1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
OSS had no dedicated aircraft to support its air
requirements, but instead it relied on theater operational
commanders for support. Because of the
high demand placed on the United States Army
Air Force (USAAF) in Europe at the time, and
because of the specialized nature of the mission,
support was not forthcoming. In the fall of 1942,
General Donovan set about to acquire a commitment
from the JCS for dedicated air support of his
operations in France.
In December 1942 the OSS presented a detailed
operations plan (OPLAN), JCS OPLAN
170/1, to the Joint Chiefs of Staff for their approval.
The document outlined requirements for
OSS clandestine activities in the western Mediterranean,
including the requirement for three
bom ber-type aircraft for each moonlit night of the
month. Sourcing of these aircraft was left to the
discretion of the theater commander. The plan
was endorsed by the JCS on 18 December 1942
and forwarded to Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower in
Algiers for his approval. On 7 February 1943 General
Eisenhower gave his approval in principle to
the OSS plan. Aircraft assigned to the region belonged
to the Northwest African Air Forces
(NAAF ) under the leadership of Lt Gen Carl A.
“Tooey” Spaatz. Citing higher priorities for conventional
air operations, General Spaatz deferred
NAAF support for the OSS plan.
Without dedicated air assets, the OSS had to
compete with conventional forces for support. The
heavy requirements generated by high-altitude
daylight bombing of Germany did not leave any
heavy bomber assets available to support OSS op -
erations. The OSS considered the situation intolerable.
In Washington, General Donovan submitted
a letter to the JCS on 13 June 1943 outlining
the need for dedicated special air units for his
overseas OSS bases. He requested that JCS approve
six bomber-type aircraft for OSS/Algiers
and one squadron of 12 aircraft for OSS/London.
The JCS disapproved Donovan’s request, again
deferring sourcing of air assets to the overseas
combat theater commanders. JCS reasoned that if
the mission was important to theater commanders,
then they should be willing to provide air
assets out of hide. In August 1943 General Spaatz
finally approved assignment of three NAAF B-17s
to OSS/Algiers. 1
The assignment of the three B-17s to OSS/
Algiers gave the OSS a meager air capability
in North Africa for the first time. The aircraft
and crews were sourced from the 2d, 99th, and
301st Bomb Groups. On 26 September 1943 three
aircraft and three crews were officially assigned to
the new Special Flight Section of OSS/Algiers. The
Special Flight Section set up operations at Massicault
Airfield, Tunisia, where the 2d Bombardment
Group was also located. Being an ad hoc organization
with no maintenance of its own,
OSS/Algiers aircraft were maintained by 2d Group
personnel. 2
The B-17 training program began with daylight,
low-level, cross-country flights across Tunisia
and Algeria. Aircraft flew as low as 400 feet
above the ground, and aircrews soon transitioned
to night low-level training flights as navigational
skills improved. Unlike their modern-day C-130
Talon cousins, the B-17s were extremely limited
when it came to night low-level operations, having
to rely on visual cues for both terrain avoidance
and navigation. The first operational mission
flown by an assigned OSS/Algiers B-17 occurred
on 20 October 1943. A lone B-17F of the Special
Flight Section departed Blida Airfield near Algiers
and headed north towards the southern
coastline of France. After low-altitude penetration
into southern France, the aircraft continued low
level to its drop zone (DZ) near the Swiss border
and air-dropped 10 containers of weapons, ammunition,
and other supplies to a group of French
Maquisards under the supervision of a British
agent. During the return leg of the mission, the
aircraft was hit and badly damaged by enemy antiaircraft
fire, forcing shutdown of two of the aircraft’s
four engines. The crew nursed the aircraft
back to Algeria, where it made an emergency
landing. Although suffering combat damage to the
aircraft, the first OSS/Algiers resupply mission
was an operational success. 3
With success came additional support in late
October 1943. Three B-25 medium bombers, followed
a short time later by an additional three,
were assigned to OSS/Algiers by Twelfth Air Force
(AF) to be used for personnel infiltration missions.
Employment of the B-25s proved unsatisfactory
for OSS operations into France—they were
deemed too fast for personnel drops, and they had
neither the range nor the payload to reach France
from North Africa. With six aircraft assigned, the
Special Flight Section was reorganized into two
units—the 122d Liaison Squadron and the 68th
Reconnaissance Group. In late December 1943 the
122d and the 68th redeployed to Manduria, Italy,
where the B-25s could be better utilized. The B-
17s were left in North Africa and moved to Blida
Air Base (AB), Algeria, which was located some 20
miles from OSS/Algiers headquarters and was
2