dc.description.abstract | In the 1950s, during the tense atmosphere of the Cold War and the outbreak of the Korean War, with the involvement of the People′s Republic of China (PRC), the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) established Western Enterprise Corporation and Civil Air Transport (CAT) in Taiwan. They conducted guerrilla operations along the coast of mainland China and airdropped materials, weapons, and personnel inland. American pilots were also dispatched to airdrop intelligence agents behind enemy lines. These efforts led to the formation of what would become known as the "Air Force Special Operations Group" of our country.The "Black Bat Squadron," symbolized by bats using echolocation for navigation, represented the elusive nature of their missions and was externally referred to as the "34th Squadron" of the Air Force. After the Korean War, as the PRC became the most significant threat to the United States in Asia, intelligence gathering gradually shifted from covert operations to aerial and maritime intelligence reconnaissance. In 1955, the US and China signed the "STPOLLY Plan," followed by the execution of "Operation Foxhunt" in August of the same year, marking the first electronic intelligence mission. Subsequently, personnel and equipment were transferred to the "Project Blue Eagle" to continue carrying out special missions deep inside mainland China, including flying modified World War II-era aircraft.The appearance of the P2V-7U aircraft ensured the safe execution of these missions, which involved reconnaissance of the PRC′s air defense deployments and the completion of challenging tasks. The People′s Liberation Army′s (PLA) integrated air defense units became the nemesis of the "Black Bat Squadron," shooting down 10 mission aircraft over the course of 15 years, resulting in the loss of 108 Black Bat team members, with three captured. In 1967, "Project Blue Eagle" was terminated, and the Black Bats never ventured into the heartland of the PRC again. They completed a total of 838 missions, leaving behind a poignant and heroic chapter in the history of the Republic of China Air Force. | en_US |