U-2 Black Cat Squadron in Taiwan _ ROCAF U-2 Operations over China

ROCAF U-2 OPERATIONS


M/ G Jude BK Pao, ROCAF (Ret)	Gen Hsichun Mike Hua, ROCAF (Ret)

PROJECT RAZOR

During 15-years of reconnaissance operations code-named Project Razor, ROC pilots flew 102 missions that penetrated the bamboo curtain, including overflights over North Korea and Northern Indochina. Surface-to-air missiles shot down five U-2s over Mainland China. Three ROC pilots were killed, two taken prisoner.

During this same period, American U-2s penetrated Soviet airspace twenty-four times. One aircraft was lost. No one was killed. Combined, ROC and American U-2 operations lost seven pilots in routine training flights and coastal patrol missions. This Black Cat site is intended to honor and provide recognition to our ROC Roadrunners. The contributions made to this site by generals Pao and Hua are commendable and greatly appreciated.

From 1959 to 1971, 30 ROCAF pilots were sent to US to receive training on U-2. Twenty-seven of them completed their training. The first two U-2Fs were delivered to the ROCAF in July 1960, another two in December 1962. In December 1964, Article 342 replaced 359 until 359 returned to Taoyuan in late spring, 1965. Article 348 (U-2G) was ferried to Taoyuan around June, 1964, and flown by Lockheed pilot, Bob Schumacher, as well as the Chinese and CIA pilots on hand in a test program to cure a flameout problem that had developed after a new fuel control had been installed in all the aircraft a few months earlier.

U-2

The N801X tail number remained on it the whole time it was at Taoyuan. Article 359 operated out of Taoyuan for most of 1964 before being delivered back to the U.S. for a dorsal canoe modification.. Article 359 returned to Taoyuan in mid 1965 and remained through December, 1965. Article 372 was first aircraft deployed to Taoyuan in "Black Velvet" finish. All the earlier planes were "midnight" blue. On 19 March 1961, pilot Yao-Hwa Chih was killed when his aircraft veered of the runway and burned during take off from Taoyuan on a night flight training.

9 September 1962, Huai-Sheng Chen took off from Taoyuan at 0600 for a mission on military deployment in Jiangxi region in U-2C "378". He was shot down by SA-2 fired by PLAAF 2nd Surface-to-Air Guided Missile Battalion over Nanchang. Chen was alive when he was found but died at the hospital.

1 November 1963, Chang-Di Yeh flew a mission on nuclear weapons facility in northwestern China where he was shot down by SA-2 fired by PLAAF 2nd Surface-to-Air Guided Missile Battalion over Jiangxi. He was captured alive by the Chinese Communists and not released to Hong Kong until November 10, 1982.

23 March 1964, Te-Pei Liang was flying a photo training over Taiwan when his aircraft lost control due to improper handling. Liang ejected but was drowned.

7 July 1964, Nan-Ping Lee took off from NAS Cubi Point, Philippines on a mission on China's supply lines to North Vietnam. He was shot down by SA-2 fired by PLAAF 2nd Surface-to-Air Guided Missile Battalion over Fujian and was killed when his ejection seat failed to fire because of it not being armed.

14 August 1964, Shih-Li Sheng survived the crashed his aircraft on a training mission near Boise, Idaho, USA.

19 December 1964, Shih-Li Sheng was on a training mission from Davis-Monthan AFB when he lost control while climbing through thunderhead. The aircraft crashed and though Sheng survived, he was forced out of the U-2 program. He was killed in a crash some years later.

10 January 1965, Li-Yi Chang departed from Taoyuan and was shot down in Inner Mangolia by missiles fired by PLAAF 1st Surface-to-Air Guided Missile Battalion. Chang was captured alive and not released until November 10, 1982.

22 October 1965, Cheng-Wen Wang was flying a photo training over Taiwan when his aircraft is believed to have lost control due to improper handling. The pilot remains missing and is presumed dead.

17 February 1966,Tsai-Shi Wu was undergoing a high-altitude photo training. After shutting down the engine, he got an overtemp warning. In an attempt to land on the divert field in CCK, he landed on the wrong airstrip. The airstrip was too short, causing the aircraft to overshoot the runway during forced landing and crash into civilian housing. The pilot and five civilians perished.

22 March 1966, Hung-Di Fan lost his U-2 when ejected from his first training flight.

21 June 1966, Ching-Chang Yu was on a long-range, high-altitude flight training when the engine flamed-out due to ruptured fuel supply line. He then attempted an unsuccessful forced landing in Okinawa. He bailed out but died of wounds sustained.

8 September 1967, Jung-Bei Huang was flying over the Jiangsu province, Shanghai, and Hangzhou when he was shot down and killed by Chinese-made Red Flag 2 by PLAAF 14th Surface-to-Air Guided Missile Battalion over Jiaxing.

16 May 1969, Hsieh Chang was killed during a mission along Hebei seacoast where his aircraft lost control approximately 100nm south of Cheju Island, ROK.

24 November 1970, Chi-Hsien Huang crashed and perished during take-off and landing training in Taoyuan.

Gen Pao's Bio