Events in Lynnwood WA

Join the Museum of Flight for a drop-in symposium exploring the fascinating history of the “Black Bats.”

The Black Bats were Taiwanese Air Force pilots who flew more than 800 clandestine missions over mainland China between 1953 and 1967 in support of the United States. Backed by the CIA, they are best known for Heavy Tea, a daring mission to deploy surveillance equipment near a Chinese nuclear facility.

Six presenters will share personal and family connections to the Black Bats, including a former Black Bat who will recount his firsthand experiences. The symposium will explore this little-known chapter of Cold War and aviation history and the U.S.-Taiwanese partnership behind it.