Fly Navy: Have looked for a source that is unclassified and found nothing in print.
Throughout the 60's, TU-95 crews (NATO = Bear) routinely probed US airspace. Two - four TU-95's woud leave northeastern bases in the USSR, fly south, skirting the Grand Banks, head inland, practice "mock" ASM exercises on Boson, New York, Washington. During one period, weekly, every Tuesday as I remember, they would fly 50 to 100 miles off the coast all the way to Florida and land at San Julian (MUSJ as I remember), Cuba. Several days crew rest they would return, mostly via Mid Atlantic routes. Was involved with many of these "exercises" from an EW standpoint.
In the mid-60's I made approximately 15 transits in CVA's from Westcoast to Westpac. TU-95 would leave Petrovalovsk, fly south and intercept the CVA with pinpoint accuracy, make a mock ASM run against the CVA, ""launch"" would be out about 80 to 90 nm. Our fighters would escort with AOB to shoot down missile if launched. Was very exciting.
During one intercept the USS Bainbridge CGN 25, was our nothern screen, with a new air search radar with an electronic signature near identical to the Connie radars. The TU 95 apparently using the radar for guidance made the missile run against the screen, 100 nm to our north. They reported "Constellation sunk by missile", bugged out back to Kamchaka.
Another incident, we lost contact with the TU 95's but we knew they were inbound from radio intercepts. CAP could not find them. Heavy clouds, large weather front! Suddenly a huge radar return south. Fighters vectored for intercept and as they broke cloud cover, found Pan Am flight 1 outbound for the orient. Imagine the excitement on that Pan Am flight when they saw two F 4's screaming through the clouds in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Same incident, I lost my soundpowered phones with the Admirals COS, and over the 1MC he delcared he was coming down an kick my **S if I did not get back on the phones. I never lived that down.
Our Maritime Patrols would often fly over Soviet cargo ships at 100-200 feet on photo runs. The Soviets had developed lasers that they would fire at the cockpit of the overflights and am told that several A/C memers lost their eyesight (at least partial) as the result.
Northern Japanese islands, Soviet fighers made numerious overflights, including Misawa AB.
nuff this already!
