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Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star

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The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star is an American airborne early warning and control radar surveillance aircraft operational in the 1950s in both the United States Navy (USN) and United States Air Force (USAF).

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135-703: The military version of the Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation was used to serve as an airborne early warning system to supplement the Distant Early Warning Line , using two large radomes (a vertical dome above and a horizontal one below the fuselage). It replaced the TBM-3W used by the USN. Some EC-121s were also used for signal intelligence gathering. The EC-121 was introduced in 1954 and phased out in 1978, although

270-557: A National Security Agency security policy protecting its "intelligence sources" (of which the QRC-248 was one), thus was restricted to waiting for North Vietnamese GCI to interrogate its aircraft. QRC-248 began regular use in July 1967, but by then North Vietnam's MiG force, which had suffered serious losses in May, had suspended its combat operations. In the last week of August, however, after

405-410: A Propaganda Agency at Wellington House. A distinguished body of literary talent was enlisted for the task, with its members including Arthur Conan Doyle , Ford Madox Ford , G. K. Chesterton , Thomas Hardy , Rudyard Kipling and H. G. Wells . Over 1,160 pamphlets were published during the war and distributed to neutral countries, and eventually, to Germany. One of the first significant publications,

540-676: A B-52 that evaded by dropping flares. As a result, Warning Stars of Det. 1 returned to Korat RTAFB to provide radar support by flying the Laotian orbit again, using callsign Disco . Seven EC-121Ts, replacement aircraft for the earlier series, were based in Thailand and contained both QRC-248 and Rivet Top electronic suites. When Operation Linebacker began on 10 May 1972, Disco was one of two principal GCI radars used by US forces, although it continued to be handicapped by poor radio communications. In addition, its slow-turning radar limited its value as

675-820: A Navy EC-121 in 1969, a crew of 31 was on board. Orders were placed totaling 142 PO-2W Constellations based on the Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, with deliveries beginning in 1953. The PO-2W was redesignated WV-2 in 1954. In 1962, with standardization of aircraft designations within the Department of Defense, the WV-2 then became the EC-121K. In total, 13 of these were converted to WV-2Q electronic intelligence (ELINT) aircraft (becoming EC-121M in 1962). Nine were converted to WV-3 weather reconnaissance aircraft (WC-121N in 1962). The EC-121K

810-434: A controller of fighters during MiG engagements, while the size of USAF raids during Linebacker nearly saturated its capabilities. Improvements made in the systems since 1968 enabled the operators to distinguish MiG types and a color code system for them entered the air operations vernacular: "Red Bandits" (Mig-17s); "White Bandits" ( MiG-19s ); "Blue Bandits" (MiG-21s), and "Black bandits" (MiGs low on fuel). On 6 July 1972, as

945-592: A deployment base at NAS Midway on 1 July 1958 and later expanded to include AEW Squadrons Fourteen (VW-14) and Sixteen (VW-16). Their orbits overlapped the radar picket stations of the ships of Escort Squadron Seven, from roughly Adak Island to Midway. Normally, five WV-2s/EC-121s were required at any single time to provide coverage over the entire line. The Hawaiian barrier force operations were discontinued by September 1965, and their EC-121K aircraft were placed in storage. However, VW-1 continued operating until 1972, flying weather ops and supplying AEW to naval forces in

1080-429: A dorsal AN/APS-45 height finder and a ventral AN/APS-20 search radar. These were later upgraded to AN/APS-103 and AN/APS-95 radars, although not simultaneously. The crew commonly numbered 18, six officers (two pilots, two navigators, and two weapons controllers) and 12 enlisted (two flight engineers, one radio operator, two crew chiefs, five radar operators, and two radar technicians). However, when North Korea shot down

1215-628: A general strategy to mislead German high command as to the date and location of the invasion, which was obviously going to happen. Planning began in 1943 under the auspices of the London Controlling Section (LCS). A draft strategy, referred to as Plan Jael, was presented to Allied high command at the Tehran Conference . Operation Fortitude was intended to convince the Germans of a greater Allied military strength than

1350-538: A heavy cost, in that the target population sooner or later recognizes them as propaganda and discredits the source. He writes, "This is one of the few dogmas advanced by Sykewarriors that is likely to endure as an axiom of propaganda: Credibility is a condition of persuasion. Before you can make a man do as you say, you must make him believe what you say." Consistent with this idea, the Allied strategy in World War II

1485-525: A letter of challenge on the main mosque and set fire to the alcaicería before withdrawing. In 1574, having been informed about the pirate attacks previous to the Battle of Manila , Spanish captain Juan de Salcedo had his relief force return to the city by night while playing marching music and carrying torches in loose formations, so they would appear to be a much larger army to any nearby enemy. They reached

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1620-508: A mission and extended the range of low-altitude detection to more than 175 miles (282 km), covering virtually all important North Vietnamese target areas. By May, all College Eyes had been fitted with QRC-248. Ethan Bravo's mission was changed from that of a backup for Ethan Alpha to being the primary QRC-248 listener, but College Eye was prohibited by the Joint Chiefs of Staff from actively "interrogating" MiG transponders, following

1755-518: A mission to rescue US prisoners of war held at Son Tay prison. Once at Korat, some equipment was tested for the first time because of emission restrictions in US airspace and the only available manuals and checklists were notes from early flight tests. Even so, both aircraft were operational by 17 November. On 20 November 1970, two Warning Stars, using the callsigns Frog 01 and 02, respectively, took off 10 minutes apart at 22:00 from Korat to take station at

1890-730: A period of intensive training and revision of tactics, the MiGs began engaging US strike forces again, scoring a number of kills. Then, Seventh Air Force finally obtained permission for the new Ethan Bravo mission EC-121 to actively interrogate with QRC-248 on 6 October. By 4 December, its success outweighed any value in flying the Ethan Alpha orbit, which was discontinued until July 1972. On 1 March 1968, College Eye callsigns changed to Ethan 01, 02, 03 and 04. Ethan 03 (Laotian orbit) began "positive control" (airborne direction) of C-130 flareship flights and A-26 Invader night interdiction missions along

2025-559: A single specially modified EW aircraft remained in USN service until 1982. The USN versions when initially procured were designated WV-1 (PO-1W), WV-2, and WV-3. The USAF Warning Stars served during the Vietnam War both as electronic sensor monitors and as a forerunner to the Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS . USAF aircrews adopted its civil nickname, "Connie" (diminutive of Constellation) as reference, USN aircrews used

2160-416: A technique whereby an EC-121 flying at 50 feet (15 m) to 300 feet (91 m) above water could bounce a signal from its bottom-mounted APS-95 Search radar off the surface of the water and detect aircraft at medium altitudes out to 150 miles (240 km). Operating in pairs, one Big Eye EC-121 flew a 50 miles (80 km) race track pattern approximately 30 miles (48 km) offshore (Alpha orbit), with

2295-518: A tight hold on propaganda efforts for its people. The Chinese government also utilizes cognitive warfare against Taiwan . The Centre interarmées des actions sur l'environnement is an organization made up of 300 soldiers whose mission is to assure to the four service arm of the French Armed Forces psychological warfare capacities. Deployed in particular to Mali and Afghanistan, its missions "consist in better explaining and accepting

2430-548: A variant, the NC-121, in their Blue Eagle unit from 1965–1972. Blue Eagles were television- and radio-broadcasting airplanes. The Blue Eagles were based at NAS Patuxent River and were part of oceanographic squadron VXN-8. At the onset of Rolling Thunder, the North Vietnamese had an advantage in that their radar coverage could detect most US strike aircraft flying at or above 5,000 feet (1,500 m) virtually anywhere in

2565-575: A wave-top approach to its orbit station, where it remained for five hours. Because of the threat of MiG interception, EC-121s were protected by a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter MiGCAP . If, for any reason, the MiGCAP could not rendezvous, the EC-121s cancelled their mission. Air-conditioning systems aboard the EC-121 were virtually useless in this profile, and the heat produced by the electronics, combined with

2700-404: Is capable of protecting against psychological aggression since it cannot be legally adjudicated. "Here the propagandists is [sic] dealing with a foreign adversary whose morale he seeks to destroy by psychological means so that the opponent begins to doubt the validity of his beliefs and actions." According to Boaz Ganor , terrorism weakens the sense of security and disturbs daily life, damaging

2835-578: Is rooted in the Chinese Stratagems outlined by Sun Tzu in The Art of War and Thirty-Six Stratagems . In its dealings with its rivals, China is expected to utilize Marxism to mobilize communist loyalists, as well as flex its economic and military muscle to persuade other nations to act in the Chinese government's interests. The Chinese government also tries to control the media to keep

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2970-405: Is used "to denote any action which is practiced mainly by psychological methods with the aim of evoking a planned psychological reaction in other people". Various techniques are used, and are aimed at influencing a target audience's value system, belief system, emotions , motives , reasoning , or behavior . It is used to induce confessions or reinforce attitudes and behaviors favorable to

3105-603: The Report on Alleged German Outrages of 1915, had a great effect on general opinion across the world. The pamphlet documented atrocities , both actual and alleged, committed by the German army against Belgian civilians. A Dutch illustrator, Louis Raemaekers , provided the highly emotional drawings which appeared in the pamphlet. In 1917, the bureau was subsumed into the new Department of Information and branched out into telegraph communications, radio , newspapers, magazines and

3240-586: The 79th AEWCS at Homestead Air Force Base , Florida, in early 1976. The active duty force continued providing personnel to operate the EC-121s on a 24-hour basis, assigning Detachment 1, 20th Air Defence Squadron to Homestead AFB as associate active duty crews to fly the AFRES-owned aircraft. Besides monitoring Cuban waters, these last Warning Stars also operated from NAS Keflavik. Final EC-121 ops ended in September 1978. Detachment 1 dissolved and 79th AEWCS

3375-644: The Croats and Slovenes . It had a significant effect on the final collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Army at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto . Aerial leaflets were dropped over German trenches containing postcards from prisoners of war detailing their humane conditions, surrender notices and general propaganda against the Kaiser and the German generals . By the end of the war, MI7b had distributed almost 26 million leaflets. The Germans began shooting

3510-601: The Cuban Air Force . The SRO-2 transponders installed in Soviet export MiGs enabled Cuban ground-controlled interception (GCI) radars to identify and control their fighters. A testbed EC-121 called Quick Look had flown with College Eye in January 1967 to test QRC-248 and found that North Vietnamese MiGs used the same transponder. QRC-248 accurately discriminated MiG radar returns from the myriad returns picked up during

3645-699: The E-2 Hawkeye and by Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 33 ( VAQ-33 ) for the Fleet Electronic Warfare Systems Group ( FEWSG ) at NAS Norfolk , Virginia, and later, following a squadron homeport change, at NAS Key West, Florida. At the time of its retirement on June 25, 1982, VAQ-33's NC-121K aircraft, Buno 141292 was the last NC-121K and the last of its type operated by the USN. The USAF operated EC-121s between 1954 and 1978, with three wings at maximum employment and three independent squadrons as operations wound down. Until

3780-477: The EP-3B Orion and EP-3E Aries aircraft. Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Four (VW-4) operated WV-3- cum -WC-121s between 1954 and 1975 as Hurricane Hunters , with its primary base at NAS Jacksonville , Florida , and a forward base at Naval Station Roosevelt Roads , Puerto Rico . Its Pacific counterpart, Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Three (VW-3) Typhoon Trackers was the operational weather squadron in

3915-506: The Lydian king Alyattes by fattening up a pair of mules and driving them out of the besieged city. When Alyattes' envoy was then sent to Priene, Bias had piles of sand covered with wheat to give the impression of plentiful resources. This ruse appears to have been well known in medieval Europe: defenders in castles or towns under siege would throw food from the walls to show besiegers that provisions were plentiful. A famous example occurs in

4050-523: The Mongolian Empire in the 13th century AD employed less subtle techniques. Defeating the will of the enemy before having to attack and reaching a consented settlement was preferable to facing his wrath. The Mongol generals demanded submission to the Khan and threatened the initially captured villages with complete destruction if they refused to surrender. If they had to fight to take the settlement,

4185-606: The Munich Agreement . After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the British set up the Political Warfare Executive to produce and distribute propaganda. Through the use of powerful transmitters , broadcasts could be made across Europe. Sefton Delmer managed a successful black propaganda campaign through several radio stations which were designed to be popular with German troops while at

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4320-639: The North Africa campaign . Mock hardware was created for Bodyguard ; in particular, dummy landing craft were stockpiled to give the impression that the invasion would take place near Calais . The Operation was a strategic success and the Normandy landings caught German defences unaware. Continuing deception, portraying the landings as a diversion from a forthcoming main invasion in the Calais region, led Hitler into delaying transferring forces from Calais to

4455-782: The Sandinista government in Nicaragua . The CIA used psychological warfare techniques against the Panamanians by delivering unlicensed TV broadcasts. The United States government has used propaganda broadcasts against the Cuban government through TV Marti , based in Miami, Florida . However, the Cuban government has been successful at jamming the signal of TV Marti. In the Iraq War ,

4590-597: The US , Russia , and China . In 2022, Meta and the Stanford Internet Observatory found that over five years people associated with the U.S. military, who tried to conceal their identities, created fake accounts on social media systems including Balatarin , Facebook , Instagram , Odnoklassniki , Telegram , Twitter , VKontakte and YouTube in an influence operation in Central Asia and

4725-812: The XC-69 Constellation prototype from the Hughes Tool Company . The XC-69 was equipped with four Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines instead of the Wright R-3350s used on production models. Lockheed had installed R-2800s on the prototype to test them as an option for the L-049. Lockheed stretched XC-69 by 18 ft (5.5 m), to become the basis for the L-1049 Super Constellation. The aircraft first flew later in 1950, still fitted with R-2800 engines. It

4860-758: The electronic warfare variant assigned to Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 33 (VAQ-33) at NAS Key West , Florida. The aircraft was the last EC-121 in operational service, flying until 25 June 1982. The USAF received 10 RC-121C and 74 EC-121D Warning Stars also based on the L-1049, beginning with diversions from the Navy contracts in October 1953. The 10 RC-121Cs became trainers, designated TC-121C. Between 1966 and 1969, 30 retired USN EC-121s were transferred to USAF and converted in EC-121Rs as sensor-monitoring aircraft. Of

4995-523: The " no-fly zone " inside the North Vietnamese border with China, to provide alerts to US aircraft nearing the buffer zone and to report border crossing violations by US aircraft. This could not be done from the gulf, so a third orbit, Ethan Charlie, was created in Laos. After tests in June and August, regular missions began 24 August. Not enough EC-121s or crews were available to support three orbits twice daily, so

5130-597: The 19th. From April 1965 to early 1966 and beginning again in late 1967, the EC-121Ds also controlled a flight of MiGCAP fighters for unarmed support aircraft operating over the Tonkin Gulf. The EC-121Ds also served as an airborne communications relay center for strike aircraft to transmit mission results and position reports to Danang Air Control Center; directed operations of fighter escorts, MiGCAPs, Lockheed C-130 Hercules flare ships and A-26 strike aircraft along

5265-594: The 552d was reduced by a squadron in 1971. In July 1974, USAF redesignated 552d Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing as 552d Airborne Warning and Control Group when it was downsized to a single squadron. It inactivated in April 1976. As the USAF prepared for deploying the E-3 Sentry in the later 1970s, it phased out EC-121 operations by the end of 1975. All remaining EC-121s transferred to Air Force Reserve , which formed

5400-827: The 74 EC-121s, 42 were converted to the EC-121H upgrade beginning in 1962, and in 1969, 15 of the remaining EC-121Ds and seven of the EC-121Hs were further upgraded into the final operational variant, the EC-121T, serving as an AWACS prototype in Southeast Asia in 1972. Five EC-121Ds were modified to be broadcasting aircraft for psychological warfare operations , the predecessors of the EC-130 Commando Solo . WV-2s, redesignated EC-121s in 1962, served from 1954 to 1965 in two "barrier" forces, one off each coast of

5535-654: The 8th-century legend of Lady Carcas , who supposedly persuaded the Franks to abandon a five-year siege by this means and gave her name to Carcassonne as a result. During the Granada War , Spanish captain Hernán Pérez del Pulgar routinely employed psychological tactics as part of his guerrilla actions against the Emirate of Granada . In 1490, infiltrating the city by night with a small retinue of soldiers, he nailed

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5670-587: The Atlantic. Seaboard & Western Airlines used L-1049Ds on transatlantic cargo flights to Germany and Switzerland. From the summer of 1955 to the spring of 1956, the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) leased three Seaboard L-1049Ds for passenger flights. Northwest Orient Airlines L-1049Gs flew Seattle, Washington to Tokyo , Okinawa and Manila in 1955–57. The scheduled freight airline, Flying Tiger Line , used

5805-738: The Constellation family. The first was the L-049 with a fuselage lengthened by 13 feet (4.0 meters) and the second the L-749 stretched 18 feet (5.5 meters). Douglas launched a stretched version of its DC-6 airliner as a cargo transport, designated DC-6A, for both military and civilian operators. Douglas was soon to launch a passenger version (the DC-6B) of this new aircraft. The DC-6B could carry 23 more passengers than Lockheed's current production L-749 Constellation. In 1950, Lockheed had repurchased

5940-544: The Constellation. Data from Lockheed Constellation:From Excalibur to Starliner . General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Psyops Psychological warfare ( PSYWAR ), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations ( PsyOp ), has been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations ( MISO ), Psy Ops, political warfare , "Hearts and Minds", and propaganda . The term

6075-453: The F-4s escorting the mission, Frog 02 remained on station and relied on its Rivet Top voice intercept capability to provide supplementary data. In October 1971, North Vietnamese MiGs, operating from forward bases opened after the end of Rolling Thunder, began a campaign to intercept Boeing B-52 Stratofortress missions over southern Laos. On 20 November, a MiG-21 launched air-to-air missiles at

6210-756: The German newspapers, was distributed via airborne leaflets by the French. The Central Powers were slow to use these techniques; however, at the start of the war the Germans succeeded in inducing the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire to declare 'holy war', or Jihad , against the Western infidels . They also attempted to foment rebellion against the British Empire in places as far afield as Ireland , Afghanistan , and India . The Germans' greatest success

6345-524: The Gulf of Tonkin. USN C-121, EC-121, WC-12,1 and NC-121 operations continued until 1975 in seven other squadrons and until 1982 in an eighth. Some EC-121s were used in Vietnam, mirroring USAF EC-121 missions, but orbiting the Gulf of Tonkin, as that was the USN's assigned area. Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One ( VQ-1 ) and Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Two ( VQ-2 ) operated EC-121M ELINT gathering aircraft at NAF Atsugi , Japan , and Naval Station Rota , Spain , respectively, until they transitioned to

6480-443: The Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos on 19 April 1968. The task force was scaled back in July 1968, to four EC-121Ds and the Rivet Top testbed aircraft to allow for the basing of another College Eye detachment at Itazuke AB , Japan. The name of the task force was discontinued in October 1968, when it was redesignated a final time as Detachment 1 (Rotational), 552nd AEWCW. EC-121 deployments to Southeast Asia were discontinued in June 1970 in

6615-400: The L-1049C and L-1049G. TWA 1049s began flying in 1952; TWA L-1049Gs flew transatlantic starting in 1955. In 1956, a TWA L-1049 collided with a United Airlines DC-7 over the Grand Canyon , leading to the deaths of all on both aircraft. KLM introduced the L-1049C on the Amsterdam to New York run in 1953. It also used L-1049Gs to Tokyo and Sydney . Air France used its L-1049Cs across

6750-440: The L-1049C, which first flew on February 17 of that year. The R-3350-972-TC18DA-1 turbo-compound engines on the L-1049C had a new turbine system, the Power Recovery Turbines (PRT). Each engine's exhaust gas flowed through three turbines, increasing power by 550 hp (410 kW). One drawback of the PRT was the visible flame from the exhaust pipes; this was resolved by placing armor plating 2 in (5.1 cm) thick under

6885-464: The L-1049D, first flew in August 1954. It had two cargo doors on the left side and a reinforced magnesium floor as used on the R7V-1 military variant of the L-1049B. The L-1049D could carry a 36,916 lb (16,745 kg) payload and had a volume of 5,579 cu ft (158.0 m ). At the time of its first flight, the L-1049D was the largest civil cargo aircraft. In the end four were produced, all delivered to Seaboard & Western Airlines . Two of

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7020-619: The L-1049H on North American routes and service for the Military Air Transport Service . A Flying Tigers L-1049H was the last Constellation built, in 1959. The first airline in Latin America with Super Constellations (L-1049E and L-1049G) was Cubana de Aviación , flying them from Havana to Madrid, New York City and Mexico City. Other Latin American Super Constellations were on Línea Aeropostal Venezolana , Avianca , Real Transportes Aéreos , and Varig . Iberia 1049Gs continued to fly Madrid-Santa Maria-Havana weekly until 1966. Most Super Constellations were retired by their original operators after

7155-565: The L-1049J was based on the L-1049H with the wings of the R7V-2 Constellation and an extra fuselage-mounted fuel tank. The first production L-1049 flew on July 14, 1951, and received certification in November 1951. The Turbo-compound versions of the R-3350 engine were not yet available for civil use, so the engines were 2,700–2,800 hp (2,000–2,100 kW) instead of the Turbo-compound's 3,250–3,400 hp (2,420–2,540 kW). The aircraft entered service with Eastern Air Lines in December 1951 flying Miami to New York. Eastern later operated

7290-534: The Laotian orbit was only flown every third day, with Ethan Bravo missions cancelled on those days. After 13 October 1966, the Charlie orbit was flown every day and the Bravo orbit suspended altogether. In April 1967, four more EC-121s were deployed, to Thailand on 29 May, making for a total strength of three College Eyes in Taiwan and six in Thailand. In April 1967, USAF began fitting its entire EC-121 fleet with QRC-248 IFF transponder interrogators. QRC-248 had been developed to follow Soviet -export aircraft flown by

7425-528: The London Controlling Section, chartered in 1942 under the control of John Bevan. Clarke pioneered many of the strategies of military deception. His ideas for combining fictional orders of battle, visual deception and double agents helped define Allied deception strategy during the war, for which he has been referred to as "the greatest British deceiver of WW2". During the lead-up to the Allied invasion of Normandy , many new tactics in psychological warfare were devised. The plan for Operation Bodyguard set out

7560-455: The Middle East. Their posts, primarily in Arabic, Farsi and Russian, criticized Iran, China and Russia and gave pro-Western narratives. Data suggested the activity was a series of covert campaigns rather than a single operation. In operations in the South and East China Seas, both the United States and China have been engaged in " cognitive warfare ", which involves displays of force, staged photographs and sharing disinformation. The start of

7695-404: The Mongol generals fulfilled their threats and massacred the survivors. Tales of the encroaching horde spread to the next villages and created an aura of insecurity that undermined the possibility of future resistance. Genghis Khan also employed tactics that made his numbers seem greater than they actually were. During night operations he ordered each soldier to light three torches at dusk to give

7830-430: The North American continent. The barrier forces consisted of five surface picket stations each manned by radar destroyer escorts and an air wing of WV-2s/EC-121s that patrolled the picket lines at 1,000–4,000 m (3,000–12,000 ft) altitude in 6- to 20-hour missions. Their objective was to extend early warning coverage against surprise Soviet bomber and missile attacks as an extension of the DEW Line . In April 1954,

7965-471: The North Vietnamese-Laotian border; provided radar and navigational assistance for combat search and rescue missions; and assisted fighters in finding tankers for emergency refueling. In May 1966, the government of China formally protested an incursion by a Republic F-105 Thunderchief pursuing a North Vietnamese MiG it subsequently shot down 25 miles (40 km) inside Chinese territory. A US board of inquiry recommended that College Eye also had to monitor

8100-434: The Pacific, flying from NAS Agana , Guam , tracking typhoons from 1955 to 1960. On June 30, 1960 Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Three, VW-3, disbanded and many of its aircraft (8 - BuNo. 145 series) and crews were absorbed by VW-1, which retained AEW designation and took on the weather commitments and the Title of "Typhoon Trackers" of VW-3. VW-4 later transitioned to WP-3A Orion . Also operating C-121 and EC-121 aircraft

8235-677: The SRO-1 and SOD-57. Its electronics were custom built rather than off-the-shelf. Its most important upgrade was the top-secret Rivet Gym installation. This consisted of the addition to the crew of Vietnamese-speaking intelligence specialists manning four voice communications intercept stations able to monitor all communications between the MiGs and their GCI controllers. Despite this advantage, Rivet Top experienced two problems, reducing its effectiveness. Its operators did not have radar scopes to correlate intercepted conversations with specific flights of MiGs, thus could not determine which US aircraft might be under attack. Secondly, like QRC-248, Rivet Gym

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8370-474: The US involvement in the Vietnam War was unjust and immoral. A typical broadcast began as follows: How are you, GI Joe? It seems to me that most of you are poorly informed about the going of the war, to say nothing about a correct explanation of your presence over here. Nothing is more confused than to be ordered into a war to die or to be maimed for life without the faintest idea of what's going on. The CIA made extensive use of Contra soldiers to destabilize

8505-451: The United States also used tapes of distorted human sounds and played them during the night making the Vietnamese soldiers think that the dead were back for revenge. The Vietcong and their forces also used a program of psychological warfare during this war. Trịnh Thị Ngọ, also known as Thu Hương and Hanoi Hannah , was a Vietnamese radio personality. She made English-language broadcasts for North Vietnam directed at United States troops. During

8640-616: The United States used the shock and awe campaign to psychologically maim and break the will of the Iraqi Army to fight. In cyberspace, social media has enabled the use of disinformation on a wide scale. Analysts have found evidence of doctored or misleading photographs spread by social media in the Syrian Civil War and 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine , possibly with state involvement. Military and governments have engaged in psychological operations (PSYOP) and informational warfare (IW) on social networking platforms to regulate foreign propaganda, which includes countries like

8775-456: The Vietnam War, Ngọ became famous among US soldiers for her propaganda broadcasts on Radio Hanoi. Her scripts were written by the North Vietnamese Army and were intended to frighten and shame the soldiers into leaving their posts. She made three broadcasts a day, reading a list of newly killed or imprisoned Americans, and playing popular US anti-war songs in an effort to incite feelings of nostalgia and homesickness, attempting to persuade US GIs that

8910-613: The Vietnam War, their primary mission was to provide complementary early warning radar coverage to the Pacific and Atlantic barriers by flying orbits 300 miles (480 km) offshore from the continental United States in what were termed "contiguous barriers". The coverage orbits overlapped those of land-based early warning radars. Initial deployment of EC-121Cs began with 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing , based at Otis Air Force Base , Massachusetts . Operational on 21 December 1954, 551st AEWCW subsequently upgraded to EC-121D and later EC-121H Warning Stars. Its Pacific counterpart

9045-402: The action of French forces in operation with local actors and thus gaining their trust: direct aid to the populations, management of reconstruction sites, actions of communication of influence with the population, elites and local elected officials". The center has capacities for analysis, influence, expertise and instruction. In the German Bundeswehr , the Zentrum Operative Kommunikation

9180-409: The advent of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 ; the last passenger L1049 flight in the US was an Eastern shuttle EWR-DCA in February 1968. The last commercial flight of the L-1049 Super Constellation was in 1993, when the Federal Aviation Administration banned all airlines from the Dominican Republic that flew Constellations to the United States (due to safety concerns). The Dominican airlines were

9315-420: The battle for world opinion ; they had one of the world's most reputable news systems, with much experience in international and cross-cultural communication, and they controlled much of the undersea communications cable system then in operation. These capabilities were easily transitioned to the task of warfare. The British also had a diplomatic service that maintained good relations with many nations around

9450-430: The cinema. In 1918, Viscount Northcliffe was appointed Director of Propaganda in Enemy Countries. The department was split between propaganda against Germany organized by H.G Wells, and propaganda against the Austro-Hungarian Empire supervised by Wickham Steed and Robert William Seton-Watson ; the attempts of the latter focused on the lack of ethnic cohesion in the Empire and stoked the grievances of minorities such as

9585-525: The city unopposed. During the Attack on Marstrand in 1719, Peter Tordenskjold carried out military deception against the Swedes. Although probably apocryphal, he apparently succeeded in making his small force appear larger and feed disinformation to his opponents, similar to the Operations Fortitude and Titanic in World War II. The start of modern psychological operations in war is generally dated to World War I . By that point, Western societies were increasingly educated and urbanized, and mass media

9720-524: The coast of Vietnam, over Laos and Cambodia , monitoring and retransmitting low-power signals. Usually, they orbited the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 8-hour shifts. As it was expensive to operate and it exposed a large crew to enemy fire, it was replaced in December 1970 by the much smaller (and eventually unmanned drone) QU-22 Pave Eagle sensor monitor. The 551st AEWCW inactivated in 1969, while

9855-511: The command post in Danang failed to receive data and the APX-83 IFF processors would not display aboard the aircraft, despite repeated repairs. Their own radar monitors experienced excessive electronic noise and the jamming of North Vietnamese radars by nearby EKA-3B Skywarriors hindered efforts of the radar technicians to correct the problems. While unable to provide vectoring information to

9990-600: The country, using a system that was difficult to jam. US forces countered with radar ships ( Crown ) in the Gulf of Tonkin and a ground site at Nakhon Phanom RTAFB , Thailand, but both systems were line-of-sight and suffered coverage gaps. To increase coverage, the Seventh Air Force (7 AF) requested airborne radar support and the Air Defense Command (redesignated Aerospace Defense Command in 1968)

10125-495: The early Qin dynasty and late Eastern Zhou dynasty in 1st century AD China, the Empty Fort Strategy was used to trick the enemy into believing that an empty location was an ambush, in order to prevent them from attacking it using reverse psychology . This tactic also relied on luck, should the enemy believe that the location is a threat to them. In the 6th century BCE Greek Bias of Priene successfully resisted

10260-499: The end of May 1968. Two EC-121Ds, newly modified with the Southeast Asia Operational Requirement 62 (SEAOR-62) electronics suite, but not yet operational as EC-121Ts, were ordered to Korat RTAFB in October 1970. Under the guise of being field tested, they were accompanied by a C-121G carrying additional crew members, the most experienced 552nd AEWCW technicians, and equipment necessary to maintain

10395-704: The expectation that they would no longer be used. In August 1967, while the College Eye Task Force was still based at Udon RTAFB, another prototype EC-121 variation began operations testing new equipment as Detachment 2 of the Tactical Air Warfare Center. Known as Rivet Top , this modified EC-121K (later redesignated EC-121M) carried the QRC-248 newly installed in the College Eye aircraft and also had electronic interrogators capable of reading two additional Soviet transponders,

10530-471: The first Lockheed Super Constellation (Model 1049C), WV-2 BuNo. 128323, was received at NAS Barbers Point by Airborne Early Warning Squadron One (VW-1). The Atlantic Barrier (BARLANT) consisted of two rotating squadron detachments sourced from AEW Squadron Thirteen (VW-13) and AEW Squadron Fifteen (VW-15) from NAS Patuxent River , Maryland and one squadron, AEW Squadron Eleven (VW-11), permanently based at Naval Station Argentia , Newfoundland . Their mission

10665-477: The first operational AEW squadron, Airborne Early Warning Squadron One (VW-1) and the first EC-121K aircraft. AEW Squadron Three followed with AEW Squadrons Twelve, Fourteen, and Sixteen. In January 1958 VW-1 and VW-3 relocated to NAS Agana, Guam, M.I. where VW-1 continued its AEW commitments and VW-3 operational commitment was divided between AEW and weather. BARPAC became operational with AEW Squadron Twelve (VW-12) based at NAS Barbers Point , Hawaii , operating from

10800-575: The four L-1049D aircraft were later converted to L-1049H standards. The L-1049E was more successful; 28 were delivered to eight airlines. Similar to the L-1049C, the L-1049E was able to carry the same load as the L-1049D. The L-1049C and L-1049E could not usually fly Europe to New York nonstop against the wind. Lockheed thought of fitting a new variant based on the L-1049E with more powerful engines, but

10935-400: The government of their country. Mass communication such as radio allows for direct communication with an enemy populace, and therefore has been used in many efforts. Social media channels and the internet allow for campaigns of disinformation and misinformation performed by agents anywhere in the world. Since prehistoric times, warlords and chiefs have recognized the importance of weakening

11070-463: The illusion of an overwhelming army and deceive and intimidate enemy scouts. He also sometimes had objects tied to the tails of his horses, so that riding on open and dry fields raised a cloud of dust that gave the enemy the impression of great numbers. His soldiers used arrows specially notched to whistle as they flew through the air, creating a terrifying noise. Another tactic favored by the Mongols

11205-485: The installation of ground stations during the Vietnam War. The aircraft flew nightly 7 days per week broadcasting such American TV programs as Combat , Have Gun-Will Travel , and Gunsmoke , along with other popular programs of the time in addition to Vietnamese programs recorded prior to each flight . Nightly American news broadcasts were transmitted live using an onboard TV studio and an Air Force newscaster bringing

11340-630: The last operators of any version of the Constellation. Numerous military versions were operated by the United States Navy and United States Air Force as transports and AWACS platforms . The WV-1 Navy version was used during the Cold War with picket ships on the DEW (Distant Early Warning) lines, one east and one west. These lines were to give early warning of an attack by the USSR. The east line

11475-531: The latest news from home and the world. The "Blue Eagles" operated out of Saigon and Danang Air Bases for around 5 years commencing in 1965. Air Development Squadron Six ( VX-6 , based at NAS Quonset Point , Rhode Island, also operated R7V aircraft, redesignated C-121J, in support of United States Antarctic Program operations until replaced by LC-130F Hercules aircraft. The EC-121 was also operated by Training Squadron 86 (VT-86) at NAS Glynco , Georgia, for training student naval flight officers destined for

11610-402: The leaflet-dropping pilots, prompting the British to develop unmanned leaflet balloons that drifted across no-man's land . At least one in seven of these leaflets were not handed in by the soldiers to their superiors, despite severe penalties for that offence. Even General Hindenburg admitted that "Unsuspectingly, many thousands consumed the poison", and POWs admitted to being disillusioned by

11745-548: The low-altitude Alpha orbit over the Gulf of Tonkin, with Frog 02 as a backup. The 17-man crews were advised in the air of the nature of the rescue mission and their role, providing MiG warning and directing USAF F-4 Phantom CAP intercepts. As Frog 01 began its climb to the higher Bravo orbit, it experienced a ruptured oil line forcing shutdown of one engine. As planned, Frog 02 became the primary aircraft when Frog 01 made an emergency landing at Danang. The new equipment failed to function properly aboard Frog 02. The ground receivers at

11880-595: The morale of their opponents. According to Polyaenus , in the Battle of Pelusium (525 BC) between the Persian Empire and ancient Egypt , the Persian forces used cats and other animals as a psychological tactic against the Egyptians, who avoided harming cats due to religious belief and superstitions. Currying favor with supporters was the other side of psychological warfare, and an early practitioner of this

12015-440: The name Commando Buzz . EC-121s were used extensively in Southeast Asia between 16 April 1965, and 1 June 1974, particularly in support of Operation Rolling Thunder and Operation Linebacker / Linebacker II , providing radar early warning and limited airborne control of USAF fighter forces engaging MiG interceptors. Flying orbits over the Gulf of Tonkin and later over Laos, they were the forerunners of AWACS aircraft. The USN used

12150-578: The new electronics. The SEAOR-62 package was supported by a digital data receiver ground terminal and by radio relay equipment transshipped by separate classified airlift. The EC-121Ts arrived in Thailand from McClellan AFB on 12 November. The purpose of the deployment was to provide an integrated tactical data display with real-time inputs (similar to the Navy Airborne Tactical Data System equipping E-1B Tracer platforms of Task Force 77 ) in support of Operation Kingpin ,

12285-640: The nickname "Willie Victor". Since 1943, the Lockheed Constellation had been in USAAF service as the C-69 . The use of the Constellation by the USN for patrol and airborne early warning duties was first investigated in 1949, when the USN acquired two Lockheed L-749 Constellations . First flown on 9 June 1949, the PO-1W carried large, long-range radars in massive radomes above and below the fuselage. As

12420-581: The nose, which changed the nosecone shape. New Hamilton Standard or Curtiss Electric propellers were offered. This new version of the L-1049 with over 100 modifications from the L-1049C was unveiled as the L-1049G (the L-1049F being already used for the military C-121C). Over 100 L-1049G aircraft were ordered by sixteen airlines. The L-1049G flew on December 17, 1954, and entered service with TWA and Northwest in 1955. The nickname "Super G" (first used by TWA)

12555-597: The option of decorating the walls of the aircraft. When not in use, the luggage lockers and seats could be stowed in the lower hold. The aircraft entered service with Qantas a month later. Some L-1049G and H aircraft in later production were fitted with the TC-18EA series engines used on the L-1649 Starliner . A final variant was planned in 1957, known as the L-1049J. Powered by four R-3350-988-TC-18EA-6 engines,

12690-618: The orbit's center at 19°25′N 107°25′E  /  19.417°N 107.417°E  / 19.417; 107.417 . The second one flew a track at 10,000 feet (3,000 m) (Bravo orbit) farther from the coast, acting as a spare for the Alpha EC-121. This provided a practical detection range of 100 miles (160 km), enough to cover the Hanoi urban area and the main MiG base at Phúc Yên . A major disadvantage of this arrangement, however,

12825-451: The originator's objectives, and are sometimes combined with black operations or false flag tactics. It is also used to destroy the morale of enemies through tactics that aim to depress troops' psychological states. Target audiences can be governments , organizations , groups , and individuals , and is not just limited to soldiers. Civilians of foreign territories can also be targeted by technology and media so as to cause an effect on

12960-480: The primary backup controller, but its usefulness remained limited because it directly controlled only MiGCAP missions and could only provide its information to strike, chaff, and escort forces via the " Guard " frequency. Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation is an American aircraft, a member of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. The aircraft

13095-435: The project was cancelled. A different variant surfaced: using the L-1049C as a base, R-3350-972-TC18DA-3 turbo-compound engines were fitted. The aircraft could carry 71 to 95 passengers at a speed of 331 mph (533 km/h). Wingtip tanks of 1,037 US gal (3,930 L) total capacity were incorporated, increasing range by 1,110 miles (1,790 km). A new Bendix or RCA weather radar could be installed in

13230-574: The propaganda leaflets that depicted the use of German troops as mere cannon fodder . In 1915, the British began airdropping a regular leaflet newspaper Le Courrier de l'Air for civilians in German-occupied France and Belgium. At the start of the war, the French government took control of the media to suppress negative coverage. Only in 1916, with the establishment of the Maison de la Presse, did they begin to use similar tactics for

13365-568: The public use of " cognitive warfare " as a clear movement occurred in 2013 with China's political rhetoric. Most modern uses of the term psychological warfare refer to the following military methods: Most of these techniques were developed during World War II or earlier, and have been used to some degree in every conflict since. Daniel Lerner was in the OSS (the predecessor to the American CIA) and in his book, attempts to analyze how effective

13500-402: The purpose of psychological warfare. One of its sections was the "Service de la Propagande aérienne" (Aerial Propaganda Service), headed by Professor Tonnelat and Jean-Jacques Waltz , an Alsatian artist code-named " Hansi ". The French tended to distribute leaflets of images only, although the full publication of US President Woodrow Wilson 's Fourteen Points , which had been heavily edited in

13635-529: The radomes possessed considerably more side area, the vertical stabilizers of the PO-1W had to be enlarged. After the PO-1W (redesignated WV-1 in 1952) had proved that operating large radars on aircraft was possible, the USN ordered the WV-2 based on the L-1049 Super Constellation. The WV-1s were transferred to the Federal Aviation Agency in 1958–1959. The WV-2/EC-121D was initially fitted with

13770-503: The real battleground for nearly seven weeks. The United States ran an extensive program of psychological warfare during the Vietnam War . The Phoenix Program had the dual aim of assassinating National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF or Viet Cong ) personnel and terrorizing any potential sympathizers or passive supporters. During the Phoenix Program, over 19,000 NLF supporters were killed. In Operation Wandering Soul ,

13905-731: The real invasion force. At the same time Operation Titanic involved the RAF dropping fake paratroopers to the east and west of the Normandy landings. The deceptions were implemented with the use of double agents, radio traffic and visual deception. The British " Double Cross " anti-espionage operation had proven very successful from the outset of the war, and the LCS was able to use double agents to send back misleading information about Allied invasion plans. The use of visual deception, including mock tanks and other military hardware had been developed during

14040-584: The resonating projections of his orations for effect. Germany's Fall Grün plan of invasion of Czechoslovakia had a large part dealing with psychological warfare aimed both at the Czechoslovak civilians and government as well as, crucially, at Czechoslovakia's allies. It became successful to the point that Germany gained the acquiescence of the British and French governments to the German occupation of Czechoslovakia without having to fight an all-out war, sustaining only minimum losses in covert war before

14175-526: The result of seven F-4 Phantoms shot down in a two-week period, a second Disco track was initiated. Flown near the former Alpha orbit over the Gulf of Tonkin, its purpose was to gain better low-altitude coverage in the Hanoi area. At the end of the month, Disco was also integrated into Teaball control center, a highly classified system established to collate all signal intelligence on North Vietnamese air activity gathered by all sources, including nonmilitary. Disco

14310-551: The same time introducing news material that would weaken their morale under a veneer of authenticity. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made use of radio broadcasts for propaganda against the Germans. Churchill favoured deception; he said "In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.". During World War II, the British made extensive use of deception – developing many new techniques and theories. The main protagonists at this time were 'A' Force, set up in 1940 under Dudley Clarke , and

14445-598: The source. The Rivet Top prototype moved to Korat RTAFB along with the College Eye Task Force in October 1967. Originally scheduled to return to the USA in February 1968, because of its value, it remained at Korat until 1969. Flying daily missions through its testing period, it began flying every-other-day missions over the Gulf of Tonkin after 31 March 1968, when Rolling Thunder operations were sharply scaled back. Rivet Gym installations were back-fitted to all College Eye EC-121s by

14580-958: The stack. The L-1049C had a higher cruising speed and climb rate. Although lacking the range of the DC-6B, the L-1049C had identical performance to the Douglas and could carry a larger payload. The wings of the new model were strengthened, cabin soundproofing was increased, and the landing gear retraction system was improved. A new series of interior layouts was offered for the new model; "Siesta" (47 passengers with increased luxury), "Intercontinental" (54 - 60 passengers) and "Inter-urban" (105 passengers). Each of these new layouts included reading lights at each seat. Forty-eight L-1049Cs were built, being used by Eastern, TWA, Air France , KLM , Trans-Canada Air Lines , Qantas , Air India , Pakistan International Airlines , Avianca , Iberia , Línea Aeropostal Venezolana and Cubana de Aviación . A freighter version,

14715-462: The target country's capability to function. Terrorism is a strategy that aims to influence public opinion into pressuring leaders to give in to the terrorists' demands, and the population becomes a tool to advance the political agenda. According to U.S. military analysts, attacking the enemy's mind is an important element of the People's Republic of China 's military strategy. This type of warfare

14850-432: The threat of being shot down, made Alpha orbit missions in particular very stressful. On 10 July 1965, in its first airborne-controlled interception, an EC-121 provided warning to a pair of USAF F-4C fighters, resulting in the shooting down of two MiG-17s . The Big Eye Task Force remained at Tan Son Nhut until February 1967, when the threat of Viet Cong ground attacks prompted a move to Thailand. In March 1967, Big Eye

14985-444: The use of mass propaganda to influence the minds of the German population in the decades to come. By calling his movement The Third Reich, he was able to convince many civilians that his cause was not just a fad, but the way of their future. Joseph Goebbels was appointed as Propaganda Minister when Hitler came to power in 1933, and he portrayed Hitler as a messianic figure for the redemption of Germany. Hitler also coupled this with

15120-476: The various strategies were. He concludes that there is little evidence that any of them were dramatically successful, except perhaps surrender instructions over loudspeakers when victory was imminent. Measuring the success or failure of psychological warfare is very hard, as the conditions are very far from being a controlled experiment. Lerner also divides psychological warfare operations into three categories: Lerner says grey and black operations ultimately have

15255-548: The world, in contrast to the reputation of the German services. While German attempts to foment revolution in parts of the British Empire , such as Ireland and India , were ineffective, extensive experience in the Middle East allowed the British to successfully induce the Arabs to revolt against the Ottoman Empire . In August 1914, David Lloyd George appointed a Member of Parliament (MP), Charles Masterman , to head

15390-561: Was 552d Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing (AEWCW) , based at McClellan Air Force Base , California , becoming operational on 1 July 1955. After the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, 552nd AEWCW also had administrative control of the 966th AEWCS , based at McCoy Air Force Base , Florida. The 966th had a dual mission - monitoring activity in Cuban airspace and flying Gold Digger missions (continuous tracks of U-2 surveillance missions). The third air wing to operate EC-121s

15525-473: Was 553rd Reconnaissance Wing , a Vietnam war organization activated in 1967 and based in Thailand until inactivation in 1970 (See BatCat below). In 1966, Lockheed modified 30 ex-USN Super Constellations (two EC-121P/WV-3 and 28 EC-121K/WV-2) aircraft to EC-121Rs for the specialized reconnaissance mission flown by the 553rd. Aircraft were delivered during the course of 1967. The 553rd RW flew over land and off

15660-546: Was Alexander the Great , who successfully conquered large parts of Europe and the Middle East and held on to his territorial gains by co-opting local elites into the Greek administration and culture. Alexander left some of his men behind in each conquered city to introduce Greek culture and oppress dissident views. His soldiers were paid dowries to marry locals in an effort to encourage assimilation . Genghis Khan , leader of

15795-620: Was Oceanographic Development Squadron Eight (VXN-8) at NAS Patuxent River , Maryland, which employed the aircraft for specific projects (e.g., Project BIRDSEYE, MAGNET, ASWEPS etc.) for the Office of Naval Research until they were replaced by RP-3A and RP-3D Orion aircraft. VXN-8 also operated four additional NC-121 aircraft called the "Blue Eagles". These specially modified aircraft were equipped with complete radio and television transmitting equipment and studios for simultaneous broadcast of American and Vietnamese television and radio programs prior to

15930-603: Was also operated by Training Squadron 86 (VT-86) at NAS Glynco , Georgia , for training of student naval flight officers destined to fly both the EC-121 and the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye . At NAS Glynco's closure, VT-86 transferred to NAS Pensacola , Florida, in 1973, the squadron's last EC-121 was also flown to NAS Pensacola, being stored in the collection of the National Museum of Naval Aviation , where it still remains. A single aircraft became an NC-121K,

16065-405: Was an NSA SIGINT asset and subject to even more stringent rules protecting knowledge of its existence. Even when real-time warnings to US aircraft were finally permitted in mid-1972, fighter crews were not made aware of the source of the warnings and because EC-121 radio communications were poor, mandating the use of a radio relay aircraft that often failed, they tended to disregard the credibility of

16200-526: Was available in the form of large circulation newspapers and posters. It was also possible to transmit propaganda to the enemy via the use of airborne leaflets or through explosive delivery systems like modified artillery or mortar rounds. At the start of the war, the belligerents, especially the British and Germans, began distributing propaganda, both domestically and on the Western front . The British had several advantages that allowed them to succeed in

16335-509: Was catapulting severed human heads over city walls to frighten the inhabitants and spread disease in the besieged city's closed confines. This was especially used by the later Turko-Mongol chieftain. The Muslim caliph Omar , in his battles against the Byzantine Empire , sent small reinforcements in the form of a continuous stream, giving the impression that a large force would accumulate eventually if not swiftly dealt with. During

16470-566: Was colloquially referred to as the Super Connie. The L-1049 was Lockheed's response to the successful Douglas DC-6 airliner, first flying in 1950. The aircraft was produced for both the United States Navy as the WV / R7V and U.S. Air Force as the C-121 for transport, electronics, and airborne early warning and control aircraft. Beginning in 1943, Lockheed planned stretched variants of

16605-667: Was directed to set up the Big Eye Task Force . Five EC-121Ds and 100 support personnel of the 552nd AEWCW at McClellan AFB were deployed to Tainan Air Station , Taiwan , with four of the EC-121s sent on to a forward operating location at Tan Son Nhut Air Base , near Saigon , South Vietnam . The EC-121s were designed for detection of aircraft flying over water, so ground clutter (spurious signal returns off of terrain features such as mountains) caused interference with their radar pictures. The crews, however, were experienced in tracking Soviet aircraft over Cuba and had developed

16740-672: Was from Halifax, NS to the Canary Islands and back. The west line was from Hawaii to Midway Island then up to the Aleutians and back. The flights would last up to 14 hours or more. These aircraft served in the Vietnam War in several roles, including transmitting television programs from the United States for the troops on the ground, and observing the Ho Chi Minh Trail . One of them was shot down by North Korean aircraft in 1969. The last model of Super Constellation produced

16875-697: Was in giving the Russian revolutionary, Lenin , free transit on a sealed train from Switzerland to Finland after the overthrow of the Tsar . This soon paid off when the Bolshevik Revolution took Russia out of the war. Adolf Hitler was greatly influenced by the psychological warfare tactics the Allies employed during World War I, and attributed Germany's defeat in the conflict to the effects this tactics had on German troops. He became committed to

17010-478: Was later adopted for the L-1049G. The L-1049H flew on November 20, 1956. Called "Super H" and "Husky", the L-1049H was a convertible passenger/freight aircraft, mating a C-121C-based fuselage with L-1049G components. The cargo hold had a volume of 565 cu ft (16.0 m ) when including the lower hold. The aircraft could carry up to 120 people with seats, luggage lockers and toilets all available along with

17145-457: Was predominantly one of truth (with certain exceptions). In Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes , Jacques Ellul discusses psychological warfare as a common peace policy practice between nations as a form of indirect aggression. This type of propaganda drains the public opinion of an opposing regime by stripping away its power on public opinion. This form of aggression is hard to defend against because no international court of justice

17280-502: Was redesignated a fighter squadron on 1 October 1978. In 1967, five EC-121s became operational with the 193rd Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard , responsible for psychological operations missions under project Coronet Solo . From July 1970 to January 1971, they rotated on 30- to 90-day temporary-duty deployments to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base , Thailand, under

17415-422: Was renamed College Eye Task Force (CETF) and relocated at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base . Because of the complexity of the aircraft and its systems along with the large support group it required, CETF could not be supported at the relatively small Thai bases. It moved to Udon RTAFB in July and to its final station at Korat RTAFB in October 1967. Seven of 26 EC-121s deployed from Otis AFB and arrived at Korat, on

17550-632: Was that most MiG contacts were beyond the 70 miles (110 km) range of the Big Eye's APS-45 Height Finder radar, so that they were unable to provide this data to USAF strike forces. Furthermore, technical shortcomings in the EC-121D's systems precluded either controlling a fighter intercept or identifying a specific flight under attack. The missions from Tan Son Nhut AB began 21 April 1965, using callsigns Ethan Alpha and Ethan Bravo, which became standard. After refueling at Danang Air Base , Ethan Alpha made

17685-502: Was the Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star , developed for the United States military. Many of these aircraft survive today. The Indian Air Force and Indian Navy used former Air India L-1049C, E and G versions converted by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for use as Sea Air and Rescue aircraft. They were retired between 1981 and 1983 and replaced by Tupolev Tu-142 aircraft. India was the last military operator of

17820-476: Was the case, through fictional field armies , faked operations to prepare the ground for invasion and "leaked" misinformation about the Allied order of battle and war plans. Elaborate naval deceptions (Operations Glimmer , Taxable and Big Drum ) were undertaken in the English Channel. Small ships and aircraft simulated invasion fleets lying off Pas de Calais, Cap d'Antifer and the western flank of

17955-644: Was then fitted with R-3350 956-C18CA-1 engines with jet stacks for slightly increased thrust. Later modifications included strengthened landing gear and larger vertical stabilizers. Eastern Air Lines ordered 10 aircraft, while Trans World Airlines (TWA) followed with an order for 14. The L-1049 had some 550 improvements and modifications compared to the L-749, including greater fuel capacity, rectangular windows, larger cockpit windshields and improved heating and pressurization. In 1953, R-3350 Turbo-compounds were made available for civil use. Lockheed incorporated them into

18090-640: Was to fly orbits to the Azores and back. An additional AEW training unit was based at NAS Patuxent River for training flight crews and maintenance personnel. BARLANT became operational on 1 July 1956, and flew continuous coverage until early 1965. The barrier was shifted to cover the approaches between Greenland , Iceland , and the United Kingdom ( GIUK ) barrier in June 1961. Aircraft from Argentia were staged through NAS Keflavik , Iceland , to extend coverage times. The Pacific Barrier (BARPAC) received

18225-582: Was used as a conduit through which warnings and control vectors were given, but the delay in Teaball acquiring the information and relaying it through Disco (often using an unreliable radio relay KC-135A Combat Lightning aircraft operating under callsign Luzon) cancelled out its value for use in "real time", and the fact that its existence was kept from US aircrews damaged its credibility. Teaball received direct communications capability, but experienced transmission failures with frustrating frequency. Disco remained

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