View source for William H. Beale

{{Short description|US military and paramilitary aviator}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= William Beale
|image= 
|image_size= 
|caption= 
|birth_name = William Henry Beale Jr.<ref name="report">''Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974''</ref>
|birth_place= [[Spokane, Washington]]
|birth_date= October 25, 1920
|death_place= Xieng Dat, [[Vientiane Province]], [[Laos]]<ref name="report"/>
|death_date= {{dda|1962|4|6|1920|10|25}}
|placeofburial=
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|allegiance= {{Flag icon|USA}} [[United States|United States of America]]
|branch=
{{plainlist|
*[[File:Us army air corps shield.svg|20px]] [[United States Army Air Forces]]
*[[File:Seal of the Central Intelligence Agency.svg|20px]] [[Central Intelligence Agency]]
}}
|serviceyears= 
|rank= [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant colonel]]
|unit=
|commands=
|battles=
{{plainlist|
*[[World War II|Second World War]]
*[[Permesta Rebellion]]
*[[Laotian Civil War#1962: Disaster and a new government|US covert campaign in Laos]]
}}
| spouse=Sung Ching Beale<ref name="report"/>
}}

'''William Henry Beale Jr.''' (October 25, 1920 – April 6, 1962) was a US military and paramilitary aviator. In the [[World War II|Second World War]], he was in the [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]] and flew bombing missions in the northern Pacific theater. In the [[Permesta]] rebellion in Indonesia in 1958 he flew bombing missions for the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]. His career ended on a [[Laotian Civil War#1962: Disaster and a new government|CIA covert mission in Laos]] in 1962 when he was killed in a plane crash.

==USAAF service==
Beale was a USAAF officer in the Second World War who flew [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]]s from the [[Aleutian Islands]] and rose to the rank of [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]].{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=99}} After the war, Beale spent several years training [[Republic of China Air Force]] (ROCAF) pilots on [[Republic F-84 Thunderjet]]s.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=99}} He married Sung Ching, the sister of a ROCAF fighter group commander, adopted her daughter and settled in [[Taiwan]].{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=99}}

==AUREV service==
Beale left the air force and joined [[Civil Air Transport]], a CIA [[front organisation]] based in Taiwan.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=99}} CAT valued Beale for his connections with the ROCAF hierarchy.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=99}}

In April 1958, CAT sent Beale to [[Clark Air Base]] in the [[Philippines]], where he was assigned a [[Douglas A-26 Invader|Douglas B-26 Invader]] that had been painted black and had its markings obscured. On April 19, 1958, Beale flew the bomber to [[Sam Ratulangi International Airport|Mapanget]], a rebel-held [[Indonesian Air Force]] base on the [[Minahassa Peninsula]] of northern [[Sulawesi]]. The rebels were [[Permesta]], led by dissident local army officers opposed to the government of President [[Sukarno]]. Beale and his B-26 formed part of the CIA element in Permesta's ''Angkatan Udara Revolusioner'' ("Revolutionary Air Force") or AUREV.
Beale flew his first AUREV mission on April 20, attacked [[Palu]], the provincial capital of [[Central Sulawesi]], with four {{convert|500|lb|abbr=on|sing=on}} bombs followed by machine-gun fire.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=101}} On April 21 he made a similar attack on the [[Indonesian Air Force]] base on the island of [[Morotai]], damaging the runway and setting a line of fuel drums on fire.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=103}} In the next few days Beale flew two more sorties attacking Palu.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=105}}

Very early on April 27 one of Beale's CAT colleagues, [[Allen Lawrence Pope|Allen Pope]], brought a second CIA B-26 from Clark to Mapanget.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=106}} Later that morning Pope flew to attack Morotai ahead of a Permesta amphibious assault{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=106}} while Beale flew to [[Ambon Island]] further south.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=114}} Beale attacked [[Ambon, Maluku|Ambon City]], the provincial capital, setting on fire a military command post, a fuel depot and a [[Royal Dutch Shell]] complex.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=115}}

[[File:HMAS Ipswich (AWM P00433-007).jpg|thumb|On April 28, 1958, Beale bombed and sank the [[Indonesian Navy]] corvette KRI ''Hang Tuah'', killing 18 crew and wounding another 28. This photo shows ''Hang Tuah'' in her original guise as the [[Royal Australian Navy|RAN]] {{sclass|Bathurst|corvette|1}} {{HMAS|Ipswich|J186|6}}.]]
The CIA instructed CAT pilots to target commercial shipping in order to drive foreign merchant ships away from Indonesian waters, thereby weakening the Indonesian economy and undermining Sukarno's government.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=115}} On the morning of April 28 Beale attacked [[Balikpapan]] on the south coast of [[East Kalimantan]] province in [[Borneo]].{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=116}} He first hit the airfield with a bomb in the middle of the runway, and then turned to attack the Royal Dutch Shell oil terminal in Balikpapan harbor.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=116}} He bombed, set ablaze and sank the British 12,278 ton oil tanker {{SS|San Flaviano}},{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=116}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?108400 |title=SS San Flaviano [+1958] |last=Lettens |first=Jan |date=2011-01-06 |work=The Wreck Site |access-date=2011-11-20}}</ref><ref name="Hansard">{{cite hansard|title=Indonesia (British Vessels)|jurisdiction=United Kingdom|house=Commons|date=1958-06-11|volume=|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1958/jun/11/indonesia-british-vessels#S5CV0589P0_19580611_HOC_160|column_start=202|column_end=203|speaker=[[David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech|David Ormsby-Gore]]|position=Minister of State for Foreign Affairs|accessdate=2011-11-21}}</ref><ref name=Time>{{cite news |title=INDONESIA: The Mystery Pilots |newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://search.time.com/results.html?N=55&Nty=1&Ns=p_date_range%7C1&Ntt=San+Flaviano&from_month=03&from_day=01&from_year=1958&to_month=06&to_day=01&to_year=1958&x=45&y=14 |date=1958-05-12 |access-date=2011-11-21 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209043505/http://search.time.com/results.html?N=55&Nty=1&Ns=p_date_range%7C1&Ntt=San+Flaviano&from_month=03&from_day=01&from_year=1958&to_month=06&to_day=01&to_year=1958&x=45&y=14 |archive-date=2012-12-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref> that belonged to [[Eagle Oil and Shipping Company|Eagle Oil and Shipping]], a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell. He then aimed a bomb at a second British tanker,{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=116}} the 8,139 ton {{MV|Daronia}}, that belonged to another Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary, [[Anglo-Saxon Petroleum]]. However, the bomb bounced off one of ''Daronia''{{'}}s ventilators amidships<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.helderline.nl/anecdote/128/daronia+by+aad+h.c.j.+born/ |work=Helder Line |title=Daronia&nbsp;— Aad H.c.j. Born |publisher=Kees Helder |date=2009-05-27}}</ref> without detonating and landed harmlessly in the sea.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=116}} Beale then machine-gunned and destroyed Royal Dutch Shell's oil pipes to its wharf.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=116}} With the last of his 500&nbsp;lb bombs, Beale turned seaward and sank an [[Indonesian Navy]] {{sclass|Bathurst|corvette|1}}, [[HMAS Ipswich (J186)|KRI ''Hang Tuah'']], killing 18 crew and seriously wounding another 28.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=116}}

The CIA's plan to intimidate foreign trade quickly scored its first success. Royal Dutch Shell suspended its tanker service to Balikpapan and evacuated shore-based wives and families to [[Singapore]].<ref name=Hansard/>

After his raid on Balikpapan, Beale returned to Mapanget and re-armed. On the afternoon of the same day he attacked Ambon City,
hitting and slightly damaging the [[Indonesian Army]] barracks next to the marketplace.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=117}} On April 30, Beale returned to Ambon and bombed the airstrip again.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=118}} On May 1, Beale and his B-26 returned to Clark Air Base for a rest.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=119}}

Early on May 9, Beale returned to Mapanget, releasing Pope who then took his turn to go on leave.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=122}} Later that same morning, Beale attacked Ambon again.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=122}} Ambon now had several {{convert|12.7|mm|abbr=on|1}} machine guns with which it gave anti-aircraft fire.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=122}} An Indonesian Air Force [[North American P-51 Mustang]] chased Beale's B-26 but failed to catch it.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=122}}

On May 10, Beale with his B-26, plus two [[Philippine Air Force]] pilots flying AUREV P-51 fighters, attacked [[Amahai Airport|Amahai airfield]] on the island of [[Seram]], destroying an Indonesian Air Force P-51 on the ground.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=123}} On May 12–13 Beale and the two Filipinos flew two sorties over [[Central Sulawesi]], inflicting heavy damage.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=123}} On the afternoon of May 13 Beale and his B-26 attacked Ambon again, this time accompanied by an AUREV [[Consolidated PBY Catalina]] flown by CIA agent Connie W Seigrist.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=123}} Off Ambon, Beale strafed and holed a large sailing vessel, which then settled atop a coral reef.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=123}}

Beale tired of both the heavy flying schedule and personality clashes at Mapanget air base.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=125}} By May 15 he had quit the operation, leaving Pope as the sole B-26 bomber pilot.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=125}} The operation did not last much longer. On May 18, Pope attacked an amphibious landing force{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=136}} that was steaming from Ambon to re-take the islands of Morotai and [[Halmahera]].{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=134}} Pope was shot down and captured, exposing the USA's sponsorship of the Permesta rebellion.<ref name=Time-580609>''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', June 9, 1958</ref> Embarrassed, the [[Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower administration]] terminated CIA support for Permesta and withdrew its agents and remaining aircraft from AUREV.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=143}}

==Covert operations in Laos==
After the U.S. aborted its CIA attack on Indonesia, Beale remained in CAT service. In 1959 the CIA airline became [[Air America (airline)|Air America]], and by 1962 Beale was flying covert missions in support of [[Laotian Civil War#1962: Disaster and a new government|U.S. covert operations in Laos]].{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=167}} On April 2, 1962,<ref name=AirAmerica>{{cite web |url=http://www.air-america.org/About/Larger_View.shtml |title=In Memoriam |date= 2007-06-06 |work=[[Air America (airline)|Air America]] |publisher=Air America Association}}</ref> Beale was in a [[de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver]] trying to take off from an airstrip in northeastern Laos.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=167}} The DHC-2 was overloaded, failed to become airborne and crashed at the end of the runway, killing all on board.{{sfn|Conboy|Morrison|1999|p=167}} He died from severe burns over 100 percent of his body.<ref name="report"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |last1=Conboy |first1=Kenneth |last2=Morrison |first2=James |year=1999 |title=Feet to the Fire CIA Covert Operations in Indonesia, 1957–1958 |location=Annapolis |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute|Naval Institute Press]] |isbn=1-55750-193-9 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beale, William}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1962 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Spokane, Washington]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Air Force officers]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Taiwan]]
[[Category:American military personnel killed in the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:CIA personnel of the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:Central Intelligence Agency operations]]
[[Category:Guided Democracy in Indonesia]]
[[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Laos]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1962]]