I JET COULD HAVE SAVED THE DAY, SAYS GENERAL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000400140013-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 15, 1998
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: March 8, 1963
• Content Type: NSPR

nsvrr- srllTl1ITh ~IAI 'GKN CEORCR DO6TER
Principols tell inside story of Bay of Pigs inv.asi "
olk" 1 ff j
CPY..G:HT
BY PETER REICH
Avlatbe Writ.,
A single American jet fighter
might have turned the tide of
v i c t o r y in the Bay of Pigs
fiasco, a retired air force gen-
eral said today.
He is Maj. Gen. David W.
Hutchinson, now an oil man in
')klahoma City. Hutchinson was
commanding general of the 9th
tactical air force at Shaw air
base in South Carolina in 1961.
The 9th air force had super-
vision of the Alabama Air Na-
tional guard. Brig. Gen. G.
Reid Doster, the guard's com-
manding general, has been
identified as in charge of tac-
"If what I have read In the
newspapers Is true=that 'the
invaders' bomber, force ,was. de=
guns=then one,,; air 'force ". let
has.? -aelr r pP. a C!
Following disclosure in Chicagds American idf the
{
role American flyers played in the ill-fated Cubist h.ve-} j
lion of 1961, Maj. Gen. David W. Hutchinson Cret J:#or
the first time spoke out on the part he had in the opa'u-
tion. Chicago's American interviewed' the general,,by
long-distance telephone.
driven B-26 bombers, but he bama air national guard tools:
asserted; .leaves of absence in 1961 to.
"It is my personal opinion
that a qualified officer like Gen.
Duster would not have sent un-
protected B-26s against prob-
able jet fighter interception."
'Explaisoll Mission'
Gen. Hutchinson insisted that
the regular ai r , force had noth-
ing to do with the Bay of Pigs
operation. Ho/'ever, he said,
"Gen. Doster Aare to me and
explained. what his. mission
was.
from the Central Inteliigetncei
agency [CIA].
'Five of Men Killed'
Gen. Hutchinson relatedi
"Gen. Doster. came to my j
office and asked if he and
about a dozen of his B-26 pilots
could be given leave so they
might go out of the country, for
four or five months.";The
took
y
their leaves' on. civil status.
Gen.: Hutrhaupn said five "When Gen..Doster?got.back,
American 'lt'Ntt,:were killed he_sawme`first~beforehe
while flying. fir the,:,xabels talked to anyone , e,was heart-
s
tin .. _a bi ken . % ive of is men . hirt
er
Ylen : l outer v ?ould: lilts
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