Operation Rusty

Last updated

Operation Rusty, also referred to as Project Rusty, was an American top-secret airborne reconnaissance program carried out over North Africa and the Middle East during the spring of 1942. It is notable for many reasons, but especially because the driving force in the operation was Major Elliott Roosevelt, who acted in direct consultation with his father, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Chief of Staff of the Army, George Marshall, and the Air Forces commander, General Henry “Hap” Arnold.

Contents

Planning

American plans to invade North Africa germinated in early 1942 (Operation Gymnast, which later became Operation Torch). Simultaneously became apparent the critical necessity of airborne logistics via Brazil, Africa, and the Middle East in order to supply the USSR, China, and even Australia. Mapping and reconnaissance of the affected areas, which were then in danger of being lost to the Axis, was given the highest priority. [1]

In February 1942, Colonel Paul T. Cullen and Captain Elliott Roosevelt were ordered to conduct aerial photographic reconnaissance staging out of Accra in the Gold Coast (later Ghana). Cullen was a mapping specialist in charge of the United States Army Air Forces 1st Mapping Group, Bolling Field, D.C. Captain Roosevelt had just completed his navigator’s training, and had in the previous summer obtained surveys of the North Atlantic ferry route in direct support of President Roosevelt’s and Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s urgent requirements. He had briefed the Allies on his project during the Argentia (Atlantic Charter) summit in August 1941, and had specifically advocated for the African route while visiting Churchill in England. [2]

Under the aegis of the “special flight,” 1st Mapping Group, two Boeing B-17Bs were modified at United Airlines modification center, Cheyenne, to carry 6 K-17 cameras [3] in Trimetrogon configuration, and to fly at extreme altitudes and very long ranges. They were painted haze blue [4] to minimize contrast with the sky, stripped of all unnecessary weight, and any identification marks were removed. The United States was not at war with Vichy-controlled French West Africa, and the overflights would be illegal. [5]

Execution

B-17B tail number 38-223, under the command of Captain Lovell S. Stuber, departed from Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico, for Trinidad on 9 April 1942. Contact was lost at 1242 Greenwich Civil Time, with last coordinates being 16°01′12″N64°12′00″W / 16.02000°N 64.20000°W / 16.02000; -64.20000 , [6] with the assumed loss of all on board. Theories held that the aircraft missed its destination and impacted high mountains in Venezuela. [7]

The second aircraft is assumed by investigators to have been #39-5, which is officially listed (cryptically) as having crashed outside of the United States and having been stricken from inventory in 1942. Colonel Cullen was in charge, while Captain Roosevelt (who was not a pilot) concentrated on planning the flights and obtaining the photographs. This aircraft, given the nickname "the Blue Goose" proceeded via Brazil across the South Atlantic in April 1942. A support group of about twenty men arrived in Accra via ship. [8]

During April, long range missions were conducted over most of North Africa, obtaining imagery of the major French, Spanish, and Italian support points, notably railways, ports, and aerodromes. [9] According to some reports flights were also made as far as Chungking, China, in order to map the Asian supply route. [10] During this time Roosevelt was reported in Cairo for several days, at which time he was promoted to major. Various press reports touched obliquely on American air surveillance in the area, and noted the presence of the president’s son. The aircraft was also reported operating out of Khartoum in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Bathurst in the Gambia, the Firestone plantation in Liberia (the only airfield there), Maiduguri in Nigeria, and especially Fort Lamy in French Equatorial Africa (now Chad), which was then already Free French territory. [11]

The aircraft was intercepted on occasion but was saved by its extreme altitude of over 30,000 feet. Within a few weeks, however, it was wrecked and unflyable. By early May Major Roosevelt returned to the White House bringing back “18,000 plates” and “they photographed everything they went after.” His mother wrote to a friend, "Almost had to come down in the desert the last day. One engine nearly dropped off 850 miles from base over the desert but it froze and hung by hair & and after landing Elliott said the plane practically fell apart." [12]

The personnel returned to the United States via Pan American Clipper N18609. [13] [14] Cullen and Roosevelt discussed the operation with the president, General Marshall, and General Arnold at the White House. Colonel Cullen wrote up a detailed report and intelligence estimate based on Rusty discoveries. It emphasized the vulnerability of the trans-African ferry route to a Vichy offensive, and generally overstated the capabilities and intentions of French forces in the area. [15]

Historical significance

Project Rusty was a highly ambitious and, the loss of one aircraft notwithstanding, successful mapping operation which would presage future Allied long-range reconnaissance over denied territory. Other, somewhat similar operations followed in support of the burgeoning global Air Transport Command route network. The lessons learned were important for the technical progress of aerial photography and mapping. Rusty facilitated planning for the landings in Morocco and Algeria in November 1942. It advanced the careers of Cullen and Roosevelt, both of whom later rose to Brigadier General.

One year later, participants were allowed to speak of the operation to the newspapers. [16] However, by that time subsequent events had eclipsed its importance to the public. Despite the early secrecy, some details of the operation survive in General Arnold’s archives, and in some writings of Elliott Roosevelt.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Torch</span> Allied landing operations in French North Africa during World War II

Operation Torch was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while allowing American armed forces the opportunity to begin their fight against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy on a limited scale. It was the first mass involvement of US troops in the European–North African Theatre and saw the first big airborne assault carried out by the United States.

USS <i>Ranger</i> (CV-4) Ranger-class aircraft carrier

USS Ranger (CV-4) was an interwar United States Navy aircraft carrier, the only ship of its class. As a Treaty ship, Ranger was the first U.S. vessel to be designed and built from the keel up as a carrier. She was relatively small, just 730 ft (222.5 m) long and under 15,000 long tons (15,000 t), closer in size and displacement to the first US carrier—Langley—than later ships. An island superstructure was not included in the original design, but was added after completion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North African campaign</span> Campaign of WWII fought in North Africa

The North African campaign of the Second World War took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria, as well as Tunisia. The campaign was fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. The Allied war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth and exiles from German-occupied Europe. The United States officially entered the war in December 1941 and began direct military assistance in North Africa on 11 May 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elliott Roosevelt (general)</span> American military official and politician (1910–1990)

Elliott Roosevelt was an American aviation official and wartime officer in the United States Army Air Forces, reaching the rank of brigadier general. He was a son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Madagascar</span> Campaign during WWII

The Battle of Madagascar was a Allied campaign to capture the Vichy French-controlled island Madagascar during World War II. The seizure of the island by the British was to deny Madagascar's ports to the Imperial Japanese Navy and to prevent the loss or impairment of the Allied shipping routes to India, Australia and Southeast Asia. It began with Operation Ironclad, the seizure of the port of Diego-Suarez near the northern tip of the island, on 5 May 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">12th Reconnaissance Squadron</span> US Air Force drone unit

The 12th Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron, assigned to the 319th Operations Group at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, and operates from Beale Air Force Base, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed Ben Bella Airport</span> Airport in Es Sénia, Algeria

Ahmed Ben Bella Airport, formally Es-Sénia Airport is an airport located 4.7 nm (8.7 km) south of Oran, in Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George William Goddard</span> US Air Force general, aerial photography pioneer (1889–1987)

George William Goddard was a United States Air Force brigadier general and a pioneer in aerial photography.

The Hughes D-2 was an American fighter and bomber project begun by Howard Hughes as a private venture. It never proceeded past the flight testing phase but was the predecessor of the Hughes XF-11. The sole D-2 was completed in 1942–1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free French Air Forces</span> Military unit

The Free French Air Forces were the air arm of the Free French Forces in the Second World War, created by Charles de Gaulle in 1940. The designation ceased to exist in 1943 when the Free French Forces merged with General Giraud's forces. The name was still in common use however, until the liberation of France in 1944, when they became the French Air Army. Martial Henri Valin commanded them from 1941 to 1944, then stayed on to command the Air Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Gibraltar during World War II</span>

The military history of Gibraltar during World War II exemplifies Gibraltar's position as a British fortress since the early 18th century and as a vital factor in British military strategy, both as a foothold on the continent of Europe, and as a bastion of British sea power. During World War II, Gibraltar served a vital role in both the Atlantic Theatre and the Mediterranean Theatre, controlling virtually all naval traffic into and out of the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.

The Vichy French Air Force, usually referred to as the Air Force of Vichy or Armistice Air Force for clarity, was the aerial branch of the Armistice Army of Vichy France established in the aftermath of the Fall of France in June 1940. The Vichy French Air Force existed between December 1940 and December 1942 and largely served to defend Vichy French territories abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Test and Evaluation Squadron</span> Military unit

The 1st Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Space Force test and evaluation unit, located at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. The squadron is tasked with testing and evaluation of command and control systems for Space Operations Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paallavvik</span> Island in Nunavut, Canada

Paallavvik formerly Padloping Island is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Merchants Bay, just to the south of Davis Strait, and off the eastern coast of Baffin Island. The smaller Aggijjat is approximately 7 km (4.3 mi) to the east, while Auyuittuq National Park is to the west.

Waller Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force World War II air base located in northeastern Trinidad. It is located about 7 km southeast of Downtown Arima south of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway and roughly 32 km from the capital city Port of Spain.

The Northwest African Photographic Reconnaissance Wing (NAPRW) was a composite Allied photographic reconnaissance wing operational in North Africa during World War II in 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron</span> Military unit

The 5th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 3d Reconnaissance Group. It was inactivated at Pomigliano Airfield, Italy on 12 September 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluie East Two</span> Airport in Ikateq Fjord, Greenland

Bluie East Two was a minor United States Army Air Forces airfield at Ikateq in eastern Greenland. It was operational from 1942 to 1947.

Aerial reconnaissance using heavier-than-air machines was an entirely new science that had to be improvised step-by-step. Early operations were low-level flights with the pilot often dismounting from the plane to report verbally to the nearest officers. Photographic support was urgently developed, initially requiring a full-time photographer on board to handle the heavy, awkward equipment. The interpreting of aerial images was an important new speciality, essential for accurate mapping. By 1915, air-to-ground radio was in use for reconnaissance pilots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerial reconnaissance in World War II</span>

A transformational growth in aerial reconnaissance occurred in the years 1939–45, especially in Britain and then in the United States. It was an expansion determined mostly by trial and error, represented mostly by new tactics, new procedures, and new technology, though rarely by specialized aircraft types. The mission type branched out into many sub-types, including new electronic forms of reconnaissance. In sharp contrast with the case during the pre-war years, by 1945 air reconnaissance was widely recognized as a vital, indispensable component of air power.

References

  1. ↑ Arnold personal files, 1942, at Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA)
  2. ↑ Hansen, 210-11
  3. ↑ "Fairchild K-17". Camera-wiki.org. 15 December 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  4. ↑ Bell, Dana; Greer, Don (January 1, 1980). Air Force Colors, Vol. 2: ETO & MTO 1942-45. Squadron Signal; Aircraft Specials series edition. pp. 27–31. ISBN   978-0897471084.
  5. ↑ Hansen, 220
  6. ↑ Letter to The Adjutant General, 13 July 1946, Accident Information Concerning 2d Lt. Lorain H. Stockton
  7. ↑ Hansen, 224
  8. ↑ Hansen, 220-227
  9. ↑ Roosevelt, 55-56
  10. ↑ Goddard, 305
  11. ↑ Hansen, 223
  12. ↑ Letter, Eleanor Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt, 11 May 1942, quoted in Asbell, Bernard: Mother and Daughter, 1988.
  13. ↑ Letter, Ann Monahan Archibald, asst. VP of Pan Am to Frank Emmet, Immigration and Naturalization Service, 8 May 1942, complete passenger list of Pan Am Clipper N18609 that arrived at NAS Anacostia 7 May 1942
  14. ↑ Oral History Interview with crewmember Edgar Cohen, National Archives, online access.
  15. ↑ Hansen, 227-229
  16. ↑ Chicago Tribune, 6 June 1943 and other press reports

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.