Operation PLUTO

Air Classics, Nov 2002 by Shannon, Joseph L

The recent series on the Douglas B26 Invader was very informative. I found it to be especially interesting since I am a longtime B-26 driver. During my military career, I accumulated more than 2500 hours in the Invader - perhaps more than any other pilot.

My experiences included a ferry flight across the Pacific during the Korean War. My last involvement with the B-26 consisted of training the Cuban Liberation Air Force pilots for the Bay of Pigs mission. I also made a final day, desperation mission in support of the invasion forces. For my participation, I was awarded the Cuban Liberation Air Force Medal of Valor and, eventually, was also awarded the CIA Seal Medallion in "recognition of my contribution."

The sidebar in Part Three on page 48 included some correct factual information but unfortunately included some serious distortions. First of all, Operation PLUTO was not a "half-baked plan to capture Cuba and oust Castro." To the contrary, the plan as originally conceived was intended to serve as a catalyst for an internal uprising to eventually overthrow the Castro dictatorship.

The plan called for a landing to be made in the vicinity of Trinidad, Cuba. The area was a hotbed of anti-Castro activity. The town is surrounded on three sides by mountains which were infested with anti-Castro guerrillas. If the invasion had gone sour, the invading forces could have disappeared into the hills and joined the guerrillas. Appropriately, the liberation brigade was trained in the mountains of Guatemala.

It must be remembered, activities of this sort involve two conflicting considerations - political and military. Typical of many operations, the political considerations dominated. When the plan was submitted to the White House staff, it was decided that the operation was too much like a World War Two mission.

President Kennedy insisted that no action be included which could not be denied by the United States and that the operation must look like it was planned and executed by the Cubans. With D-Day barely a month away, the planners were directed to provide a suitable alternate location.

From the beginning, the planners realized that the operation could not succeed unless Castro's air force was rendered ineffective. For a variety of reasons, the Invader was selected as the tactical support aircraft.

The initial effort called for a preinvasion air strike consisting of 16 B-26s to attack Castro's air bases at dawn on D-Minus 2 followed by 16 B-26s to strike at dusk to finish off anything not destroyed in the initial strike. The political leadership (in Washington) decided that this was too spectacular so the number of aircraft for each of these two missions was reduced to eight.

The initial strike was successful beyond our wildest expectations. When the dust settled, Castro was left with no more than six or possibly seven tactical aircraft and these included B-26Cs, Sea Furys and T-33s armed with two nose-- mounted .50-caliber guns.

The news of the first strike created such a furor at the morning meeting of the UN in New York that our political leadership canceled the follow-up mission. With that decision, the invasion was doomed!

The author stated that "in typical CIA tactics" a B-26 with FAR markings was flown to Miami by a pilot who claimed to be a defecting FAR pilot. I am very familiar with the event. I was in on the briefing and I watched him depart. I wish to advise that this particular sortie was actually inserted into the operation at the request of another branch of our government.

On D-Plus 3, contrary to official CIA instructions, I was allowed to participate in a desperation mission which was more or less the finale of the air operation supporting the Bay of Pigs. I knew full well that this late effort would have absolutely no effect on the final outcome. It was our hope that we could show the individuals stranded on the beach that they were not completely abandoned.

It is unfortunate that the author formed an opinion of an "inept invasion" without having the knowledge of some critical factors involved. The invasion was performed by well-trained and well-equipped Cuban liberation forces. The Cuban pilots were outstanding! In my combat experiences during World War Two and my subsequent military duty, I have never known any pilots more dedicated or more competent than those who flew at the Bay of Pigs.

Joseph L. Shannon

(Lt. Col. USAF, Ret.)

Birmingham, AL