U-2 Spyplane in Action

U-2 Spyplane in Action PDF

Author: Larry Davis

Publisher:

Published: 1988-01-01

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 9780897472029

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Shows and describes the characteristics of the U.S. spyplane, looks at its special features, and discusses the plane's mission

Spyplane

Spyplane PDF

Author: Norman Polmar

Publisher: Zenith Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13: 9780760309575

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Book discusses the requirement for and the design, development, and operation of the U-2, from 1954 when the design began, to the current overflights of the Balkans and Iraq. Includes extensive discussions of U-2 overflights of hostile countries (USSR, China, North Korea, North Vietnam) and NASA's use of the U-2.

Spy Pilot

Spy Pilot PDF

Author: Francis Gary Powers (Jr.)

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 1633884686

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One of the most talked-about events of the Cold War was the downing of the American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960. The event was recently depicted in the Steven Spielberg movie Bridge of Spies. Powers was captured by the KGB, subjected to a televised show trial, and imprisoned, all of which created an international incident. Soviet authorities eventually released him in exchange for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. On his return to the United States, Powers was exonerated of any wrongdoing while imprisoned in Russia, yet a cloud of controversy lingered until his untimely death in 1977. Now his son, Francis Gary Powers Jr., has written this new account of his father's life based on personal files that have never been previously available. Delving into old audio tapes, the transcript of his father's debriefing by the CIA, other recently declassified documents about the U-2 program, and interviews with his contemporaries, Powers sets the record straight. The result is a fascinating piece of Cold War history. Almost sixty years after the event, this will be the definitive account of a famous Cold War incident, one proving that Francis Gary Powers acted honorably through a trying ordeal in service to his country.

High-Altitude Spy Planes

High-Altitude Spy Planes PDF

Author: Bill Sweetman

Publisher: Capstone

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13: 1429613149

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Discusses the U-2 spy plane, its uses, engines, sensors, and future in the U.S. Air Force.

Unlimited Horizons

Unlimited Horizons PDF

Author: Peter W. Merlin

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 9781626830257

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Designed as a stopgap measure to provide overhead reconnaissance capability during the early years of the Cold War, the versatile U-2 has since evolved to meet changing requirements well into the 21st century. Though many authors have documented the airplane's operational history, few have made more than a cursory examination of its technical aspects or its role as a NASA research platform. This volume includes an overview of the origin and development of the Lockheed U-2 family of aircraft with early National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) involvement, construction and materials challenges faced by designers and builders, releasable performance characteristics and capabilities, use of U-2 and ER-2 airplanes as research platforms, and technical and programmatic lessons learned.

Operation Overflight

Operation Overflight PDF

Author: Francis Gary Powers

Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.

Published: 2011-03

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 1597979961

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In this new edition of his classic 1970 memoir about the notorious U-2 incident, pilot Francis Gary Powers reveals the full story of what actually happened in the most sensational espionage case in Cold War history. After surviving the shoot-down of his reconnaissance plane and his capture on May 1, 1960, Powers endured sixty-one days of rigorous interrogation by the KGB, a public trial, a conviction for espionage, and the start of a ten-year sentence. After nearly two years, the U.S. government obtained his release from prison in a dramatic exchange for convicted Soviet spy Rudolph Abel. The narrative is a tremendously exciting suspense story about a man who was labeled a traitor by many of his countrymen but who emerged a Cold War hero.

The CIA and the U-2 Program 1954-1974

The CIA and the U-2 Program 1954-1974 PDF

Author: Gregory W. Pedlow

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 0788183265

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A comprehensive & authoritative history of the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program (MORP), which from 1954 to 1974 developed & operated 2 extraordinary aircraft, the U-2 & the A-12 OXCART. Describes not only the program's technological & bureaucratic aspects, but also its political & international context. The MORP, along with other overhead systems that emerged from it, changed the CIA's work & structure in ways that were both revolutionary & permanent. The formation of the Directorate of S&T in the 1960s, principally to develop & direct reconnaissance programs, is the most obvious legacy of the events in this study.

The U-2 Spyplane

The U-2 Spyplane PDF

Author: Chris Pocock

Publisher: Schiffer Publishing

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9780764311130

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The full story of the development and early use of the U-2 has never been properly told until now. This book describes in vivid detail how the high-flying spyplane was conceived, designed, built, and deployed in record time. It explains why the CIA, and not the U.S. Air Force, controlled the project. It traces how the Iron Curtain was pried apart by the epic overflights of denied territory from 1956 to 1960. It discusses why these flights were needed, what they were looking for, and how the intelligence they returned was processed and analyzed. Readers are taken inside the Soviet Unions military machine, as it developed new strategic weapons and (eventually) the means to shoot the U-2 down. The book also explores the political dimension, telling how President Eisenhower and Premier Khrushchev each faced the challenge of the U-2 flights albeit from very different perspectives. Toward the Unknown will appeal to students of aviation and intelligence history, and to anyone wishing to learn more about a key episode in the Cold War.

Dragon Lady Today

Dragon Lady Today PDF

Author: Chris Pocock

Publisher:

Published: 2014-08-27

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 9781500965464

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The remarkable Lockheed Martin U-2 high-flying spyplane celebrates its 60th birthday in 2015. But today's U-2 is a fully modernized reconnaissance aircraft, capable of serving the U.S. and its allies for many years to come. Chris Pocock has followed the Dragon Lady for 30 years. He has flown in the jet, and talked to hundreds of U-2 pilots, maintainers, managers and commanders. His previous book, "50 Years of the U-2", is the standard reference on the aircraft's history. Now he updates the story, in a richly-illustrated book with 190 charts and photos, most of them previously unpublished.