Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation- Volume 2- Part 1

support the attack. The reason for the use of US
B-26 pilots was given as follows:
Due fact Guat pilots have had no prac-
tice this type op and Cuban pilots have
not yet participated in combined air/
ground exercises plus need for precise
timing and coordination air strike with
air assault landing, request authority
use us volunteer pilots to insure success
this op.
Request authority use one AEDEPOT
volunteer with each assault transport
aircraft to provide best leadership
available. 40/*
The Headquarters reaction to this request is
best explained in the words of the then Deputy Direc-
tor of Plans, Richard M. Bissell who said:
I remember with some vividness that I
was called up by the Watch Officer at
about 2:30 in the morning and a cable had
come in, I think from Egan, and Ydigoras
had asked to borrow some of the Brigade
to put down an uprising in Puerto Barrios.
Egan wanted an answer within an hour or
something of that kind. I-did, at that
hour in the morning, get in touch with
Tom Mann; but I could get no decision out
of Tom Mann. He said he couldn't possibly
act on a matter of that kind until he could
* AEDEPOTS were defectors from the USSR who had been
trained initially by the Agenc: for various types of
I loperations I ~ Because their
prlmary mlSS10n was phaslng ou , some 26 of them
volunteered and were used as training officers at
JMTRAV. See also, pp. 66-67 of this volume.
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