Dragon Lady: The History of the U-2 Spyplane

It has been called ‘the black lady of espionage’ and ‘the Mata Hari of airplanes’ but to the men that flew and maintained her, the Lockheed U-2 was known simply as ‘The Dragon Lady’. This book contains a wealth of previously unpublished material about the world`s most famous spyplane. By the time that CIA pilot Francis Gary powers was shot down over the Soviet union in 1960, the U-2 programme was already five years old. It all started in great secrecy at the famous Lockheed ‘Skunk Works’,where a tight-knit group of aircraft engineers led by famed designer Kelly Johnson built and flew the unique aircraft in only seven months. In order to boost the U-2’s cruising altitude beyond the range of enemy interceptors, Johnson ruthlessly eliminated excess weight,creating a jet powered glider that was a real challenge to fly. Then came the long and difficult overflights, and the remarkable photographs that revealed the USSR’s deepest military secrets. When Powers fell victim to the world’s first successful surface-to-air missile attack, the resulting political furore ruined a summit meeting between the superpowers, and led to the US to ban further overflights of Soviet territory. But this was not the end of the U-2 story. Dragon Lady missions over Cuba revealed the Soviet military build-up, and prompted the missile crisis of October 1962. The CIA went into partnership with the government of Taiwan, so that nationalist Chinese pilots could fly U-2s over the communist mainland. Five of them were shot down. Although Lockheed went on to develop the Mach 3 Blackbird spyplane and reconnaissance satellites, there was still a role for the U-2. In a modified version, it was ordered back into production in 1967, and again in 1978. Rechristened the TR-1, this remarkable aircraft now carries a suite of high-tech reconnaissance sensors, and will serve the US and its allies. pp. 214 illusts #0919 (Closed tear to dustjacket.)