An Incident in the PRRI/Permesta Rebellion of 1958

(Celebes), and although the major cities had fallen to the government by June 1958, the rebellion sputtered on until 1961. The revolt failed in the face of unexpectedly resolute action by the Indonesian government. At that time there were charges that the United States participated in this conflict in a limited and clandestine fashion-on the side of the rebels.' Except for the occasional rebel use of British or American military airfields, Western intervention has been difficult to trace to official agencies. This article presents evidence that a U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane, flown by a regularly assigned active duty crew, was very nearly shot down during a classified mission in the Sulawesi area on March 27, 1958.