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Cuba. A 13 August 1960 memorandum from Chief, WH/4 to DPD is one of the most interesting documents that has been surfaced in the course of preparing the History of the Bay of Pigs Operation. Jake Esterline made a casual reference to the document during the course of an Oral History interview, but he re- called that the memorandum outlined the anti-Castro program as initially conceived -- not as it ultimately failed. For this reason, there are a number of points the reader might consider apropos of the plans finally put into operation. Among its key features the document called for the initiation of air support operations against Cuba to begin between August and 15 November 1960. One paragraph of this memorandum read as follows: Aircraft requirements a~e predicted on mounting the air and maritime assault for a base or bases within 450 statute mile radius of targets in Cuba. Base to target distances in excess of this criteria are unrealistic andunsupport- able from continuing air and maritime operations utilizing World War II vintage air and sea support, on a scale compatible with nonattributability to the us Govern- ment. 100/ In the discussion of air suppression operations which were scheduled to begin in November 1960, the ... 81 -