Black Cat Squadron The Black Cat Squadron ( ) ( not to be confused with Black Bat Squadron ) was a squadron of the Republic of China Air Force that flew the U - 2 surveillance plane out of Taoyuan Airbase in northern Taiwan , from 1961 to 1974 . The formal designation of the squadron was the 35th Squadron , operating under the cover of a high altitude weather research squadron . 26 ROCAF pilots successfully completed U - 2 training in the US and flew 220 operational missions , including 102 surveillance flights over the People ' s Republic of China . When the squadron was formed in 1961 , Colonel Lu Xiliang ( 盧錫良 ) became its first commander and would become its longest - serving squadron commander . Colonel Lu was born in Shanghai on December 27 , 1923 and completed his training in the US . After his retirement , he and his family immigrated to Los Angeles in 1986 , where he became an ardent activist for ROCAF POWs ' rights , particularly the right of POWs to return to Taiwan to reunite with their families after imprisonment in mainland China . Colonel Lu died on December 15 , 2008 . In addition to Lu Xiliang , another six former - members of the squadron eventually settled in the US , including Zhuang Renliang ( 莊人亮 ) , Wang Taiyou ( 王太佑 ) in Los Angeles , Ye Changdi ( 葉常棣 ) in Texas , Hua Xijun ( 華錫鈞 ) in Maryland , and the deputy squadron commander Yang Shiju ( 楊世駒 ) in Las Vegas . During the squadron ' s 14 years of existence , five U - 2 ' s were shot down by PRC air defenses , with three pilots killed and 2 pilots captured . One other pilot was killed while performing an operational mission off China coast . Seven other Black Cat U - 2s were lost during training missions , killing 6 pilots . The squadron usually had only two U - 2 assigned to it , sometimes down to just one aircraft . A total of 19 U - 2s were assigned to the Black Cat Squadron , over fourteen years . The intelligence gathered by the Black Cat Squadron , which included evidence of a military build - up on the Sino - Soviet border , may have contributed to the U . S . opening to China during the Nixon administration by revealing the escalating tensions between the two communist nations . Shortly after Nixon ' s visit to Beijing , all reconnaissance flights over the People ' s Republic ceased , and the Black Cat Squadron was officially disbanded in the spring of 1974 . U - 2 Operational missions by ROCAF 35th Sq . The only other U - 2 operator than USAF and CIA was the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) , which flew missions mostly over the People ' s Republic of China ( PRC ) . Since the 1950s , the Republic of China Air Force had used the RB - 57A / D aircraft for reconnaissance missions over the PRC , but suffered two losses when MiG - 17 s and SA - 2 Surface - to - Air Missiles were able to intercept the aircraft . In 1958 , ROC and American authorities reached an agreement to create the 35th Squadron , nicknamed the Black Cat Squadron , composed of two U - 2Cs in Taoyuan Airbase in northern Taiwan , at an isolated part of the airbase . To create the typical misdirections at the time , the unit was created under the cover of high altitude weather research missions for ROCAF . To the US government , the 35th Squadron and any US CIA / USAF personnel assigned to the unit were known as Detachment H on all documents . But instead of being under normal USAF control , the project was known as Project RAZOR , and was run directly by CIA with USAF assistance . Each of the 35th Squadron ' s operational missions had to be approved by both the US and the Taiwan / ROC presidents beforehand . To add another layer of security and secrecy to the project , all US military and CIA / government personnel stationed in Taoyuan assigned to Detachment H were issued official documents and ID with false names and cover titles as Lockheed employees / representatives in civilian clothes . The ROCAF pilots and ground support crew would never know their US counterpart ' s real name and rank / title , or which US government agencies they were dealing with . A total of 26 out of 28 ROC pilots sent to the US completed training between 1959 and 1973 , at Laughlin Air Force Base , Texas . On the night of 3 August 1959 , a U - 2 on a training mission , out of Laughlin AFB , Texas , piloted by Maj . Mike Hua of ROC Air Force , made a successful unassisted nighttime emergency landing at Cortez , Colorado , that was later known as " Miracle at Cortez " , and Major Hua was later awarded the US Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross for saving the top secret aircraft . In July 1960 , the CIA provided the ROC with its first two U - 2Cs , and in December the squadron flew its first mission over mainland China . Other countries were also covered from time to time by the 35th Squadron , such as North Korea , North Vietnam and Laos , but the main objective of the ROC 35th Squadron was to conduct reconnaissance missions assessing the PRC ' s nuclear capabilities . For this purpose the ROC pilots flew as far as Gansu and other remote regions in northwest China . Some of the missions , due to mission requirements and range , plus to add some element of surprise , had the 35th Squadron ' s U - 2s flying from or recovered at other US air bases in Southeast Asia and Eastern Asia , such as K - 8 ( Kunsan ) in South Korea , or Tikhli in Thailand . All US airbases in the region were listed as emergency / alternate recovery airfields and could be used besides the 35th Squadron ' s home base at Taoyuan airbase in Taiwan . Initially , all film taken by the Black Cat Squadron would be flown to Okinawa or Guam for processing and development , and the US forces would not share any of the mission photos with Taiwan . Only in late 1960s did the USAF agree to share a complete set of mission photos and help Taiwan set up a photo development and interpretation unit at Taoyuan AB . After the People ' s Republic of China conducted its third nuclear test on 9 May 1966 , the US was eager to get information on the Chinese capabilities . To this end , the CIA initiated a program , code named " Tabasco " , to develop a sensor pod that could be dropped into the Takla Makan desert , near the Chinese nuclear test site . The pod was intended to deploy an antenna after landing and radio back data to the US SIGINT station at Shulinkou Taiwan . After a year of testing in the US , the pod was ready . Two pilots of the 35th squadron were trained in the dropping of the pod . On 7 May 1967 , a ROCAF U - 2 ( article 383 ) flown by Spike Chuang took off from Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base with a sensor pod under each wing . The aircraft successfully released the pods at the target , near the Lop Nur Nuclear Weapons Test Base , but no data were received from the pods . This was unfortunate , as the People ' s Republic of China conducted a test of its first thermonuclear device in Test No . 6 on 17 June 1967 . A second U - 2 mission was flown to the area by a Black Cat squadron U - 2 flown by Bill Chang on 31 August 1967 . This U - 2 carried a recorder and an interrogator in an attempt to contact the pods . This mission was unsuccessful , as nothing was heard from the pods . This set the stage for Operation Heavy Tea , conducted by the Black Bat Squadron . In 1968 , the ROC U - 2C / F / G fleet was replaced with the newer U - 2R . However , with the coming of the Sino - Soviet split and the rapprochement between the US and the PRC , the ROC U - 2 squadron stopped entering Chinese airspace , and instead only conducted electronic surveillance plus photo reconnaissance missions with new Long - Range Oblique Reconnaissance ( LOROP ) cameras on the U - 2R while flying over international waters . The last U - 2 aircraft mission over mainland China took place on 16 March 1968 . After that , all missions had the U - 2 aircraft fly outside a buffer zone at least around China . During his visit to China in 1972 , US President Richard Nixon promised the Chinese authorities to cease all reconnaissance missions near and over China , though this was also made practical because US photo satellites by 1972 were able to provide better overhead images without risking losing aircraft and pilots , or provoking international incidents . The last 35th Squadron mission was flown by Sungchou " Mike " Chiu on 24 May 1974 . At the end of ROC ' s U - 2 operations , out of a total of 19 U - 2C / F / G / R aircraft operated by the 35th Squadron from 1959 to 1974 , 11 were lost . The squadron flew a total of about 220 missions , with about half over mainland China , resulting in five aircraft shot down , with three fatalities and two pilots captured , and another six U - 2s lost in training with six pilots killed . On 29 July 1974 , the two remaining U - 2R aircraft in ROC possession were flown from Taoyuan AB in Taiwan to Edwards AFB , California , US , and turned over to the USAF .