Foreign Invaders: The Douglas Invader in Foreign Military and US Clandestine Service

FOREIGN INVADERS The Douglas Invader in foreign ~ilitary and US clandestine service

FOREIGN INVADERS The Douglas Invader in foreign military and US clandestine service

r r

J

FOREIGN INVADERS The Douglas Invader in foreign military and US clandestine service

Dan Hagedorn and Leif Hellstrom

Midland Publishing Limited

,

4

•

I

FOREIGN INVADERS

© 1994 Dan Hagedorn and Leif Hellstrom

First published in 1994 by Midland Publishing Limited 24 The Hollow, Earl Shilton Leicester, LE9 7NA England Tel: 0455 847 256 Fax: 0455 841 805 North American distribution by Specialty Press Publishers & Wholesalers 11481 Kost Dam Road North Branch, MN 55056, USA Tel: 800-895-4585 Fax: 612-583-2023 ISBN 1-85780-013-3 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or photo-copied, recorded or otherwis~, without the written permission of the publishers.

J

I

Editorial layout by Midland Publishing and Stephen Thompson Associates. Printed in England by The Alden Press, Oxford

Typeset in ITC Cheltenham Book and Bramley

j I

I

Title page

Invaders of GB.I/19, I'Armee de I'Air, line the apron at Cat Bi in 1953, during the French war in Indochina. ECPA ref. A 537714

j

FOREIGN INVADERS

5

Contents Introduction and Acknowledgements Brief overview

r

r

't-

6 7

Chapter I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 IS 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

PART ONE: FOREIGN MILITARY USERS Great Britain Turkey Mexico France: Indochina France: Europe and Africa Peru Chile Colombia Saudi Arabia Cuba Brazil Dominican Republic Indonesia Guatemala Nicaragua West Germany Portugal Biafra EISalvador Honduras South Vietnam Other Potential Users

9 10 15 19 21 35 53 57 61 65 68 72 81 84 89 92 97 99 105 111 116 119 120

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

PART TWO: US COVERT OPERATIONS Operation Haik: Indonesia 1958 Operation Pluto: The Bay of Pigs 1961 ProjectMi/l Pond: Laos 1961 Project Farm Gate: Vietnam 1961-1964 Anstalt Wigmo: The Congo 1964-1967 Operation Steel Tiger: Laos 1966-1969 Other CIA operations Private Enterprises

121 122 126 132 137 148 156 169 175

FOREIGN INVADERS IN COLOUR

177

APPENDICES Invader Warbirds Notes on Designations Douglas A-26 Invader Production List

185 189 190

Abbreviations Sources Index

192 194 197

A B C

FORE[GN [NVADERS

6

.1

Introduction and Acknowledgements Considering its long and very chequered history, the Doug[as Invader is without doubt one of the most unsung combat aircraft of all times. Its military career spanned nearly forty years and during this period the aircraft type was used by some twenty different air forces around the world - not counting a host of clandestine and para-military users - and took an active part in well over a dozen wars, armed conflicts and coups. It served not only as a bomber and attack aircraft, but also in the photo reconnaissance, night-fighter, crew trainer, courier, test-bed and target' towing roles, in addition to artillery spotting, maritime surveillance, glider towing, transport, air-sea rescue and airborne command post duties. Even in civilian life the Invader had its fair share of adventures, and in 1962 a B-26 very nearly became the first corporate bomber in aviation history. A few years later, during the war in Southeast Asia, another ostensibly civilian Invader became the first aircraft ever to use terrain-following radar on combat missions. The publications and articles dedicated to the Invader are few and far between, and the Invader has not received nearly as much attention as that accorded several decidedly less important aircraft types. The Invader is most well known for its service with the USMF in the Second World War and the USAF in the Korean War, and those particular aspects of its military career are usually the only ones given any appreciable coverage in histories published to date. This book will instead concentrate on the aircraft in foreign military service, and its use in American clandestine ventures around the world; the line between these two categories was often very fine indeed, as witnessed in for example the Congo and at the Bay of Pigs. With some air forces the Invader saw almost constant combat, sometimes participating in campaigns that made the history books and sometimes in skirmishes not even making the local newspapers. [n two cases, it was used by both sides in a conflict, and the B-26 is one of the very few aircraft ever to exchange fire with an opponent of the same type. [n other parts of the world it had a more peaceful service life. This book covers not only the battles, but also the more humdrum everyday use of the aircraft. Foreign Invaders was originally planned as

a series of articles for the Small Air Forces Observer magazine, but developed into its present shape during four years of extensive research. The authors are indebted to the great number of persons who have all contributed valuable information, illustrations or advice for this book. They include: Anthony Alaribe; Ronald L. Allaire; Jacques Amalric; David P. Arneson; Dr. H. Chr. Bachem, Prakla-Seismos; Gaston Bernal; Frank C. Bonansinga; Barry L. Bonwit; Michael J. F. Bowyer; Lee Bracken; Guido E. Buehlmann; Philip Butler; Hubert Cance; Jack N. Coleman; Kenneth Conboy; Lawrence J. COUI;J.tS; Robert V. Cross; George W. Cully; Ted Damick; John M. Davis; William R Davis; Henri Demaret; James J. Dias; Christian-Jacques Ehrengardt; Edwin H. Eckholdt; Jeffrey L. Ethel!; Norman Evans; Matias Farias; George G. Farinas; Pedro Ferreira; Peter Fletcher; Victor Flintham; Santiago F[ores; Clive Frith; Clarence Fu; James R Galluzzi; Harry Gann, Douglas; Peter-Michael Gerhardt; Laureano Gomez M.; J. M. G. Gradidge; John H. Grier; Daniel F. Grob; Gordon B. Hamilton; Charles R Harper; David E. Henry; Eldon Hunter; Jimmy A. Ifland; Enrique [barguen; R James [smail; Mario Jahn B.; Me Jansson; Jacques Jost; John Kerr; Dr. James H. Kitchens III, USAFHRC; Leo J. Kohn; Dr. Gary Kuhn; Dr. Ajun Kurter; David C. C. Lau; Duncan Laird; Prof. William M. Leary; Miles Lechtman; Fred Liu (Liu Wen Hsiao), Wings of China; Lars Lundin; Bob MacArthur; Paul M. Marschalk; W. W. Martin; Robert C. Mikesh; Janusz Morkowski, Muzeum Polskie w Rapperswilu; Howard L. Naslund; Col. Jose Francisco Nico, FAPor; Brian O'Farrell; Auguste Okpe; Merle Olmsted; Douglas D. Olson; Col. Erol Orta