircraft and lacked the capability to do stereo images in a high speed aircraft like the RF-80. Spare parts were in constant short supply and given that Misawa at the time was on the far northern part of a still rebuilding Japan, insuring even basic food rations for the 8th TRS personnel deployed north proved challenging. Many F-80 units based in Japan at the time found themselves the subject of "moonlight parts acquisitions" so the secret overflights could continue. 

Despite the failure of the Berlin Blockade which was finally lifted on 11 May 1949 and the formation of NATO, tensions remained high with the first detonation of a Soviet atomic bomb on 29 August 1949 followed by Mao Tse-Tung's Communist victory in China on 1 October 1949 over the Nationalists. With Stalin feeling more confident about the Soviet posture on the world stage, on 25 June 1950, the North Korean Army smashed across the DMZ on the Korean Peninsula, igniting the Korean War. In order to prevent further escalation the conflict, American reconnaissance pilots were instructed to avoid Chinese and Russian air space, however, the advance of North Korean forces meant that 1st Lt. Bryce Poe was called upon again by General Stratemeyer to begin a new set of secret overflights. In August 1950, he was called to FEAF HQ to again deploy out of Misawa and fly a series of missions against Soviet airfields in the region. While Soviet fighters tried more aggressively to intercept the RF-80s, none came close to getting shot down. By this point, the intelligence from Poe's flights was deemed critical by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and on 28 July 1950, the JCS requested official permission from the Secretary of Defense, Louis Johnson, for overflights of Chinese bases on the coasts adjacent to the Korea. Just four days later, President Truman gave his approval and again, because of his prior expertise, 1st Lt. Bryce Poe flew the missions against Chinese coastal targets and additional missions by other pilots were flown against Chinese ports opposite of Taiwan to make sure no amphibious assault preparations were underway to move against Taiwan. 

By the summer of 1950 discussions had been taking place at the Pentagon about using the more-capable North American RB-45 Tornado for overflight missions of Chinese and Soviet targets, but the aircraft being a bomber, it was felt at the time to be too politically risky, particularly as the Pentagon was seeking authority for overflights of Soviet targets in Europe as well as in the Far East. By this point Allied fortunes in the Korean War had improved following the landings at Inchon. Poe was once again called to FEAF HQ for a third set of covert overflights but the other pilot that he had been working with on the prior sets of overflights had been killed in action, so for this next set of missions, Bryce Poe would be the only pilot flying. Due to the secrecy of the missions, Poe did all his own flight planning. He was told by General Douglas MacArthur and General Stratemeyer what information they needed and Poe himself figured out the targets, routes, photographic equipment, times and altitudes. Despite the ongoing war in Korea, Poe found that the defensive posture of the Soviet airfields had only modestly increased, but as a precaution, F-80 Shooting Star fighters would meet Poe on his outbound leg to make sure no Soviet fighters were trying to tail him. 

Major General Bryce Poe II before retirement
(USAF)

Once he landed, the film was developed by one warrant officer and Poe himself did all the photo interpretation work and then hand carried the imagery to brief General MacArthur as well as General Stratemeyer and his FEAF deputy. It was a remarkable degree of authority given to a 1st lieutenant! Stratemeyer felt only barest minimum of individuals needed to be involved in the secret overflights. Bryce Poe rotated back to the United States in January 1951 after making nineteen secret overflights of Chinese and Soviet territory as well as 90 unclassified tactical reconnaissance missions in support of operations in Korea. After Korea, Poe flew as an exchange pilot with several NATO nations before serving as the executive officer to General Bernard Schriever at the Western Development Division where ICBM development was taking place. He then served as an Atlas ICBM missile officer with the Strategic Air Command before returning to reconnaissance in time for Vietnam. As vice-commander of the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, he flew 213 recon missions in the RF-4C Phantom in Vietnam. He later commanded the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing with the United States Air Forces Europe. Following his USAFE assignments, he assumed command positions with the Ogden Air Logistics Center in Utah and at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio. He retired in 1981 as a very decorated four-star general and veteran of two wars, flying west on 20 November 2000. 

Sources: Shadow Flights: America's Secret Air War Against the Soviet Union by Curtis Peebles. Presidio Press, 2000, pp 4-39.

How the Lockheed P-80 Saved McDonnell Aircraft

In 1942 James McDonnell was summoned to Washington to meet with officials from the US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer). At the time McDonnell Aircraft only built parts for other aircraft manufacturers at its St. Louis facilities and only had one aircraft program going, the XP-67 Moonbat fighter. To McDonnell's surprise, BuAer asked McDonnell and his small team to design a carrier-based jet fighter. Not having had any prior experience worked in McDonnell's favor- the Navy felt that he was free of any bias or prejudices and was therefore most likely to come up with an innovative design. McDonnell's design would be come the FD-1/FH-1 Phantom, the first purpose-built carrier-borne jet fighter. But BuAer's decision was not without its controversy in the Navy and to satisfy the critics, it was agreed to evaluate an existing jet fighter that by that point was only a year from its first flight- the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, which first flew in June 1944. With a more powerful engine, the P-80 was faster than the FD-1 Phantom. In early 1945, the Navy purchased two P-80 Shooting Stars for evaluation, one of which would be suitably modified for evaluation as a carrier-borne fighter. 

The first Navy P-80 was flown from Lockheed's California facility to the Navy's flight test center at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, incidentally becoming the first transcontinental jet flight on 29 June 1945 (though it wasn't a nonstop jet flight). The pilot was a young 1st Lt. Najeeb Halaby, at the time a US Navy test pilot who later on would become the FAA Administrator under JFK and later become CEO of Pan Am. The plan was to conduct shore-based trials first before going through with ship-board trials. Through 1946 the P-80 was flown in mock combat against the Navy's main fighter of the day, the Grumman F8F Bearcat. Though not as maneuverable as the Bearcat, the P-80 had the luxury of speed to engage and disengage in combat much to the Bearcat pilots' frustration. The second P-80 arrived at NAS Patuxent River in December 1945 after being modified by Lockheed with a tailhook, catapult hooks (for use with a catapult bridle) and a catapult shuttle holdback. Shore-based tests to simulate carrier operations were used to determine the operating parameters for the P-80 on the carrier deck. Catapult shots were easily accomplished on land-based gear, but it was found that the P-80 was exceptionally clean aerodynamically on approach and had to be "flown" onto the deck, but the nose gear design was too weak for a firm carrier-style three-point landing. But if the P-80 landed to hard on its mains, it would rock forward and the hook would miss the arresting wires. 

After more testing, the project pilot, the legendary Marine Corps ace Lt. Col. Marion Carl and his LSO managed to determine the proper approach speed (just 5 mph above the stall speed of the P-80) and flare to minimize the forward rocking motion on landing. Though the margin was considered too close to the stall speed, Carl found that the P-80 had good stall warnings well in advance of the actual stall. On 1 November 1946 Carl took the P-80 to sea aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. Catapult launches and arrested landings were made safely, but it was found that the P-80 needed 900 feet of deck with 35 knots of wind over the deck to take off without the catapult, over twice the distance the McDonnell FD-1 required. To put that into perspective, the length of the FDR's flight deck was just shy of 961 feet! It was also found that the J33 engine of the P-80 took as long as 2 minutes to spool up to full power after starting, which would greatly lengthen the deck launching cycle. From catapult takeoff, one circuit in the carrier landing pattern, and then an arrested landing, the P-80 used 37 gallons of fuel. By comparison, the Vought F4U Corsair only used 6 gallons. 

The next phase of carrier testing then involved flying the P-80 at operational loads which also included use of the tip tanks that were a fixture on USAF aircraft during the Korean War. It was quickly found that in this more realistic configuration the catapults of the day even with a strong wind over the deck were unable to launch the P-80. In addition, the wing structure where the tanks were attached was too weak and a stronger catapult would have just launched the P-80, leaving its tip tanks behind!

Before the carrier tests were performed, some in the Navy unhappy with BuAer's decision to go with McDonnell wanted to purchase the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star instead. Lockheed even did some design work on what they called a P-80B for the Navy which would have had the Navy designation FO-1 (Lockheed's designator become V in the 1950s, so it would have been then known as FV-1). The deck trials quickly ended this proposal and McDonnell would go on to develop a whole line of fighters for the Navy from FD-1 Phantom, the F2H Banshee, the F3H Demon, the superlative F-4 Phantom II and today's F/A-18 Hornet. The Navy, did however, buy 50 P-80s to be used as shore-based trainers to allow naval aviators to gain jet experience. VF-6A (later renumbered VF-52) at NAS North Island and Marine squadron VMF-311 at MCAS El Toro operated the P-80s. Lockheed did, however, develop the TV-2 SeaStar based on the Lockheed T-33 in the 1950s. The T-33 required an extensive amount of modification to be suitable for carrier operation. In 1962 the TV-2 was redesignated the T-1 and was ultimately replaced by the North American T-2 Buckeye.

Source: U.S. Naval Air Superiority- Developement of Shipborne Jet Fighters 1943-1962 by Tommy H. Thompson. Specialty Press, 2008, p23-33.