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4028th STRATEGIC RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON |
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| The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 2nd September 1959 |
| First Oak Leaf Cluster 1963 |
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VIETNAM. War Beckons the 4080th SRW 4028th SRS/ 4025th SRS On December 31st 1963 President Johnson issued the order for the 4080th SRW to support the RF-101 Voodoo reconnaissance effort in South Vietnam and by March 1964 they had moved a detachment of 3 U-2E aircraft ( 347, 370 & 374) to Bien Hoa AB near Saigon. The HASP program had been terminated as an agreement had been reached where above ground nuclear testing was stopped, so all WU-2A aircraft had the HASP air sampling equipment removed and were refitted with photo and electronic (PHOTINT & ELINT) collection gear. The 4080th SRW had been Laughlin AFB, Texas and then transferred to Davis-Monthan AFB and during this move they had a small group of people assigned/attached to the 4028th SRS, a group who had been working on the classified programme "Lightning Bug" which were photo reconnaissance drones. They had been at Davis Monthan for less than a year when ordered to deploy both its U-2 and DC-130 / Drone operations to South Vietnam. They moved Bien Hoa Operating Location-20 (OL-20), under the code names "Lucky Dragon" for the 4028th SRS's, U-2E Dragon Lady, and for the DC-130 / Ryan AQM-34 drone detachment operation the name "Blue Springs" was used. The DC-130 / Drone operation originally deployed to Kadena AB on Okinawa before being re-positioned at Bien Hoa AB. In July 1965 this drone detachment of the 4028th SRS became the 4025th RS as the squadron number was reactivated. The 4025th originally being the RB-57D unit.
Initially the three U-2E's deployed to Vietnam on the 11th of February 1964 via Hickam AFB and Clark AFB and Anderson AFB in Guam and finally to Bien Hoa as OL-20 with operations starting also most immediately. These flights were to start with restrictions in the areas of operations as there was still a C.I.A bird in the theatre of operation. The C.I.A was covering the flights over China and North Vietnam from Thailand and these could be still classed as a civilian flight if one was downed. The Americans were still at the time only "Advisors" at this point in the conflict. This changed and SAC took on the role left by the CIA's Detachment G at Takhli withdrawing their aircraft and operations on April 24th.
These flights Photo monitored the roads and trails from North Vietnam that were being used to send both weapons and personnel into South Vietnam and the surrounding states of Laos and Cambodia. They also supplied target data for the forthcoming deployment of the B-57 to Vietnam.
A typical mission time of 5 to 6 hours being performed. Actual Pilots Log listed below
As the war progressed the U-2's had to move to operating at higher altitudes as first the Mig 17 and then Mig 21's were introduced making flights at medium altitude a risky business. Also the introduction of SAM 2's missiles by the North Vietnamese necessitated the careful planning of flight routes to bypass these hot spots. 4080th SRW went to war with Dragon Lady printed in Air Force grey and there were some concern over this making the aircraft being too easily spotted, both on the ground and in the air and this was changed to the black velvet scheme that the C.I.A had been using for sometime.
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