COLD WAR SPY FIGHTS
KEVIN WRIGHT EXPOSES THE UK’S CLANDESTINE USE OF LOCKHEED U-2 SPY PLANES IN THE LATE 1950S AND EARLY 1960S.
The helmet from a U-2 crash in the USSR. The aircraft had been flown by Gary Powers. (KEY COLLECTION)
America’s amazing Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was born out of the Cold War need for information on the biggest threat to the Western nations – the mighty USSR. First flown in August 1955, the U-2 could fly at 55,000ft (later increased to more than 70,000ft). It could remain on station for several hours and bring back pinshape images – vital in the days before satellites were commonplace. It was one of the first ‘stealth’ aircraft of sorts and is still flown operationally by the USAF today.
