Perilous Missions : Civil Air Transport and CIA Covert Operations in Asia

Civil Air Transport (CAT), founded in China after World War II by Claire Chennault and Whiting Willauer, was initially a commercial carrier specializing in air freight. Its role quickly changed as CAT became first a paramilitary adjunct of the Nationalist Chinese Air Force, then the CIA's secret "air force" in Korea, then "the most shot-at airline in the world" in French Indochina, and eventually becoming reorganized as Air America at the height of the Vietnam War. William M. Leary's detailed operational history of CAT sets the story in the perspective of Asian and Cold War geopolitics and shows how CAT allowed the CIA to operate with a level of flexibility and secrecy that it would not have attained through normal military or commercial air transportation. Contents 6 Preface 8 Prologue 14 Chapter 1: Origins of CAT 16 Chapter 2: CNRRA Air Transport 35 Chapter 3: CAT and Civil War 51 Chapter 4: Siege of Taiyuan 67 Chapter 5: The Chennault Plan 80 Chapter 6: OPC and CAT 97 Chapter 7: The CIA Buys and Airline 113 Chapter 8: The Korean War 126 Chapter 9: Covert Operations 140 Chapter 10: Managerial Turmoil 157 Chapter 11: French Indochina 169 Chapter 12: A New Regime 182 Chapter 13: Dienbienphu 193 Chapter 14: End of an Era 208 Conclusion 222 Epilogue 224 Appendix A: Operating Statistics, January 1947 to November 1949 227 Appendix B: The Panzer Notes 229 Appendix C: Airdrops at Dienbienphu, March 13 to May 7, 1954 230 Appendix D: Equipment List, February 1954 231 Notes 238 Glossary 273 Bibliography 276 Index 285 "Perilous Missions" is William M. Leary's detailed operational history of the USA's Civil Air Transport (CAT), taking it through its many forms and uses in Asian conflicts. "Perilous Missions" is William M. Leary's detailed operational history of the USA's Civil Air Transport (CAT), taking it through its many forms and uses in Asian conflicts