1992-1996 FINDINGS OF THE COLD WAR WORKING GROUP Pt. III

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Archival records

Russian. During meetings of the Joint Commission, the Russian side has passed to the U.S. side diplomatic and military documents related to this incident. These documents detail the Soviet version of what happened to the RB-50.

Soviet archival sources establish that Soviet fighters shot down the plane because the RB-50 violated Soviet airspace in the vicinity of Cape Gamov and Vladivostok. Soviet fighters were scrambled from Nikolaevka airfield and intercepted the RB-50 fifteen kilometers to the south of Askol’d Island. These documents state that the U.S. plane fired on the Soviet fighters first and that they were forced to return fire. Two Soviet MIG-17 fighters, flown by Captain Rybakov and Senior Lieutenant Yablonovsky from Pacific Fleet Naval Aviation, engaged the RB-50. The Soviet documents report that the American plane “while breaking into pieces, fell in flames into the water 15 km (8 miles) to the south of Askol’d Island”. These actions occurred between 0700 and 0730 hours Vladivostok time.

Documents indicate that the Soviets were fully aware, through radio-intercept reports, of the nature and scope of American search and rescue efforts and of the successful rescue of Captain John Roche. Photographs of charts located at the Russian Naval Archives in Gatchina taken by the Commission depict in detail the flight pattern of the RB-50 and the Soviet interceptors and the names, types and locations of U.S. naval vessels involved in the subsequent search. One Soviet vessel, labeled SRT-423 (SRT - medium fishing trawler) is depicted on the chart. In a letter to Defense Minister Bulganin, Fleet Admiral Kuznetsov detailed the American search operations and stated that Trawler #423 was approached by two American destroyers in an attempt to get information regarding the B-50. No interpreter was available to either side and no information was exchanged. Another contemporary Soviet document maintains that the Soviets had no ships in the area of the crash besides trawler #423, which left the area and docked at the port of Nakhodka.

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A list of the documents from Russian archives that have been provided to the U.S. side in the work of the Commission is included at Tab C. The documents are appended to this report with English translations at Appendix 1.

U.S. This incident is heavily documented in U.S. files. Archival holdings include demarches to the USSR, military reporting on the incident and the subsequent search and rescue operations, diplomatic records of high-level meetings and correspondence with Soviet officials, and affidavits and statements collected by U.S. legal representatives. U.S. records indicate that Soviet fighters shot down the RB-50 forty miles from the Siberian coast at approximately 4215N 13245E at 0615 on 29 July 1953.

U.S. military authorities tracked the RB-50 during the course of its flight. They saw the radar trace of the American plane merge with the track of an unidentified plane. Five additional plots were reported in the ten minutes after the two radar traces merged. It is unclear whether this tracking reflected the RB-50 taking evasive action or whether the plots reflected the interceptor aircraft after the interception occurred.

The American search and rescue effort started almost immediately. Two B-29’s were dispatched to the area where radar had last tracked the RB-50. A document summarizing the debriefings of two search and rescue aircraft crews states that a life boat was dropped to four survivors at approximately 4214N 13259E. Scanners reported sighting what they thought were three additional survivors approximately one mile away in an oil slick. Fog and haze precluded positive observation. The mission report on the search and rescue operations conducted by the 37 th Air rescue Squadron is included among the U.S. documentation on the case.

One U.S. heavy cruiser, four U.S. destroyers and one Australian destroyer were dispatched to the area at 1518 hours on 29 July, arriving at the rescue area at 2326 hours on 29 July. At 0419 hours on 30 July the destroyer USS Picking recovered Captain Roche in the vicinity of 4221N 13244E. No other survivors were found.

U.S. search and rescue reports and communications intercept reports indicate that between nine and twelve Soviet ships to include destroyers, submarines, minelayers, three unidentified minesweepers,

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three subchasers, and smaller surface craft were tracked in the area of the crash on 30 July. U.S. reports do not indicate whether any Soviet vessels or aircraft made visual contact with U.S. search planes or ships.

Efforts by the U.S. Government to determine the extent of Soviet knowledge regarding the incident and, in particular, the question of survivors are chronicled in a series of diplomatic notes and protests. No information regarding the fates of the missing crew members was received.

Summary of U.S. holdings. The files of former Special Assistant to the State Department Legal Advisor, Mr. Samuel Klaus contain extensive documentation of this case. The files are located in the National Archives at Record Group 59, Lot File 64D551. A list of selected documents relating to the RB-50 shootdown is included at Tab D. Copies of the selected documents are appended to this report at Appendix 2.

Eyewitness accounts

There is much eyewitness evidence in U.S. archival material. The U.S. side interviewed crew members of search planes, personnel from naval vessels, experts on navigation and currents, and the one survivor from the crew to clarify the events of 29 and 30 July. These interviews and affidavits give a detailed picture of what happened to the RB-50. According to the statements of Captain Roche who survived the incident, the plane was hit on the right side and one of the engines was damaged. The alarm was sounded to bail out. Captain Roche was able to exit the aircraft and land safely in the water. He and the pilot, Captain O’Kelly, floated in the water waiting for rescue from 0620 until 1740 on 29 July, when a search plane commanded by Major Gourley dropped an A-3 life boat into the water not far from their position. Captain Roche managed to reach the life boat but Captain O’Kelly disappeared beneath the surface of the sea and is presumed dead. The search plane commanded by Major Gourley requested assistance by radio. At 1928 another search plane commanded by Captain Schneider reached the crash site. Both planes continued to search until 2055 before returning to base. At 0322 on 30 July the USS Picking spotted a rescue flare fired by Captain Roche and successfully rescued him

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at 0419. No other survivors were found. The remains of Captain O’Kelley and Master Sergeant Brown were found on the coast of Japan after the search had been discontinued.

On 27 October 1993 Russian interviewers met with A.V. Rybakov, the pilot of the MIG-17 which first engaged the RB-50. Mr. Rybakov declined interview requests with the U.S. side of the Commission. Mr. Rybakov’s interview confirmed the facts already established by Soviet documents from 1953, passed to the U.S. side of the Commission by the Russians. He stated that the RB-50 had fired first, that the plane descended into a cloud bank and out of sight without any parachutes being seen, and that he and his wing man, Senior Lieutenant Yablonovsky, returned to Nikolaevka airfield immediately after the incident. Mr. Rybakov stated that he had no knowledge of any part of the plane being recovered, nor did he have any knowledge of survivors.

In November 1994 and again in April 1995, Yuri Mikhailovich Yablonovsky, a retired Soviet Air Force Colonel who was the second pilot involved in the shootdown incident, was interviewed by U.S. interviewers. The information provided by Mr. Yablonovsky confirmed the facts established in the interview with Mr. Rybakov. and in Soviet documents contemporary with the incident.

On 10 June 1993 U.S. interviewers met with retired Soviet Sergeant Georgiy Yakovlevich Kravchenko in Moscow. Mr. Kravchenko served as an anti-aircraft gunner on Russkiy Island near Vladivostok in 1953. Mr. Kravchenko stated that he witnessed the shootdown of the RB-50 from his vantage point on Russkiy Island and that within two minutes of the engagement he saw seven parachutes descending from the burning aircraft.

Information bearing on this case has been presented to the Commission by retired Soviet Colonel (now Professor) Gavril Ivanovich Korotkov a former Soviet military intelligence officer who was stationed in Khabarovsk during the period of the Korean War. Professor Korotkov stated in a taped interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation that he personally interrogated an American prisoner during the Korean War. When the armistice ending the Korean War was signed (27 July 1953) he was in the town of Posyet, located not far from Vladivostok. Professor Korotkov heard that a large U.S. plane had been shot down in the Vladivostok area and had crashed into the sea. He heard that crew members had parachuted from the plane. Colonel Korotkov and other military intelligence

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specialists heard that survivors had been picked up by Soviet forces. Consequently, he expected that he and his colleagues would be afforded the opportunity to interrogate the Americans. Colonel Korotkov and his colleagues were told that the war was over and they were forbidden to meet Americans. He stated that survivors were considered spies, not prisoners of war, and as such would be handled by the security services. At the 10 th Plenary Session of the Commission Professor Korotkov repeated his conviction that several American fliers survived the shootdown and were rescued. Transcripts and reports of selected eyewitness accounts related to this incident are included at Appendix 3.

Field investigations

Representatives of the Joint Commission have made several trips to the Far East area in an effort to ascertain the fate of the crew of the RB-50. Two former Soviet prison camps, Magadan and Susuman, have been visited and a trip was made to Vladivostok and Nakhodka in March 1995 to attempt to locate eyewitnesses and confirm archival evidence. Appeals for information on this and other shootdown incidents which occurred in the Vladivostok area were made in local newspapers. To date, the response to the appeals has been positive, however, no new definitive information had been developed. Follow-on visits to the area have been conducted and will be planned on a periodic basis.

Current status

As a result of the work of the Joint Commission, the U.S. side has had the opportunity to examine the loss of the RB-50 in some detail. Archival data, eyewitness reports, and the testimony of former Soviet military personnel have contributed to the information available to the Commission.

Efforts are currently underway to locate additional witnesses who can clarify details of the shootdown, particularly the discrepancies regarding parachutes and survivors. Colleagues of Professor Korotkov who may be able to corroborate his statements are being sought. Crew members from Soviet Trawler #423, known to have been in the search area, are also being sought.

The Russian archival record on this incident consists predominantly of documents of a political rather than military/operational nature. Efforts to gain access to additional military/operational

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documentation are being undertaken. In particular, unit-level Border Guards records and the deck logs of Soviet ships known to have been in the area of the search are being sought. During a visit to Vladivostok in March 1995, Commission representatives received specific archival citations for some of the deck logs being sought. The logs were sent from the Pacific Fleet Archives in Vladivostok to the Central Naval Archives at Gatchina in the 1960’s. During a visit to Gatchina by Commission representatives after the 12 th Plenary Session, naval archivists agreed to search for the requested deck logs. The Commission still awaits the results of this search

Paramount in the efforts of the Commission is the question of survivors. Thirteen crew members remain unaccounted for. Based on the work conducted to date, no information has been gained to clarify the fates of those unaccounted-for. Circumstantial evidence exists that other crew members in addition to Captain Roche may have survived. The Commission continues its efforts to determine the fates of those still unaccounted for.

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U.S. AIR FORCE RB-47 - - 18 APRIL 1955 - - NORTHERN PACIFIC

Introduction

Summary of Incident. At approximately 1130 Khabarovsk time on 18 April 1955, an RB-47E
assigned to the 4 th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 26 th Reconnaissance Wing, based at Eielso
AB, Alaska, was shot down with a crew of three over the northern Pacific Ocean off the Kamchatka
Peninsula by Soviet MIG fighters. The three crewmen are unaccounted for. A presumptive finding of
death was issued by the Air Force on 17 April 1956 (Tab A).

Personnel Involved. RB-47 crew

US position.. The US position prior to the establishment of the Joint Commission was that this plane had been on a routine weather reconnaissance flight when it was attacked by Soviet fighters and shot down over international waters. When the case was presented to the Russian side of the Commission in 1992, the US side acknowledged that the plane had been on an intelligence gathering mission. Russian position. During the work of the Commission, the Russian side has acknowledged from the beginning that the RB-47 was shot down by Soviet aircraft. However, we have no diplomatic documents from either side to indicate whether the USSR believed that this plane violated their state borders, or whether a protest was lodged by the USSR.

Work of the Commission. The US side included the issue of the unaccounted-for crew from the 18 April 1955 shootdown as a formal agenda item at the Joint Commission’s first formal session in Moscow, March 1992. To further the work of the Commission, the US side presented a case study to the Russian side in 1993 (Tab B). As reviewed in Archival records section, the Commission has researched archival records relating to this loss. As indicated in the fourth and fifth sections, no eyewitnesses have been interviewed by the Commission, and there was no field investigation given the

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loss over the Northern Pacific Ocean. The current status of the Commission’s work on this incident is presented in Current status.

Live sighting reports

None

Archival records

Russian. The Russian side has passed to the American side military documents that indicate that the RB-47 was tracked by Soviet signals intelligence units from 0943 Khabarovsk time. The US aircraft was located at that time in the vicinity of Cape Lopatka, at the southern end of the Kamchatka Peninsula. By 1057 the plane was reported 43 miles southeast of Cape Vasiliev. Russian military authorities stated in the documents that the plane did not violate their borders. Nevertheless, two MIG-15 aircraft were scrambled to intercept it, and did so 32 miles east of Cape Kronotski (approximately 55° North, 164° East) at an altitude of 12,200 meters. From 11:25-27, the MIGs attacked the RB-47, and it left Soviet radar screens at 1140 hours.

The crash site was reported by Soviet fishermen aboard the boat “Komandor.” They noted an explosion 13 kilometers west of the settlement of Nikol’skoye on Bering Island, approximately 55°, 50 minutes North, 165° 50 minutes East. Soviet intelligence also reported extensively on the American search and rescue (SAR) efforts. The SAR started on 19 April (the dates used by the Soviets in this analysis are one day ahead of ours, owing to the proximity of the International Date Line) and lasted four days using over 20 planes in an extensive SAR effort. However, the Soviet conclusion was “from the nature of the search one can suppose that the Americans do not know the place, cause, and time of the plane’s destruction.” That is, the plane did not go down where the Americans thought it went down, and so they searched in the wrong place.

The Soviets also mounted a search effort which yielded parts of the aircraft, a life vest, topographic maps of Chukhotka and Alaska, diagrams and a written description of the plane. However, there is no mention of survivors in any Russian document.

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The holdings from Russian archives that have been provided to the US side in the work of the Commission are as follows (included with translation at Tab C):

U.S. Until 1992, when Russian documents were received, the U.S. government suspected, but could not prove, that the aircraft had been shot down. There is relatively little information in the U.S. archives on this incident. Contemporary accounts of the incident indicate that in 1955 the Air Force knew only that the RB-47 had failed to return from its mission. The Air Force, in its presumptive finding of death of the crew, said that there was no indication that the plane had been shot down by the Soviets, and no mention is made of survivors. The Air Force describes the U.S. SAR effort as 20 sorties comprising 207 search hours, to no avail. Apparently the search for the plane was conducted well away from the actual crash site. Since the US Government had little definitive information that the RB-47 was shot down by Soviet MIGs, no demarches were made to Moscow concerning the fate of the crew.

Documents from the National Security Agency made available for public release indicate that the US aircraft was shot down by Soviet fighters.

Summary of US holdings. Documents related to this case from US holdings (included at Tab D) are:

Incident Chronology

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“Soviet Reaction to the flight of a US RB-47”

Eyewitness accounts

None

Field investigations

None

Current status

As a result of the work of the Joint Commission, the US side has had the opportunity to examine the loss of the RB-47 and the fate of the unaccounted-for crew in as much detail as the evidence thus far will allow. Archival data makes it clear that the RB-47 was shot down by Soviet fighters over international waters on 18 April 1955. The US side has asked the GRU to follow-up on the report of the recovery of aircraft parts, life vests and maps referenced at the time of the incident. The US side continues to follow up on reports of the search carried out by Soviet Maritime Border Guard units. Efforts to locate and interview participants in the search operations mounted by the Soviet Border Guards, crew members of the “Komandor,” in particular, continue.

Paramount in the efforts of the Commission is the question of survivors. The archival record has yielded no evidence of survivors from this shootdown. There are no reports that parachutes were sighted. There are no references in the documentation from either side to survivors.

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U.S. AIR FORCE RB-50 - - 10 SEPTEMBER 1956 - - SEA OF JAPAN

Introduction

Summary of Incident. On 10 September 1956, a USAF RB-50 stationed at Yokota AB, Japan, assigned to the 41 st Air Division, 5 th Air Force, was lost over the Sea of Japan. There was a very powerful storm, Typhoon Emma, in the area. No distress signal was received from the RB-50. All sixteen crew members remain unaccounted for. A presumptive finding of death for the crew was issued by the Air Force on 31 December 1956 (Tab A).

Personnel Involved. RB-50 crew

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U.S. position. The US position prior to the establishment of the Joint Commission was that the plane was on a weather reconnaissance flight, sent out to check Typhoon Emma. When the case was presented to the Russian side of the Commission in 1992, the US side confirmed that this had been an intelligence gathering flight. The U.S. had no evidence to indicate that the plane’s loss resulted from an attack by Soviet fighters. The U.S. did not know if, in fact, the USSR had been involved, whether there had been a Soviet search and rescue effort at the time of the loss or whether either the crew or their remains had been taken by the Soviets.

Russian position. On 13 November 1956, in response to a 12 October 1956 U.S. request, the Soviet Government informed the American Embassy in Moscow that the USSR had no information about the aircraft or its crew.

Work of the Commission. The U.S. side included the issue of those unaccounted for from the 10 September 1956 loss as an agenda item at the Joint Commission’s first formal session in Moscow, in March 1992. To further the work of the Commission, the U.S. side presented a case study to the Russian side in 1993 (Tab B). The Commission’s research on this case is presented in the second through fifth sections. The current status of the Commission’s work on this case is presented in Current status.

Live sighting reports

None

Archival records

Russian. The Russian side of the Commission has provided no documents to the US side on this case. The Russian side does not carry this case as a Cold War incident. In Cold War Working Group sessions, the Russian side has indicated that it has no information on this incident. As noted above, in a 13 November 1956 Soviet response to an American request for information, the USSR then stated that it had no information on the loss of the aircraft. During the work of the Commission in response to US requests, the Russian side specifically said it had no search and rescue records relating to the incident.

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In spite of the lack of information to date, the Russian side of the Commission pledged during the 11 th Plenary Session to undertake a renewed effort at locating information related to this incident. The absence of Russian archival materials related to this case is documented at Tab C.

U.S. There are few holdings in the U.S. archival records. Air Force files included the accident report (included at Tab D) and the presumptive finding of death (Tab A). Both documents discuss in detail the climatic conditions along the proposed flight path. The presumptive finding of death (Tab A), unit histories, and recently declassified National Security Agency documents (included at Tab D) detail the U.S. search and rescue effort.

The Commission notes that the files of Sam Klaus, former Special Assistant to the State Department Legal Advisor, which have provided us much information on other incidents, do not contain information on this incident.

Summary of U.S. holdings. Documents related to this case from U.S. holdings (included at Tab D) are:

Eyewitness accounts

None

Field investigation

None

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Current status

As a result of the work of the Joint Commission, the U.S. side has worked to assemble such information as exists on this case. We find no evidence to indicate that this aircraft loss was caused by hostile Soviet action. The Commission notes that the planned flight path called for the aircraft to go no closer than 120 miles from Soviet territory. This planning reflected technological advances which allowed U.S. aircraft to carry out their classified missions at greater distances from Soviet territory, lessening the chances of attack by the Soviet military.

Turning from the cause of the aircraft’s loss, the Commission addressed the question of survivors. Typhoon Emma severely hindered American search and rescue efforts, and it would have had similar effects on any Soviet search. US search efforts were unsuccessful. The Russian side has stated that there were no Soviet SAR operations. During the 11 th Plenary Session the Russian co-Chairman of the Cold War Working Group told a family member of the missing crew that the Russian side would continue to search for information on the RB-50. At the Cold War Working Group session of the Commission held in Moscow in April 1995 the Russian side reported that it had again researched the loss of the RB-50 and that further information was not found on this case. At this point in the work of the Commission, new leads for further inquiry have not yet been developed.

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U.S. AIR FORCE C-130 -- 2 SEPTEMBER 1958 -- SOVIET ARMENIA

Introduction

Summary of Incident. On 2 September 1958, an Air Force C-130 assigned to the 7406 th Support Squadron in Wiesbaden, Germany, flying out of Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, was shot down by Soviet fighter aircraft in Soviet airspace. The aircraft, with a crew of 17 aboard, crashed and burned near the village of Sasnashen, Soviet Armenia, about 55 kilometers northwest of the capital of Yerevan. On 24 September 1958, six sets of remains were handed over to representatives of the U.S. at the Soviet-Turkish border (the Soviets originally said there were seven sets - U.S. research indicated six sets.) Five of the six have been identified. Eleven crewmen remain unaccounted for. Due to the lack of identification for one set of remains, twelve names are listed as unaccounted for. A presumptive finding of death for the unaccounted for was issued by the Air Force on 9 November 1961 (Tab A).

Personnel Involved. C-130 crew

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U.S. position. The U.S. position prior to the establishment of the Joint Commission was that this plane had been on a routine operational flight when it inadvertently strayed into Soviet airspace and was shot down. When the case was presented to the Russian side of the Commission in 1992, the U.S. side acknowledged that it was an intelligence gathering flight.

Russian position. At the time of the incident, the USSR insisted that the plane had crashed on the territory of the USSR with no Soviet fighter involvement. This position was maintained well into 1959, when CPSU General Secretary Khrushchev wrote in response to a query by Vice President Nixon that no Soviet fighters had been involved. At the onset of the Commission’s work, the Russian side admitted that the C-130 was shot down by Soviet fighters.

Work of the Commission. The U.S. side included the issue of those unaccounted for from the 2 September 1958 shootdown as a formal agenda item at the Joint Commission’s first formal session in Moscow, in March 1992. To further the work of the Commission, the U.S. side presented a case study to the Russian side in 1993 (Tab B). As reviewed in the second through fifth sections, the Commission has researched archival records relating to the incident, interviewed participants and witnesses and carried out a field investigation at the C-130 crash site. The current status of the Commission’s work on this incident is presented in Current status.

Live sighting reports

None

Archival records

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