In 1961, the U.S. Government adopted the brilliant idea to covertly overthrow the Castro regime in Cuba. The overriding priority at the time was not victory but plausible deniability. The plan was for an amphibious operation with the assaulting ground forces being Cuban ex-patriots living in Florida. The air arm would be 16 B-26s painted in a scheme to look like those of the Cuban Air Force. The pilots and crew would be Cuban Exiles trained by members of the Alabama Air National Guard. The Naval portion of the plan employed some merchant ships hired by the CIA and the carrier USS Essex. The Essex would supposedly provide air cover in the event things went south.

Approximately 60 ANG volunteers deployed to secret CIA bases in Guatemala and Nicaragua to teach their Cuban counterparts to maintain, arm and fly the B-26s. The ANGs were not intended to participate in the attack, only to serve in a training and support role.

Eight of the 16 B-26s were ordered flown into combat on Apr 15. Half the force with only half a plan so only half the intended targets( Castro's Air Force) were destroyed. The other half of Castro's AF destroyed two of the five merchant ships supporting the invasion and five of the B-26s.

The remaining B-26 crews of ex-Cubans flew mission after mission until totally exhausted. On Apr 19, the CIA authorized the ANG to fly but warned them that if they were captured, the U.S. would disavow any knowledge.

Six B-26s took off from Nicaragua headed for Cuba. They were manned by eight Alabama ANG and four Cuban exiles. They were met by Castro's fighter jets. They stood not a chance. Two B-26s were shot down and crashed into the sea with the bodies of the Guardsmen never recovered. Two other Guardsmen were shot down over land and died in gun battles with Cuban soldiers. Promised air support from the Essex, for what ever reason, arrived an hour too late.

The invasion collapsed.

The participation of the Alabama Air National Guard was kept secret until 1978. The whole debacle IMO, is a real black mark on American history, certainly not because of any lack of bravery of the fighting men but rather because of the fumbling of inept politicians and appointed bureaucrats. This was the Bay of Pigs.

I had a colleague who was one of those Cuban exiles that parachuted into Cuba. If you had a couple of hours to spare, ask him what he thought of JFK. It was not highly complementary. He was captured and spent a time in prison under less than ideal conditions before being ransomed.

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

You can't "half ***" go to war.
This lesson has been taught time and time again.

Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

I can see dings in my future if I respond.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

Books have been written pointing out all of the flaws of the Bay of Pigs invasion, in planning, execution, and political strategy. It was doomed to failure from the start, as it was based mainly upon wishful thinking. It was so bad that it gave the USA a whopper of a shiner for many years afterward. Unfortunately, many in government didn't learn, or understand, the lesson. The USA had a real chance of working with Castro before relations soured, but we blew that chance also. It makes more sense if you read the details of the 1960 explosion of the French munitions ship La Coubre in Havana's harbor. Most have either not heard of the incident or ignored it, but it was pivotal in the rapid collapse of US-Cuban relations leading directly to the Bay of Pigs, and later, the Cuban Missile Crisis.