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The U-2 Dragon Lady is probably best known as the aircraft in which Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960 by a surface-to-missile. Developed by the now famous Lockheed "Skunk Works" as a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft, it was first passed on by the Air Force but the CIA decided it was just what it was looking for to verify the Soviet Unions new ICBM capability.  The "Kelly Johnson aircraft company AKA Skunk Works called the project Aquatone. The first contract was for 20 aircraft or articles as the agency called them and was fronted through the Air Force as a high altitude research aircraft. The first flight, an unqualified success, occurred August 4, 1957; just 8 months after the first metal had been cut an unheard of schedule in aircraft design and production. At the end of the contract Lockheed built an additional six aircraft from the excess spare parts due to very low failure rate of aircraft components and returned 15% of the contract money ($2 million) to the government as unused funds.

The over-flights of the Soviet Union and occupied territories started on June 19, 1956 from Wiesbaden Germany. A U-2A, piloted by Carl Overstreet, over-flew Poland and took some remarkable photographs. The second flight by CIA pilot Harvey Stockman over-flew the Soviet Union. He flew over East Berlin, Northeast Poland and on to Minsk where he turned north and flew toward Leningrad, returning to base flying over Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. During this second flight soviet radar was tracking the flight and several soviet fighters tried to intercept the U-2 but to no avail. The flights continued now over Moscow and surrounding areas. The Soviets launched a formal protest to the U.S. government on June 10, 1956. The U.S. representative responded that no U.S. military aircraft had over-flown their airspace. A true statement being that the first U-2's were owned and operated by a civilian organization the CIA. However, President Eisenhower demanded that the CIA get his personal approval to continue over-flights. In August 1956 the second detachment of U-2's and CIA personnel were stationed at Incirlik, Turkey, Gary Powers was one of these pilots, and another detachment was stationed in Japan. Thirty-six direct Soviet Union over-flight missions were conducted in as many months between 1957 through 1959.  However, many more peripheral missions, considered less risky were performed. These missions resulted in gathering intelligence that was as good or better than direct over-flight of the target. Because of the excellent sensors carried by the U-2, close proximity to a target was not always necessary. Usable imagery could be acquired from oblique angles at a range of 100 miles.

During these years of over-flights the Soviet Union had tried unsuccessfully to intercept a U-2 using MIG-19 and MIG-21 aircraft as well as SA-1 and SA-2 guided missiles. The U-2"s 70,000 ft operational altitude kept it out of harms way. On May 1, 1960 Francis Gary Powers left Peshawar Pakistan on a mission to photograph ICBM development sites in and around Sverdlovsk and Plesetsk in the soviet heartland. What lay ahead was a soviet trap for him and his U-2. Due to their previous inability to use precision radar fire control on their SA-2 guided missiles to down a U-2 they opted for a shotgun effect. As Powers over-flew Sverdlovsk they unleashed 14 SA-2 missiles. None of these missiles or their shrapnel hit the aircraft but the explosive force tore the wings and empennage from the aircraft. However, the soviets lost one of their SU-9 aircraft sent to intercept the U-2, taken down by one of the SA-2's. All U-2 sensor equipment was destroyed by either the explosive devices on board (to be triggered by the pilot with a 70-second fuse) or by impact with the ground. The U-2 secret was out. The entire world now knew about the U-2 and it's over-flights of the Soviet Union. They did not know about the over-flights of the Middle East and China. At the time Powers was shot down the U.S. was obtaining 90% of its hard photographic intelligence from U-2 flights.

Despite the popular belief that the U-2 was out for the count due to the Powers shoot down, the U-2 was operated on some very select targets, but not in the Soviet Union. On August 29, 1962 a CIA U-2 photographed Russian buildup in Cuba. After that the Air Force took over most of the CIA U-2's and their missions. The Air Force had received their first U-2's and pilot training in 1957. The CIA flew all of the over-flight missions because it was a civilian agency and therefore if one of its aircraft was shot down could not be deemed an act of war. Now the flights of the U-2 were of tactical military importance so the Air Force wanted the program. The only part that was kept under control of the CIA was the U-2 over-flights and peripheral flights of the Chinese mainland originating in Taiwan. These flights piloted by CIA and Taiwanese pilots continued until 1974 when President Nixon ceased all flights. At that time all CIA U-2 activity stopped. The Air Force used their U-2's primarily as high altitude snuffers looking for gases and particulate mater from above ground nuclear testing. These aircraft were equipped with dedicated gas and electromagnetic sensors. With the switch in focus to optical and electronic surveillance the Cuban over-flights gave the Air Force it's first chance to use the aircraft as it had been envisioned. During the Cuban missile crisis the Air Force lost three aircraft, one being shot down by a Cuban SA-2 and the other two by malfunctions. At the end of 1963 President Johnson approved the use of U-2C's (the latest incantation of the original U-2) in the air war over Vietnam. This mission lasted 12 years shadowing the north's border areas, and infiltration routes. Most of the U-2C missions during the early years of the war was standoff intelligence gathering. Later the U-2C's flew many missions over Vietnam (more than 1,000 during 1968 alone). In 1972 during the Linebacker II B-52 bombing mission over North Vietnam in 1972 the U-2s did pre and post strike reconnaissance.

 

The U-2R:

The U-2R version of the U-2 was a new aircraft built around the basic U-2 concept. The U-2A's and U-2C's were retired because the U-2R carried a much bigger payload and was more forgiving to pilots. The U-2R was longer and had bigger wings for greater lift and payload capacity as well as larger fuel storage allowing for greater than 3,000-mile range. The first six aircraft were delivered to the CIA late in 1968, two of which were used on overflights of Mainland China. The first Air Force U-2R entered operational service in 1969. The phasing in the U-2R's precipitated the phasing out of the U-2A's and U-2C's from service. The U-2R's took over the U-2C's missions in Vietnam including the Senior Book missions to collect data from Mainland China without direct over-flights. The Senior Book payload was controlled from a remote station. During the first half of the 1970's the U-2R did trial takeoffs and landings from carrier decks as the Navy was interested in a variant (this had also been done with the U-2C model), the Skunk Works proposed a RPV U-2R, geothermal energy monitoring, hurricane surveillance and tornado damage assessment. In 1976 the U-Rs were detached to RAF Mildenhall in England as the 99th SRS started monitoring the Soviet Union and other eastern block countries with electronic sensors. During the Iranian crisis in 1979 a U-2R operated out of Diego Garcia producing invaluable intelligence by it's over-flights.

 

The TR-1:

After being out of production for 11 years, the U-2R was once again ordered into production by the Air Force, on November 16, 1979 only this time it was called a tactical reconnaissance aircraft TR-1. The TR-1's mission was to fly at altitude over friendly territory and using it's sensors monitor the enemy positions and electronic communications, passing this information directly to the tactical commander. The sensors included advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASARS) and a side looking radar with a range of 50 miles. A total of 32 reconnaissance aircraft, two trainers, and two ER-2's NASA aircraft were built. The last TR-1 was delivered to the Air Force on October 3, 1989. In 1983 the British government allowed a TR-1 wing to deploy to RAF Alconbury in England. In 1991 the Air Force re-designated the TR-1 aircraft U-2Rs.

 

Desert Shield and Desert Storm:

The U-2Rs were the silent observers during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. More than 90% of the intelligence gathered in theater during this time was from the U-2s. Flying with many different sensor packages the U-2R took high resolution photographs, performed low light level intelligence gathering and radar mapping. Everyone from President George Bush to the field commanders used this information to identify enemy troop strength, locate targets and make battle damage assessments.

 

The U-2S:

The U-2 lives on, currently being equipped with a new G. E. F-118 engine, a new digital autopilot and a new designation U-2S. The new engine allows greater sensor payloads due to its lighter weight and improved thrust-to-weight ratio. A follow-on Power/EMI Upgrade program completely rewires the aircraft incorporating the latest wiring techniques and adds the capability to use some 21st century sensors.  The venerable U-2 is the only U. S. Air Force aircraft to fly operational missions every day of the year. As new hot spots occur the U-2 is deployed to give the United States the best and latest intelligence. All this from a 40 year old aircraft design.