Active-duty and former military service members have sought to honor the sacrifices of aerial reconnaissance crews for some time. With changes in world politics and national security concerns, it became possible to declassify the existence of the program. This declassification provided the opportunity to recognize publicly the sacrifices made by servicemen performing aerial reconnaissance missions. Of the more than 150 cryptologists who have sacrificed their lives, 64 were involved in aerial reconnaissance missions. The museum displays two exhibits paying special tribute to the individuals who risked everything and the aerial reconnaissance mission that played a crucial role in the Cold War.
On September 2, 1958, Soviet MiG-17 pilots shot down a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft. While conducting its mission, a USAF C-130 strayed into restricted airspace over Soviet Armenia. It was supposed to fly a "race track" pattern between the Turkish cities of Trabzon and Van essentially parallel to the Armenian border. It is unclear why the C-130 crossed into Armenian space. It is possible that the aircraft became confused between the navigational beacons in Turkey and those on similar frequencies in Armenia and Soviet Georgia.
The Soviets denied shooting down the aircraft, claiming the plane "fell" into their territory. At the time, they returned six bodies of service personnel. Seventeen men had been on board. Hoping the Soviets would have more information concerning the other 11 servicemen, the United States released tape recordings of the Soviet fighter pilots' communications during the shootdown, which clearly indicated the pilots took offensive action against the C-130. Despite the release of this information, the Soviets continued to deny involvement. It was not until the end of the Cold War that they released previously classified documents indicating that all 17 U.S. personnel had died in the crash.
An Air Force C-130 was refurbished and painted to match the markings of the down aircraft, #60528. It was flown to Fort Meade and dedicated at the National Vigilance Park on September 2, 1997.
The
National Cryptologic Museum displays a mock-up of the interior of
a small, reconfigured Army aircraft, the RU-8D. The RU-8D itself
is on exhibit at National
Vigilance Park. The plane was one of many
different types of aircraft used by the Army to conduct its reconnaissance
missions. Most of the missions were in support of tactical operations
conducting short- and medium-range direction finding and signals
intelligence. Early converted aircraft were slow, low-flying, and
hot. The RU-8D significantly advanced the electronic collection
mission with its onboard navigation system and improved antennas.
Following WWII, the Army "hitch-hiked" aboard Navy aircraft, but in the 1960s decided to expand its aerial reconnaissance program. The decision may have been due in part to the death of SPC4 James Davis in 1961. SPC Davis had been conducting a direction-finding (DF) mission from a jeep with a short-range DF system. While doing this ground direction finding, he was ambushed by the North Vietnamese. By March 1962, the Army had its first airborne DF platform, a small aircraft referred to by the soldiers as "teeny weenie airlines." However, over the decade, the Army's airborne collection systems improved and provided valuable information to military commanders.