1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
across the Yalu River in November 1950 and
steadily pushed UN forces back toward Seoul.
Pressure from the invading Chinese forced Unit 4
to redeploy to K-2 by February 1951. 23
As Unit 4 reconstituted itself at K-2, it received
orders from its parent wing, the 374th Troop Carrier
Wing (TCW), to establish a Special Air Missions
detachment. Subsequently, on 20 February 1951
Unit 4 was deactivated, and the Special Air Missions
detachment stood up to provide VIP air support
in addition to its CCRAK commitment. The
Special Air Missions detachment was tasked to provide
additional air support to the US ambassador to
Korea, president of the Republic of South Korea,
commander in chief (CINC) FECOM (now Gen
Matthew Ridgway), and to 8th US Army (USA)
staff. The Special Air Missions detachment was
also tasked to fly psychological warfare (PSY-
WAR) missions as requested by 8th Army. This
new tasking placed a tremendous burden on the
small Special Air Missions unit. By day attached
Fifth AF crews flew VIP missions throughout the
theater in a converted VB-17 bomber and a VC-47
transport. By night 8th Army PSYWAR missions
were flown by Special Air Missions aircrews in
two C-47 speaker-equipped aircraft, and covert
CCRAK infiltrations were made by three additional
C-47s formerly owned by Unit 4. Although
modifications to the latter aircraft were requested
by CCRAK, the only modification made was the
addition of the SCR-300 radio. 24 Throughout 1951
Special Air Missions C-47s executed CCRAK lowlevel
infiltration missions into northern Korea.
Special Air Missions aircrews were literally flying
around the clock to support all mission taskings.
CCRAK requirements soon exceeded the Special Air
Missions detachment’s capabilities. As a result, on 1
April 1952 B Flight, 6167th Operations Squadron,
was activated at Seoul City AB (K-16) to increase
FECOM’s special operations capabilities. B Flight
was equipped with B-26 medium bombers and C-46/
C-47 transports. The B-26 aircraft were modified to
accommodate up to six jumpers who would parachute
from the aircraft through the open bomb bay.
All B Flight aircraft were painted black to reduce
detection during nighttime operations. 25
The primary mission of B Flight was the infiltration
and resupply of agents or teams operating
behind enemy lines whose purpose was to gather
intelligence and to perform other covert activities,
including the rescue of downed aircrew. B Flight
also had a psychological operations (PSYOPS)
mission that included leaflet drops and speaker
broadcast. More conventional in nature, B Flight
crews were also trained in night flare operations.
Other operations included personnel snatch utilizing
transport-type aircraft.* 26
On 29 December 1952 a Fifth AF letter outlined
a new capability for retrieving downed aircrew
or agents from enemy-held territory. The
system was known as the Personnel Pickup
Ground Station and was more com monly referred
to by aircrew as “the snatch system.” The system
was similar to banner-towing aircraft pickups
whereby a wire was suspended between two
poles, with a second wire attached to the object
(or person) to be picked up. An aircraft equipped
with a tailhook (usually a C-47 transport) would
fly low just above the horizontal wire and hook
the line with the tailhook. The aircraft would then
perform a rapid climb to altitude while the package
was retrieved into the pickup aircraft.** 27
On two occasions during 1953, B Flight was
tasked to perform a snatch mission. The first attempt
ended unsuccessfully when the downed airman
was captured before the aircraft arrived in the
pickup area. The second attempt had to be aborted
after the pickup aircraft received heavy fire and severe
damage during its run-in for pickup. 28 Like the
Special Air Missions detachment, B Flight continued
to operate and fly CCRACK missions until
the signing of the Korean War Armistice in 1953.
Air Resupply and
Communications Service
By 1948 it became apparent to US leadership
that the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin could
not be appeased, persuaded, or otherwise convinced
to respect the territorial rights of its neighbor
nations. The US Air Force (USAF) and the
CIA had been created by the National Security
Act of 1947 and activated a short time later. Visionaries
in the Pentagon reasoned that the next war
would be fought and won (or lost) in the minds
of those fighting it. Subsequently, the Psychological
Warfare Division was established at the
Air Staff in February 1948. By definition psychological
warfare in 1948 was synonymous with special
operations as defined during World War II.
The new PSYWAR (also known as PW) division
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*Vietnam-era C-130E(I) Combat Talons would execute virtually identical missions for Military Assistance Command Vietnam, Special Operations
Group (MACVSOG).
**The Fulton Surface-to-Air Recovery System (STARS) was developed by Robert Edison Fulton Jr. during the 1960s and was a vast improvement
over the older “snatch” system. STARS was installed on the 14 C-130E(I) Combat Talons and was deployed to SEA in the mid-1960s.
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