In January 1970, the History of the 327th Air Division was published at Taipei Air Station. The document contained a FORWARD page. We begin today, the History of the United States Air Force in Taiwan.
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Here are the words from that page:
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The chronology of the 327th Air Division and its predecessor, the Air Task Force Thirteen (Provisional), is important in many respects. It provides a record of a unique experiment in the establishment of a task force of the United States Air Force which would cooperate and work with the Air Force of a friendly nation within the territory of that nation, and, if the need arose, take over the command of certain segments of that Air Force.
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Although the tenseness of the political situation and the immediacy of the threat of war by the Chinese Communists, which led to the signing of a Mutual Defense Treaty between the governments of the United States and the Republic of China, had eased somewhat by the time Air Task Force Thirteen, Provisional, was activated, it was recognized by the governments concerned that a constant state of combat preparedness was necessary. This was demonstrated when the crisis of 1958 caused the activation of portions of the defense plan for Taiwan.
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Over the years the air division has carried out its tasks as evidenced by the performance of the Chinese Air Force and its government. The division mission remained unchanged even though it changed from a provisional task force to the 327th Air Division until 1968 when it assumed the additional responsibility of providing airlift for Southeast Asia with the assignment of the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing. Today, in addition to its airlift role, the division stands ready, as it has for the past, to provide for Taiwan's defense.
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As we look back on the history of the 327th Air Division, all of those who have been fortunate enough to play a part in keeping the aggressor from Taiwan can be justifiably proud of their efforts.
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DEWITT R. SEARLES, Brig Gen, USAF Commander
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Our next post will begin with the History of our Air Force in Taiwan, a very interesting and informative series of insight.
1 comment:
As a young USAF lieutenant, I was a frequent visitor to that Kungkuan headquarters in Taibei during my assignment to the Republic of China, 1969-1970. I was among four USAF air traffic (weapons-AFSC 1744A) controllers who worked controlling or flight-following jet aircraft from our vantage point atop LoShan, an 8.600-foot peak in Taiwan's Central mountain chain. Peaks around us rose to 12,000 feet. We could see mainland China, across Formosa Straits, on clear days. While our headquarters were in Taibei, our logistical support came primarily from our friends at Ching ChuanKang AB near Taichung. Our remote-isolated radar site -- one of five on the island -- was nearest Hsinchu. But driving there required an arduous day-long truck and jeeps convoy over unpaved, treacherous mountain teak-logging roads -- or else, a 20-minute helicopter trip to our helipad aboard a Jolly Green Giant, seldom seen there. Few choppers were available for that trip. Many were unable to make the ascent safely because of rugged terrain, bamboo jungles, and perilous fog and crosswinds. My colleagues and I worked radar in an underground control center with consoles and several dozen ROC allied personnel. Aircraft we worked with included F-104 Starfighters, F-4D Phantom IIs, and SR-71 Blackhawks and U-2 spy planes that performed TS mainland photo-rekke missions. Atop the mountain, we performed 24/7 -- then earned R&R time which we usually spent in Taibei. During our duty tour, we were plagued with three destructive typhoons that left us cut off from resupply for weeks. In such storms, we often lost water supply and electric power. And we endured blizzards the like of which were not seen elsewhere on that tropical island. Glad as I was to leave the site in July 1970, I yet retain fond memories of the excellent people -- Chinese Nationalist and American -- with whom we shared both the good times and considerable adversity at "Weak Tree" Control, call-sign for Operating Location AE of PACAFs 327th Air Divison. A key part of the 13th Air Force, then based at Clark AB. Tenant unit at CCKAB then was the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, a C-130 Hercules unit whose crews redeployed to my hometown and Little Rock Air Force Base at about the same time I did in 1972-3. I was proud then to serve as a captain and general's aide-de-camp in Turkey and elsewhere for the "Suitcase Air Force." HQs 19th AF (TAC) based at Seymour-Johnson AFB, Goldsboro, NC.
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