Lockheed U-2

Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady
Modernized TR-1 of the US Air Force
Type:	Strategic altitude reconnaissance
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Lockheed Corporation
First flight:	4th August 1955
Commissioning:	1957
Production time:	1955 to 1989
Number of pieces:	104

Cockpit of a U-2S

The Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady is a single- engine, strategic reconnaissance aircraft designed for use at high altitudes by the US manufacturer Lockheed . Colloquially it is also referred to as a "spy plane", perhaps because the US secret service CIA showed itself to be primarily responsible for the operations (and not the USAF or the Navy).

The U-2 was developed by the Advanced Development Projects Unit (also known as Skunk Works ) of Lockheed and, at an operating altitude of over 20,000 meters, was inaccessible to both ground-based air defense and fighter aircraft for a long time . This flight performance was made possible, among other things, by the use of wings with a very large aspect ratio , which give the U-2 a great resemblance to the appearance of a glider . The aircraft was used from the USA and Taiwan . The reconnaissance equipment originally consisted of two high-resolution panorama cameras and was supplemented by other devices (electronic sensors, GPS , etc.) over time. In February 2014, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that the US would like to save on the military. As part of this program, the U-2 will be decommissioned. It is to be replaced by RQ-4 Global Hawk drones , whose flight hours in 2014, according to the Air Force, cost more than those of the U-2.

history

The USAAF's first jet-powered reconnaissance aircraft was the Lockheed FP-80A in 1945 (from 1948 RF-80A). The need for a soaring scout that could not be intercepted first became apparent during the Korean War . The Fifth Air Force's RF-80s were able to operate over North Korea, but reconnaissance bombers such as the RB-45 , which are easily intercepted by the enemy MiG-15s , had to be used for the reconnaissance of enemy bases on the Asian mainland could. In addition, the Soviet Union carried out its first atomic bomb tests at the end of the 1940s and the United States' global nuclear monopoly was broken in the early 1950s . This prompted the Ministry of Defense on March 27, 1953 to tender (Design Study Requirement No. 53WC-16507) for a single-seat subsonic reconnaissance aircraft. This photo-day reconnaissance aircraft, project code-named Bald Eagle, was designed to fly over the Soviet Union at high altitude with a payload of 318 kg (700 lb) over a distance of 4,800 km (3000 mi.) In at an altitude of 21,300 m (70,000 ft.). However, neither armament nor an ejection seat was provided.

Three companies submitted proposals for the United States Air Force (USAF) program with project number MX-2147: Martin Aircraft Company presented a modified version of the B-57 Canberra , while Bell presented the X-16 and Fairchild (M- 195) proposed completely new designs. The RB-57 was accepted, but it was only seen as an interim solution, as development work on a new, better machine should be continued.

Lockheed had not been asked to submit a draft, but submitted a corresponding preliminary study to the US Air Force on May 18, 1954. The model CL-282 (also L-282) was based on the use of an XF-104 fuselage, which received extremely wide wings. The Air Force rejected the design because it insisted on using the tried and tested Pratt & Whitney J57 , while Lockheed called for the use of a General Electric J73 engine.

Aquatone / Article 341

After being rejected by the US Air Force, Lockheed chief engineer Clarence (“Kelly”) Johnson tried to sell his design to other Department of Defense services. In November 1954, the CL-282 concept was introduced to official representatives of the CIA. At a meeting between CIA director Allen Dulles , Joe Charyk, head of research and development at the CIA, and Johnson, it was agreed that Johnson should redesign the CL-282 to use the J57. For this purpose, the fuselage had to be widened significantly compared to the original design, but the F-104 technology could largely be retained. The hydraulic hood mechanism and the ejection seat fell victim to the need to save weight - there was no chance that a pilot could survive an exit at the intended operating altitude.

Johnson indicated that he could deliver 20 aircraft, including replacement parts, for $ 22 million and the prototype within eight months of the contract being signed. On December 9, 1954, Lockheed received the development contract from the CIA, which gave the project the code name Aquatone . The top secret project was funded from two sources: the CIA paid for the airframe , while the US Air Force funded the engines through replacement purchases for the B-52. The prototype was not given a Lockheed model number either, just the name Article 341 . For testing, the prototype was dismantled and transferred to Groom Dry Lake with two C-124 Globemasters .

On July 27, 1955, Lockheed's test pilot LeVier carried out the first taxi tests. In the third test on August 1, the aircraft is raised unintentionally at 70 knots (81 mph; 130 km / h), and was at a height of twelve meters only starvation in the engine idling until the stall again be landed. After the damage had been repaired, the official 45-minute first flight of the aircraft, now known as the U-2, took place on August 4th . The U was an intentionally vague name for utility .

Early variants

After the successful maiden flight of the U-2 prototype, the CIA ordered 20 series aircraft under the USAF designation U-2A. The production version had a few differences compared to the prototype. For example, the Pratt & Whitney J57-P-37 (46.7 kN thrust) has been replaced by the J57-P-31A with 49.8 kN, which has been specially optimized for height operations. Early examples of the U-2A did not yet have an ejection seat, but this was later retrofitted in all U-2s. Lockheed delivered the U-2A in natural metal, unpainted and unmarked, to Groom Lake. Due to the many modifications interchangeable between the versions, the aircraft were practically hand-built, and Lockheed was never able to set up an assembly line for real series production. As a result, it is practically impossible to assign a unique variant designation to a specific machine. Modifications and dismantling of standard U-2A cells were common, so that a U-2A could be converted into a U-2C or U-2F and later converted back into a U-2B. For reasons of confidentiality, it was common practice to assign serial numbers several times and to exchange them between different machines. Civilian license plates of the CIA, NACA and NASA were assigned at random, often the same thing to two aircraft at the same time. For these reasons, it is not possible to give an exact specification of production figures. It is generally believed that at least 60 examples of the early variants were built.

Five U-2A series cells were modified for high altitude air sampling and named WU-2A. With them radioactive decay products should be collected in the high atmosphere, which allow conclusions to be drawn on a nuclear weapon test in the area of ​​operation. For this purpose, there was an air inlet both in the tip of the fuselage bow and on the left side of the Q-Bay , whereby fall-out particles should collect in an air filter . At least seven more U- 2As were converted into WU-2A as part of the High Altitude Sampling Program (HASP).

At least seven U-2As received a Pratt & Whitney J75 P-13A engine and thus the designation U-2B. Externally unchanged, the cell has been internally reinforced and adapted to the significantly higher thrust of 70.3 kN. A number of U-2A and U-2B cells were equipped with the 75.7 kN J75-P-13B engine under the designation U-2C. For this purpose, the engine inlets also had to be enlarged. The extension of the fuselage bow was necessary due to the placement of new sensors and increased tank capacity. In addition, slipper tanks could be carried along the wing leading edges, and a long canoe-shaped fairing was installed on the back of the fuselage. The training version U-2CT, for which one U-2C and one U-2D cell was converted, received a second cockpit behind and slightly above the first.

Five standard U-2A were taken out of the production process and equipped as U-2D with a modified Q-Bay that could accommodate either a second crew member or a better sensor system. The U-2E arose from converted U-2A and U-2B, which received a new J75-P-13B engine, ECM devices in tail units and additional electronics in a fuselage back fairing. At least 18 of these conversions were delivered exclusively to the CIA.

Four U-2F with devices for air refueling were tested, but then restored to the U-2C standard. Two U-2Gs were U-2Cs converted for operation on aircraft carriers, which were retrofitted with an additional catch hook , a reinforced landing gear and additional large spoilers . NASA later received the machines, which had been restored to the U-2C stand.

Late variants

An enlarged variant (U-2R) with a wingspan of 31.7 m had its first flight on August 28, 1967. The later version (referred to as TR-1A and equipped with a synthetic aperture radar ) flew for the first time in August 1980. 27 machines of this type had been built by 1989. A two-seat version was called the TR-1B. From 1990 onwards, all TR- 1s were converted to General Electric F118-GE-101 engines and were given the designation U-2S, after they had been renamed U-2R in the meantime.

In the 1990s, the U-2S version of the machines was once again equipped with revised engines and revised camera technology. According to calculations by the Congressional Research Service, there is a total loss of a machine for every 100,000 flight hours . For a long time NASA used the special version ER-2 for civil research flights. The designation ER stood for Earth Resources and was assigned by NASA itself.

In 2016, the plan was to take the machines out of service by 2020, but the budget planning from 2019 provides for the machines to be operated at least until 2023. Larger investments in reconnaissance technology are also planned for the same period. Lockheed Martin submitted an offer to overhaul the machines in March 2018.

Technology and equipment

A U-2 in July 2002 with satellite communications equipment

NASA's version of the Lockheed U-2R, a Lockheed ER-2, on landing

A U-2 pilot in a pressure suit

U-2S with escort vehicle

The U-2 is a single-engine, jet-powered reconnaissance aircraft that is operated at high-altitude flights at technical and aerodynamic limits. The payloads are located in the fuselage, in the fuselage nose and two wing containers. Other special payloads are adapted to the top of the fuselage. The pilot wears a special high-altitude pressure suit (like the crews of the SR-71 ), the aircraft has an ejection seat and a single-track, central tandem tail wheel landing gear with a main landing gear with double tires in the middle of the fuselage and a smaller tail wheel at the rear. Small auxiliary or support wheels on the wings are thrown off after take-off, while sliding rails made of titanium on the end disks serve to protect the wings when they land as soon as they drop onto the runway when they roll out.

Because of the high service ceiling , the U-2 was for a long time inaccessible to ground-based air defense and fighter planes. The USSR devised various countermeasures, from the jet-powered glider - similar to the U-2 itself - as an altitude fighter to rocket-supported conventional fighters in parabolic flight . Finally, improved surface-to-air missiles were used .

Due to the low air density at the usual operating altitude, the U-2 machines were also aerodynamically at the limit. The first and in some cases the later machines were also difficult to fly. The control forces were high, the engine tended to burst open , the cockpit hood both icing over and oily from the hot air. It was only possible to restart the engine at lower altitudes; a sponge was initially used to clean the windshield.

The airspeed is limited because of the structural load caused by the sound barrier; on the other hand, a minimum speed must be maintained in order to maintain the necessary lift and to avoid a stall. In the area of ​​the Coffin Corner , these two limits approach each other, so that the speed must be adhered to very precisely. In order to be able to react in time if the autopilot fails in this state, the pilot had to fly extremely concentrated and, as far as possible, stop the mission and reduce the altitude as quickly as possible.

The pilot sits in a pressurized cabin and also wears a pressure suit in order to be able to survive in the event of a loss of pressure or an emergency exit. Because the pilot in a pressure suit can only move with difficulty, a second pilot helps with take-off preparations and monitors the landing from the ground. A periscope-like viewing device with a view up and down helped in the first machines with navigation and camera release. Before the pilot got on the plane, he breathed pure oxygen in a pressure suit for at least 90 minutes to reduce the nitrogen level in his blood.

A radar jamming system in the form of a wire antenna that surrounds the entire aircraft had to be dispensed with for aerodynamic and weight reasons.

The U-2 carried reconnaissance equipment consisting of visual cameras, IR cameras , radar and probably also radio reconnaissance equipment. Another special equipment was supposed to collect air samples, presumably for analysis of Soviet nuclear tests. The mushroom on the back of the fuselage that is visible in some of the images is not an AWACS-type radar antenna, but an antenna for satellite communication. The other equipment ranged from communication to navigation devices (star navigation, GPS).

Since the aircraft was largely optimized for low mass, only a limited payload could be carried. Depending on the engine and equipment, take-off was only possible with a reduced amount of fuel. Smaller containers on the wings served as additional fuel containers on some machines.

A special feature of the U-2 is its tandem chassis . There is a retractable double wheel in the middle of the fuselage, another at the stern. For stabilization on the ground and during take-off, there are support wheels, so-called pogos , on the left and right of the wings . These are thrown off during the starting process and collected by an escort vehicle. After rolling out, the pogos are mounted on the wings again on the runway so that they can continue to roll to the parking position.

Landing on the center landing gear can only take place with the help of precise instruction from an external observer due to the structural characteristics (including the pronounced ground effect and the flight position, which is limited by the landing gear design). Typical for the landing procedure of the U-2 is therefore being accompanied by a powerful passenger car ( “chase car” ) on the runway. The sports car waiting on the taxiway accelerates and sits down immediately behind the U-2 after it has flown over the runway boundary; the driver informs the pilot via radio during the critical phase of floating, for example about the exact distance between the wheels above the runway. This ground vehicle is also controlled by a U-2 pilot. This procedure to support the pilot was introduced after accidents due to the difficult landing characteristics of the U-2. The fleet of Ford Mustangs used for this until 1995 was replaced by Chevrolet Camaros , which reach a top speed of 225 km / h. In the meantime, due to their high acceleration, Tesla Model S electric vehicles have also been put into operation for this task.

The missions with changing operators (military, NASA, secret service) could be of a military or civil nature. In contrast to the competitor Lockheed SR-71 , the U-2 was produced in larger numbers and is still in use worldwide today. The effort (maintenance, fuel, costs) for a flight is much lower than with the SR-71.

In the course of the long service life, a number of U-2 machines were lost. Some aircraft were shot down by enemy missiles, others crashed during take-off or landing or generally due to technical errors.

Calls

Wreckage of the U-2 flown by Francis Gary Powers in an exhibition in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces in Moscow

Parts of the downed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft in the Revolution Museum in Havana , Cuba

On June 20, 1956, a U-2 flew over “enemy territory” (Poland and the GDR) for the first time, with two more flights on July 2. Contrary to the expectations of the CIA, the U-2 was detected by the Russian radar, but could not be intercepted.

From July 4 to 5 and July 9 to 10, 1956, the first five U-2 spy flights to the Soviet Union ( Leningrad and Moscow ) took off from the Erbenheim military airfield during the Cold War . The US secret service CIA led the observation missions carried out to missile, radar and submarine bases in Lithuania , Belarus , Leningrad and the Crimea .

In October 1956 this squadron was relocated to the Giebelstadt military airfield and flew three more missions from there over Eastern Europe and the western Soviet Union.

From August 4 to 27, 1957, the USA also carried out U-2 espionage flights to the Soviet Union from the Adana Air Force Base in Turkey.

On May 1, 1960, Gary Powers flew a U-2 on an espionage mission from northern Pakistan over the Soviet Union. During the flight, engine problems arose over the Urals , causing the aircraft to lose altitude and come within the range of the Soviet anti-aircraft missiles. The U-2 was hit by an S-75 missile. Since Powers said his legs were trapped, he couldn't use the ejection seat . By removing the cockpit canopy and rotating the aircraft around its longitudinal axis, he was able to free himself from the aircraft , supported by the force of gravity . According to his own statements, he passed out several times in the fall, until the parachute opened automatically at an altitude of about 4,500 meters . He was captured near Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg ). In the following trial, carried out with great international media interest, Powers was sentenced to a long prison term. The United States felt this to be a deep humiliation.

As a result of this embarrassment - at least on some machines - the ejection seats were removed. Another source speaks of extremely heavy camera equipment that made it necessary to dismantle it for weight reasons. This problem was resolved after a while due to increased performance or lighter cameras.

After the US initially reported that it was a weather aircraft, US Secretary of State Christian Herter confessed on May 9, 1960 that such espionage flights had been taking place over the Soviet Union since July 1956. In Operation Overflight the US had of positions the first Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles , the construction of a nuclear submarine fleet and the testing of missile defense missiles to its attention. On May 11, 1960, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower , who had previously approved every single flight of the U-2, took full responsibility, but rejected the request of the Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev to recognize the air incident as an aggressive act by the USA.

U-2s have been flying over Cuba since October 1960 , and on September 5, 1961, images of S-75 anti-aircraft missiles and MiG-21 fighter aircraft reached Cuba for the first time . During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the aircraft provided the crucial photos of the positions of Soviet SS-4 medium-range missiles. Later in the crisis, on October 27, 1962, a U-2 was shot down by an S-75 Dvina anti-aircraft missile. The pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson , was killed. On the same day, a U-2 on the way to Eielson Air Force Base ( Alaska ) got into Soviet airspace due to a navigation error in the Chukotka area . Mounted MiG interceptors could not reach the U-2 because of its altitude of over 21,000 meters. The U-2 landed in Kotzebue (Alaska) after a record time of 10 hours and 25 minutes without fuel .

In the 1960s, the Chinese nuclear weapons program was intensely spied on. In addition, the Taiwanese air forces received U-2S from the CIA, which mostly flew without license plates.

The U-2 was supplemented by satellite reconnaissance (including Discoverer 13) from August 1960 and finally replaced by the SR-71 . Since the end of the Cold War, however, the US Air Force has been using the less expensive U-2 instead of the SR-71.

In March 2011, a U-2 was deployed over Japan to assess the damage after the Tōhoku earthquake .

In a statement by the Pentagon in early 2014, consideration was given to mothballing the A-10 and U-2 fleets of the American armed forces. On March 18, 2014, the US Department of Defense clarified this planning so far that the U-2 fleet in the financial year ( fiscal year is to be made) in 2016 out of service, even if this should be extended to the intelligence capabilities a skill gap. Necessary upgrades for the RQ-4 drones will probably not be possible by then.

In February 2017, U-2s flew in the context of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq against the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS).

losses

• May 1, 1960: A U-2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers was shot down south of Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg ) by an S-75 anti-aircraft missile . Up until then, the US had assumed that the U-2's altitude was beyond the range of all anti-aircraft weapons, but Powers' machine had lost altitude due to engine problems. After his capture, Powers was initially sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage, but was released on February 10, 1962 when he was exchanged for the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel at Glienicke Bridge .
• September 9, 1962: A RoCAF- U-2A (378, S / N 56-6711) flown by Chen Huai Sheng was shot down by an S-75 missile over the mainland of the PRC 15 km south of Nanchang . Sheng was able to get out but later died in the hospital.
• October 27, 1962: During the Cuban Missile Crisis, a U-2 was shot down by an S-75 anti-aircraft missile (see text ).
• November 1, 1963: A U-2C (Article 355, 56-6688, pilot Robin Yeh Chang Yi) was shot down by S-75 missiles over Jiangxi . The destination was the Lanzhou nuclear weapons test area. Yeh survived and was released to Hong Kong on November 10, 1982 after being detained.
• March 23, 1964: Taiwanese pilot Liang Teh Pei died when his U-2C (Article 356, 56-6689) broke apart over the Taiwan Strait .
• July 7, 1964: A U-2G (Article 362, 56-6695, pilot Terry Lee Nan Lee) was shot down over Fujian by S-75 missiles . Lee died.
• January 10, 1965: A U-2C (Article 358, 56-6691, pilot Jack Chang Liyi) was shot down by S-75 missiles southwest of Beijing . The target was the nuclear facilities at Paotow .
• October 22, 1965: A Taiwanese AF U-2C (Article 352, 56-6685, pilot Pete Wang) crashed northwest of Taiwan. The pilot died.
• March 16, 1969: Pilot Hsieh Chang died when his plane crashed south of the Korean island of Jeju-do .
• On May 29, 1975, a U-2 crashed in Germany near Winterberg . The pilot survived.
• January 26, 2003, a U-2 crashed near the Osan air base in South Korea , and the pilot was able to save himself.
• According to official information from the US Air Force , a U-2S crashed in Southwest Asia on June 22, 2005 when it was returning from a mission over Afghanistan (see War in Afghanistan , Operation International Security Assistance Force ). The Air Force pilot Maj. Duane W. Dively died. According to unofficial statements by representatives of the United States Department of Defense , the crash site is in the area of ​​the US Air Force Base Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates . Out of consideration for the host country, no public statements are made about the aircraft stationed there and their operations. Some observers and the media suspected that it could also have been a spy flight over Iran . After the crash, the US still had 38 U-2s, according to Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine , five of which are two-seat training aircraft and two of which are operated by NASA .

Users

 Taiwan

 United States

• US Air Force
• CIA
• NASA

Technical specifications

Lockheed TR-1 / U-2C

Parameter	U-2A data	U-2S data
crew	1	1
length	15.24 m	19.13 m
span	24.38 m	31.39 m
height	4.57 m	4.88 m
Wing area	52.5 m²	92.9 m²
Wing extension	11.32	10.61
Wing loading	k. A.	min. (Empty weight): 76 kg / m² max. (max. takeoff weight): 202 kg / m²
Wing profile	inside: NACA 63A409 outside: 63A406	inside: NACA 63A409 outside: 63A406
Tank capacity	2370 l	k. A.
Empty mass	k. A.	7031 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	k. A.	18,733 kg
drive	a turbojet : Pratt & Whitney J57-P-37A	a turbofan : General Electric F118-GE-101 with 84.5 kN thrust
Top speed	794 km / h	805 km / h
Marching speed	k. A.	690 km / h
Service ceiling	70,000 ft (approx. 21,400 m)	69,600 ft (approx. 21,200 m)
Max. Altitude	k. A.	90,000 ft (approx.27,400 m)
Range	4,635 km	10,300 km
Flight duration	k. A.	12 h
Armament	no	no

other remarks

• The designer Kelly Johnson of the Skunk Works was also responsible for the construction of the SR-71 Blackbird and A-12 oxcart and for the F-104 responsible Starfighter. The stealth bomber F-117 later came from the Skunk Works .
• Edwin Herbert Land , the developer of the instant photography process ( Polaroid ), was involved in solving some technical photographic problems in aerial reconnaissance.
• Avoiding static electricity and the associated discharge, and avoiding low temperatures, are some of the problems associated with high altitude photography.
• The U-2 has two equipment bays in the fuselage. A sensor shaft (equipment) is named Q-Bay, while the shaft for electronic equipment is appropriately called E-Bay.
• At the time of the U-2 shooting down, the Soviet Union had its own high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, the Jak-25RW , but construction of a U-2 copy based on the debris from Powers machine under the designation Beriev S-13 began. But that was then discarded in favor of satellite reconnaissance and the MiG-25R .
• The further development of the Soviet high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft Myasishchev M-17 / M-55 - a jet-powered glider - flies today as the research aircraft Stratosfera or Geofisika.
• The X-research aircraft of the type X-26 Frigate, which have been in use for the longest (and to this day), are also gliders and are used to train test pilots. The aircraft type is based on the civil type Schweizer SGS 2-32.
• During the Vietnam War (1965-1975) flew a second glider type, the extremely quiet two-seater Lockheed YO-3 A Quiet Star motor glider built with a rotary engine , reconnaissance missions at lower altitudes. The construction used by the military is based on the motorized X-26B. The test aircraft of the type X-26B were dismantled back to stand X-26 after the test flights. Another design (QT-2) was also used for development.
• The launch of the space shuttle was photographed several times with a U-2 in order to find out the causes of some of the damage that occurred during launch. However, since the take-off was postponed several times and the flight movement of the U-2 could not be fully synchronized, the recordings from an unfavorable angle only provided indications of possible causes. The sources of error were finally eliminated by redesign, even without proof.
• In the early 1960s, the CIA attempted to launch U-2s from US Navy aircraft carriers . On August 5, 1963, a U-2 took off for the first time from the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) . Such a combination was only used operationally once, when a U-2 aboard the USS Ranger (CV-61) observed French nuclear weapons tests.
• Lt. Col. Merryl Tengesdal was the first African American female U-2 pilot.
• According to a study by the secret service CIA, many UFO sightings are said to be due to the use of U-2 aircraft operating in the stratosphere, because sun rays are said to have been reflected from their wings even when it has long been dark in deeper layers of the atmosphere had become. That should have given the impression that UFOs were approaching. Due to the confidentiality of the project, the responsible authorities were unable to reveal the true background of the lighting effects when citizens and pilots reported. The US Air Force then spoke of puzzling natural phenomena.
• In the penultimate season of the US television series MythBusters in 2015, the myth was dealt with in episode 230 (“Flight of Fantasy” / “Flight Lesson”) that the U-2 was the most difficult aircraft to fly. The episode first shows parts of the one-week preparatory training that the two moderators Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage had to go through in order to be allowed to fly as passengers in a U-2 and finally Adam Savage on a flight in a two-seater U-2 for the Eighth Air Force belonging to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing . At the end of the episode, Hyneman and Savage admitted that they had not looked at any other aircraft apart from the U-2, but both came to the same conclusion, due to the uniqueness of the design, the mission profile and the requirements necessary to operate the U-2 the myth would be "plausible".

See also

• List of aircraft types

literature

• Larry Davis: U-2 Spyplane in action. Aircraft Number 86, squadron / signal publications, 1988, ISBN 0-89747-202-0 .
• Steve Pace: Lockheed Skunk Works. Motorbooks International, 1992, ISBN 0-87938-632-0 , pp. 130-152.
• Hans Redemann: Lockheed U-2. The story of a controversial aircraft , in: Flugrevue 5/1977, pp. 22-25
• U-2 / TR-1: The black dragons from Burbank. In: Aircraft - The new encyclopedia of aviation. Issue 85, Orbis Publishing, pp. 2358-2369.
• Vietnam - the high flyers. In: Aircraft - The new encyclopedia of aviation. Issue 87, Orbis Publishing, pp. 2425-2429.

Web links

Commons : Lockheed U-2  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• af.mil - Pilot this after U-2 Dragon Lady crashes in Southwest Asia (English)
• U2-Pages (English)
• Video Lockheed U-2, take-offs and landings on an aircraft carrier

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Analysts predict A-10, U-2 retirements in FY15." Flightglobal.com , February 7, 2014.
2. ^ Davis: U-2 Spyplane. Pp. 4-5.
3. ↑ List of MX project numbers
4. ↑ The abbreviation MX (for Materiel, Experimental) was given from the beginning of 1941 to 1954 by the Experimental Engineering Department of the US Army Air Corps Materiel Division (shortly thereafter Army Air Forces Materiel Command) for many of their research and development projects . MX numbers were generally assigned to a project very early on, so that many project numbers did not lead to a product, but only to a research report.
5. ^ Huntington, Tom: U-2 . In: Invention & Technology Magazine . Vol. 22, No. 3.
6. ^ The CIA an U2 Program, 1954–1974
7. ↑ U-2 Timeline (English)
8. ↑ FliegerRevue , 01/2008, pp. 23-25, ISSN  0941-889X
9. ^ Joseph Trevithick: Lockheed Is Proposing a Major 'Triple Intelligence' Upgrade for the U-2 Spy Plane. In: The Drive. March 20, 2018, accessed March 22, 2018 . 
10. ↑ U-2 Dragon Lady (N24 DOKU). Retrieved October 12, 2019 . 
11. ↑ David Donald: Black Jets. AIRtime Publishing, Norwalk, Conn. 2003, ISBN 1-880588-67-6 , pp. 215 and 229.
12. ↑ Tesla Model S is being used as chase car to launch spy planes on Royal Air Force base . In: Electrek . July 27, 2017 ( electrek.co [accessed May 16, 2018]).
13. ↑ Battle Stations - SR-71 Blackbird Stealth Plane -Full Documentary (from 0:04:00) on YouTube , December 5, 2015, accessed on October 7, 2019 (When the u2 flown by the cia first began there operation over the sovjet union they were shocked that the soviets were tracking them even in the very first mission.).
14. ↑ The CIA and the U-2 Program, 1954–1974 (PDF; 9.7 MB) pp. 104 ff.
15. ^ Chris Pocock: The early U-2 overflights of the Soviet Union. Allied Museum , April 24, 2006, accessed October 11, 2016 . 
16. ↑ Future Plans For Project Aquatone / Whetstone. Central Intelligence Agency , July 29, 1957, archived from the original August 2, 2012 ; Retrieved June 12, 2010 . 
17. ^ Presidential deceptions - and their consequences: Dwight Eisenhower and the U-2 incident
18. ↑ Missing Over The Soviet Union , National Security Archive , June 11, 2008
19. ^ U-2 reconnaissance aircraft deployed to aid Japan relief efforts af.mil; US and Tokyo Spar on Depth of Crisis wsj.com, accessed March 18, 2011
20. ↑ Jon Hemmerdinger: USAF justifies fleet cuts, Confirms budget would ground all U-2s in FY16. In: Flightglobal.com. March 18, 2014, accessed on March 19, 2014 (English): “USAF assistant deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements Maj Gen James Jones makes clear the service intends to ground all U-2s in fiscal year 2016, long before its Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawks receive needed upgrades. " 
21. ↑ https://www.dvidshub.net/news/222298/u-2-continues-through-generations-makes-air-force-history-breaking-30000-hour-barrier-fight-against-isis
22. ↑ holoka: Michigan War Studies Review - book reviews, literature surveys, original essays, and commentary in the field of military studies. Retrieved February 16, 2018 . 
23. ↑ spiegel.de 47/1969: [1]
24. ↑ France detonated 41 nuclear weapons above ground for 'tests' from July 2, 1966 to September 14, 1974.
25. ↑ National Museum of the Air Force: U-2 Aircraft Carrier Tail Hook and Q-tip (Engl.)
26. ^ Spiegel Online: Secret military installation: CIA document explains UFO sightings over Area 51 from August 16, 2013, accessed on April 23, 2014
27. ↑ Frode Sætran: CIA om 50-tallets UFO-mystery: "Det var oss". Aftenposten, July 3, 2014, accessed July 4, 2014 (Norwegian).