Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

With heightened tensions mounting in the Cold War, President Dwight Eisenhower's request for more accurate intelligence information on the Soviet Union was the spark that ignited the U-2 project. Modified USAF bombers began overflights of the Soviet Union in 1951, but existing lower flying aircraft in the US inventory were vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire and a number of cross-border flights were shot down. To meet the challenge and improve the survivability, the Lockheed Corporation received approval for their revolutionary design of a new recon aircraft on December 9, 1954. The company began

U-2 (Reconnaissance aircraft) --- Lockheed U-2 (Airplane) --- Lockheed aircraft --- Reconnaissance aircraft