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During the night of 16/17 April, a mock diversionary landing was organized by CIA operatives near [[Bahía Honda, Cuba|Bahía Honda]], [[Pinar del Río Province]]. A flotilla containing equipment that broadcast sounds and other effects of a shipborne invasion landing provided the source of Cuban reports that briefly lured Fidel Castro away from the Bay of Pigs battlefront area.<ref name=fernandez/>{{page needed|date=April 2021}}<ref name=wyden/>{{page needed|date=April 2021}}{{sfn|Rodríguez|1999|page=183}}
At midnight on 17 April 1961, the two LCIs ''Blagar'' and ''Barbara J'', each with a CIA 'operations officer' and an Underwater Demolition Team of five [[Frogman|frogmen]], entered the Bay of Pigs. They headed a force of four transport ships (''Houston'', ''Río Escondido'', ''Caribe'' and ''Atlántico'') carrying about 1,400 Cuban exile ground troops of Brigade 2506, plus the brigade's M41 tanks and other vehicles in the landing craft.{{sfn|Quesada|2009|pages=24–25}} At about 01:00, ''Blagar'', as the battlefield command ship, directed the principal landing at Playa Girón (code-named ''Blue Beach''), led by the frogmen in rubber boats followed by troops from ''Caribe'' in small aluminum boats, then the LCVPs and LCUs with the M41 tanks.{{sfn|Quesada|2009|page=25}} ''Barbara J'', leading ''Houston'', similarly landed troops 35 km further northwest at Playa Larga (code-named ''Red Beach''), using small fiberglass boats.{{sfn|Quesada|2009|page=25}} The unloading of troops at night was delayed because of engine failures and boats damaged by unseen coral reefs; the CIA had originally believed that the coral reef was seaweed. As the frogmen came in, they were shocked to discover that
At daybreak around 06:30, three FAR Sea Furies, one B-26 bomber and two T-33s started attacking those CEF ships still unloading troops. At about 06:50, south of Playa Larga, ''Houston'' was damaged by several bombs and rockets from a Sea Fury and a T-33, and about two hours later Captain Luis Morse intentionally beached it on the western side of the bay.{{sfn|Quesada|2009|page=25}} About 270 troops had been unloaded, but about 180 survivors who struggled ashore were incapable of taking part in further action because of the loss of most of their weapons and equipment. The loss of ''Houston'' was a great blow to the ''brigadistas'' as that ship was carrying much of the medical supplies, which meant that wounded ''brigadistas'' had to make do with inadequate medical care.{{sfn|Quesada|2009|page=25}} At about 07:00, two FAL B-26s attacked and sank the Cuban Navy Patrol Escort ship ''El Baire'' at [[Nueva Gerona]] on the [[Isla de la Juventud|Isle of Pines]].<ref name=wyden/>{{page needed|date=April 2021}}<ref name=ferrer/>{{page needed|date=April 2021}} They then proceeded to Girón to join two other B-26s to attack Cuban ground troops and provide distraction air cover for the paratroop C-46s and the CEF ships under air attack. The M41 tanks had all landed by 07:30 at Blue Beach and all of the troops by 08:30.{{sfn|Quesada|2009|page=28}} Neither San Román at Blue Beach nor [[Erneido Oliva]] at Red Beach could communicate as all of the radios had been soaked in the water during the landings.{{sfn|Quesada|2009|page=28}}
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