After Mao’s communists took control of mainland China in 1949, the CIA developed a partnership with the nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan.
The Black Bat Squadron, formally the 34th Squadron, with CIA and Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) air and ground crew was established in 1953. Its task was to perform covert air operations over the mainland – dropping agents propaganda, and collecting signals, imagery and nuclear intelligence – flying B-17s, B-26s and P-2s.
The last B-17 flew a few missions over the mainland in late 1959 and early 1960.
According to former Black Bat pilot Dai Shu Qing the long-endurance flights in the B-17 were made possible by the addition of another additional fuel tank in the bomb bay.
the B-17 left the 34th Squadron in November 1960. It was sent to the Skunk Works in 1961, where it was fitted with the ATIR jammer for another covert operation. All four engines had to be replaced.
The B-17 was subsequently fitted with the Fulton Skyhook and flown in Operation Coldfeet, when it dropped and then extracted two Americans who investigated an ice station that the Soviet Union had abandoned in the Arctic.
The same B-17 became a movie star when the Skyhook was used to pick up James Bond and his girlfriend at the end of the film ‘Thunderball.’
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