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Remembering Gary Powers U2 flight from Peshawar in 1960
By George Singleton
UNITED STATES: I recently became acquainted with Gary Powers, Jr son of the world famous American U2 pilot who took off from a Pakistan Air Force base in Peshawar on May 1, 1960 and was, later that day, shot down over the former USSR. Pilot Gary Powers destination was a landing field in coastal Norway.
Some old timers like me may recall that in the early 1960s the PAF and the US also flew some intelligence missions in RB-57s from Lahore, in addition to those flown from Peshawar.
The May issue of The Cold War Times magazines online version features the first of my 12 articles about my 18-month tour of duty between 1963-65 as commander, Detachment 2, 6,937th Communications Group, the subordinate Karachi unit at our US embassy, then in Karachi, for my higher headquarters the 6937th Communications Group (sometimes referred to as the Peshawar air station) at Badabur, near Peshawar. Due at least in part to Gary Powers shoot down in the U2 on May 1, 1960, all US military personnel associated with the US base at Badabur were required to only wear civilian clothing off-base in Karachi, Lahore and across the country.
After the Soviet shoot-down, then US president Eisenhower suspended U2 flights from and through Pakistan. However, the Cold War was still in full force and a replacement intelligence gathering reconnaissance aircraft was needed. For a time, RB-57D models were flown along the air borders of both the USSR and Communist China by the PAF. But these aircraft lacked the wing size to attain really high altitude. So, redesigning some RB-57Ds, which included a much-larger wing structure, produced the RB-57F, two of which were loaned to the PAF for free by the US in June 1964.
After the U2 programme in Pakistan was suspended by president Eisenhower, the USAF adopted the RB-57 Canberra and, over time through US private contractors, improved and amended its designed purposes to include aerial intelligence gathering. The PAF had aircrews, well trained by both the UK and US in both British and US versions of the RB-57. Two RB-57Fs, loaned to the PAF, had a published upper altitude capability of 82,000 feet. Along with training a few PAF pilots to fly the aircraft, the US plane contractor brought to Texas two RAF pilots trained to fly this aircraft wearing pressure suits, to augment the PAF pilots. All this happened during increasing tension when then foreign minister Mr Bhutto was beating the drum with the Pakistani army chief towards the eventual 1965 Indo-Pak war.
Mr Bhutto tried hard to get the RB-57Fs flown over Kashmir and India to gather intelligence. But the professional and honourable air chief marshal Ashgar Khan refused Bhuttos bullying and did his job with the US to stay focused on our joint mission of intelligence gathering of and from the USSR and China. One thing I knew of first hand was that foreign minister Bhutto also tried, again unsuccessfully, to pressure the UK air adviser to the British High Commissioner in Pakistan, the US air attaché, and my boss to fly intelligence gathering missions, which Bhutto wanted over Kashmir and India. Again, Mr Bhutto met absolute rebuffs and turndowns. Kashmir and India were not the mission of our Cold War-focused intelligence programme.
This history recitation is in honour and recognition of the 50th anniversary of pilot Gary Powers (Sr) U2 flight from the Pakistan air field at Peshawar. George L Singleton is a retired colonel of the United States Armed Forces.
By George Singleton
UNITED STATES: I recently became acquainted with Gary Powers, Jr son of the world famous American U2 pilot who took off from a Pakistan Air Force base in Peshawar on May 1, 1960 and was, later that day, shot down over the former USSR. Pilot Gary Powers destination was a landing field in coastal Norway.
Some old timers like me may recall that in the early 1960s the PAF and the US also flew some intelligence missions in RB-57s from Lahore, in addition to those flown from Peshawar.
The May issue of The Cold War Times magazines online version features the first of my 12 articles about my 18-month tour of duty between 1963-65 as commander, Detachment 2, 6,937th Communications Group, the subordinate Karachi unit at our US embassy, then in Karachi, for my higher headquarters the 6937th Communications Group (sometimes referred to as the Peshawar air station) at Badabur, near Peshawar. Due at least in part to Gary Powers shoot down in the U2 on May 1, 1960, all US military personnel associated with the US base at Badabur were required to only wear civilian clothing off-base in Karachi, Lahore and across the country.
After the Soviet shoot-down, then US president Eisenhower suspended U2 flights from and through Pakistan. However, the Cold War was still in full force and a replacement intelligence gathering reconnaissance aircraft was needed. For a time, RB-57D models were flown along the air borders of both the USSR and Communist China by the PAF. But these aircraft lacked the wing size to attain really high altitude. So, redesigning some RB-57Ds, which included a much-larger wing structure, produced the RB-57F, two of which were loaned to the PAF for free by the US in June 1964.
After the U2 programme in Pakistan was suspended by president Eisenhower, the USAF adopted the RB-57 Canberra and, over time through US private contractors, improved and amended its designed purposes to include aerial intelligence gathering. The PAF had aircrews, well trained by both the UK and US in both British and US versions of the RB-57. Two RB-57Fs, loaned to the PAF, had a published upper altitude capability of 82,000 feet. Along with training a few PAF pilots to fly the aircraft, the US plane contractor brought to Texas two RAF pilots trained to fly this aircraft wearing pressure suits, to augment the PAF pilots. All this happened during increasing tension when then foreign minister Mr Bhutto was beating the drum with the Pakistani army chief towards the eventual 1965 Indo-Pak war.
Mr Bhutto tried hard to get the RB-57Fs flown over Kashmir and India to gather intelligence. But the professional and honourable air chief marshal Ashgar Khan refused Bhuttos bullying and did his job with the US to stay focused on our joint mission of intelligence gathering of and from the USSR and China. One thing I knew of first hand was that foreign minister Bhutto also tried, again unsuccessfully, to pressure the UK air adviser to the British High Commissioner in Pakistan, the US air attaché, and my boss to fly intelligence gathering missions, which Bhutto wanted over Kashmir and India. Again, Mr Bhutto met absolute rebuffs and turndowns. Kashmir and India were not the mission of our Cold War-focused intelligence programme.
This history recitation is in honour and recognition of the 50th anniversary of pilot Gary Powers (Sr) U2 flight from the Pakistan air field at Peshawar. George L Singleton is a retired colonel of the United States Armed Forces.
