Talk:556th Test and Evaluation Squadron

556th Squadron tie-in to drone reconnaissance during Vietnam

Just wanted to drop a quick note here regarding the 556th Squadron. First off, thank-you for taking the time invest in a worthwhile endeavor like Wikipedia...I'm been a big fan & majot user for a decade, at least.

The reason I'm addressing this note is to inject some subject matter focus about the aforementioned USAF squadron, but more importantly, the subject of drone reconnaissance during Vietnam. At a future date I can provide some referenced details to help the article's focus. For now, however, I'd like to share some food for thought.

I 100% understand Wiki's policy about not interjecting any 1st person original material. However, in the context of the 556th squadron's involvement with drones during the Vietnam War is incorrect. I was an aircrew member who actually flew the drone reconnaissance missions in Southeast Asia. From early 1963 to mid 1966, the Teledyne Ryan Model 147 reconnaissance drone program was solely owned and flew combat missions out of the 4080th Strat Wing, with its subordinate 4025th Recon Sqdrn having the direct operational duty. In 1966 USAF made the decision to stop creating new unit numbers on top of more new unit numbers, preferring to bring the service back around to using older unit name/numbers as a way of perpetuating unit history & heraldry. To that end in 1966, the 4080th SW became the 100th Strat Recon Wing with its beddown base at Davis-Monthan AFB, and the 4025th squadron became the 350th SRS. This unit structure continued until June 1, 1976 when it was deactivated. I was still in the unit at the time.

Part of the reason I'm sharing this info is because after leaving the service I became a military historian and book author. I'm nearly complete with my book about the Vietnam Era drone program based on an insider's view. To date, the book stands at about 650 pages, covering aspect of the drone reconnaissance program, as experienced by a blue-suiter who flew the missions. The research I've conducted has a bibliography of some 275 documents totaling around 22,000 pages. Until two years ago when I pulled my Congressman into-the-loop, much of the data in USAF possession about my unit was still classified Secret or Top Secret.

Having said the above, I realize some of the connectivity between the 556th and drone recon stemmed from a 2003 article on the ACIG website. Unfortunately the author took a recon squadron in Asia which flew C-130s during the Vietnam Era and thought that since the drones were launched from a C-130 derivative during the war, the ACIG article made a direct connection of the C-130s in a reconnaissance squadron, that is the 556th, and concluded it was the same aircraft we flew for the drones. The 350th SRS was not included and the 556th squadron was never connected to, or a sister unit of the 350th SRS or 4025th RS, and was never part of the 4080th or 100th wings.

We flew the Hercules derivative aircraft, DC-130 (16 aircraft total throughout the lifetime - 8 "A" model DC-130s; 7 "E" models and 1 "H" model. It so happens the work done by the 556th, 6091st were doing a type of signals intel work. Back during the Cold War the Air Force did a lot of bait n' switch to keep the Russians and Chinese offguard. There was an early derivative C-130 coming off the assy line in the 1950s known as the RC-130. The USAF allowed speculation to run rampant about this "RC" reconnaissance version C-130 and it had spy cameras onboard! Shhh! The planes were actually owned by the 1370th Photo & Cartographic Wing, and it had several squadrons traveling the world with plenty of snooping from the Commies, thinking they were spy photo planes. Meanwhile USAF built a handful of C-130B-IIs (some places reported these dash II planes were "A" models, but they were produced as "B" models, as the "A" model production line had been closed about 2 yrs when the C-130B-IIs were made. Now, most folks would've expected USAF to put RC in the front or EC, but the intent was to attempt a cloak n' dagger switch. The signals intel gear on the B-IIs was disguised externally as parts of the aircraft's external structure - looked like just a regular "B" model trash hauler. They actually had intel SIGINT antennas built into fake fuel drop tanks and other goodies.

There was lots of cloak n' dagger stuff. For example, our GSA/DOD federal stock code numbering system is public domain info. When we started the drone recon program for real in late '63, even tho testing and such started beforehand, USAF had the DLA purposely assign the 4 digit fed'l stock code for all drone replacement parts to start with "8820." Back then the 8820 FSC stood for: "Live Animal-Peculiar."

Anyway, just to wrap-up this monologue, the book will be out this fall. I realize anyone can write, edit one of these articles. I'm still not comfortable barging in on someone else's work. Also, I'm in Afghanistan a lot and I don't have much time to spare right now. Unfortunately, I'm not logistically able to sort thru all my docs to connect an easy paper trail for you to follow so you can update the article yourself. The way I see it, you could leave your article "as is" and when my book comes out in Sept, you'll have a reference to use so you can tweak the article. The 2nd choice is you could go try to trace down a valid reference trail in order to derive valid content. I can tell you, though, until I get the last batch of about 2,000 declassified pages from USAF (which they've been working on declass review for 18 months now, it would take you probably six months to go chase down another reference trail. My 3rd idea is, I can't update the article directly; but you could take my manuscript pages and do the update yourself.

I'm not into the whole gig hiding behind a "Nom de plume," or having an Avatar. I just Steve Miller from L.A., Calif. If you want to contact me direct, my e-mail is: millermgmtsys@yahoo.com When you have books published, it's kinda hard to hide!

Kudos again for jumping out there to get the ball rolling! Let me know you're preference on how to proceed.

Best;-)

VietVetSteve (talk) 05:49, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

Move 4025th SRS material

As Steve has pointed out, the 4025th SRS went away in 1966, so it could not have transferred its assets to the 566th Reconnaissance Squadron. An additional point that he did not make is that the drone operations were conducted by a detachment or operating location of the squadron, while the 4025th remained at Davis-Monthan. I would presume that after June 1966, the detachment rolled over to the 349th or 350th SRS.

I propose merging the information concerning the 4025th SRS into the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing article.--Lineagegeek (talk) 21:13, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Oh, and squadrons are not assigned to detachments in the USAF.

No response for four years, so the follwoing was removed as not related to the 556th TES.

4025th Reconnaissance Squadron

The 4025th Reconnaissance Squadron was established by Strategic Air Command as a major command controlled(MAJCON) unit in the wake of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. The unit was established after several losses of U-2 reconnaissance planes over the USSR, China and Cuba forced the United States to find the ways of learning more about Soviet S-172/SA-2 SAM systems.

The squadron was used to develop unmanned reconnaissance drones for the USAF, for use on highly hazardous missions during the Cold War. The drones were named "Lightning Bug“ and "Compass Cookie". Both used Ryan Model 124 Firebee I for reconnaissance tasks and were initially planned for operations over Cuba. However, the situation there stabilized, thus the first unit equipped with Q-2C Firebee (later developed into AQM-34) namely the squadron deployed to South Vietnam in 1966 and began flying operational missions over North Vietnam, looking for SAM-sites.

Operating from Bien Hoa AB in South Vietnam the 4025th RS soon started monitoring the work of North Vietnamese air defences and - especially - the SA-2 sites. Each mission was regularly escorted by either USAF or - in most cases - United States Navy fighters, as well as other specialized (manned) reconnaissance aircraft, such as RB-47H Stratojets of the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SRW) for high altitude photo-reconnaissance, and - later - highly classified EB-57 Canberra Electronic aggressor aircraft (detached from Air Defense Command) used for jamming North Vietnamese radars or C-130A-II Hercules aircraft of the Pacific Air Forces 6091st Reconnaissance Squadron, deployed at Don Muang AB, in Thailand.

And the squadron was the 4025th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron. Lineagegeek (talk) 16:17, 10 July 2017 (UTC)