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| The CIA's legendary skyhook rescue of CIA operatives |
What do James Bond, Batman, Agent Sidney
Bristow, and John Wayne have in common? They've all used the Fulton Skyhook
system in those jaw-dropping, edge-of-your-seat moments on screen. But guess
what? The CIA did it first in the real-world thriller, Project COLDFEET.
Flashback to 1961: The U.S. discovered an
abandoned Soviet research station perched on a floating ice island in the
Arctic. This station, known as "NP-8" (North Pole-8), was part of a
series of Soviet drifting ice stations used for scientific research and
strategic military purposes during the Cold War.
The station had been in operation for
several years, serving as a hub for gathering meteorological, oceanographic,
and geophysical data in one of the most remote and hostile environments on
Earth. The Soviets had ditched it because the ice was breaking apart, making
transportation impossible… or so they thought.
Fast forward to May 28, 1962: The CIA secretly airdropped two Navy pilots onto the fragile ice. Their mission? To gather as much intelligence as possible from the abandoned station. The U.S. suspected that the Soviets had left behind valuable equipment and documents that could provide crucial insights into their polar research and military capabilities. The risky operation aimed to capitalize on the opportunity to acquire this treasure trove of information before the ice floe disintegrated completely.
Take
a journey of espionage and intrigue with CIA Spymaster Corey Pearson in MISSION
OF VENGEANCE!
But there was a catch—how to get them and their valuable intel back home safely.
Enter Robert Fulton's Skyhook—a marvel of
airborne pickup technology featuring a nose yolk and a special winch system.
The plan was audacious: use a B-17 rigged with this futuristic gear to snatch
the pilots right off the ice.
And on
June 2, they pulled it off. The CIA successfully plucked the pilots and over
150 pounds of top-secret Soviet paperwork, samples, and equipment from the
Arctic wasteland.
Among the recovered items were detailed
meteorological records, scientific instruments, and reports on Soviet polar
activities, which provided the U.S. with a rare glimpse into the operations and
capabilities of its Cold War adversary. It was a high-stakes, high-flying
mission straight out of a spy movie, but it was all too real.
So next time you see a daring Skyhook rescue on the big screen, remember: the CIA's Project COLDFEET was the original blockbuster.
Robert
Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S. is a member of the Association Of Former Intelligence
Officers (AFIO) and writes the online Spy series "Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster." Check
out his latest spy thriller, Mission
of Vengeance.
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