Aerophotos wrote:

I have on good source from a knowledgeable aviation enthusiast, info
that in the late stages of the Vietnam war for some operations the CIA
controlled a limited amount of USAF assets, eg F-4 Phantoms and F-111s
Adavarks for attacks in Laos and Cambodia.

These aircrafts were painted overall black for night operations and
operated by only a pilot, no wso, due to CIA mission rules.

1. No WSO: Physically impossible in an F-111 (any model), and even more so
in an F-4. Google "F-111" and check the cockpit layout.

2. I was stationed at Takhli 10/72 to 4/73. While I was there, there were
_NO_ overall black F-111s there at the time. Most operations were night
missions, so the paint scheme would have been appropriate for that use
(jungle green mix, going to black on the bottom, IIRC). We had painted our
ALQ-87 jammer pods black so they wouldn't wouldn't stand out.

The overall grey/black paint scheme came in much later.

3. I doubt the CIA had 'control' of any military aircraft. They did have
their own resources ('Air America', mainly based in northern Thailand), but
not for the kind of missions you're describing. They may have requested
missions through the NCA, but that would require documentary proof.

The aircraft would depart their bases early in morning/late evenings and
no radio chatter was observed.

Radio silence would be common for operational security. A squadron
commander at the time described the silence as 'deafening' when Korat TACAN
finally faded out.

What was so sensitive in Laos and Cambodia that would require them there?

Political fallout. Laos and Cambodia were officially neutral at the time,
but tolerated the flow of men and materials through their countries via the
Ho Chi Mihn Trail.

Let's use Occam's Razor here. The enemy is using the Ho Chi Mihn trail to
resupply their forces, the Nixon administration wants to get out while
giving the South Vietnamese a fighting chance, so they order missions into
neutral territory to disrupt that resupply.

George

/------------------------------------------------------------\
| George Ruch |
| "Is there life in Clovis after Clovis Man?" |
\------------------------------------------------------------/