2c photos on Flickr

Mark 2c M 5613. Created from a Dapol Mark 2d and a Lima Mark 2b and riding on a modified Dapol underframe. Flush glazing is from Southeastern Finecast.

2C WBD 2020 by Riverside School

2c-b by Josselin Bonnetain

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Lockheed U-2C by Benjamin Donnelly

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During the Cold War, the size and secretive nature of the Soviet Union required the United States to conduct reconnaissance missions on the frontiers and often into the Soviet Union itself. In the early years of the Cold War, this mission was done by converted transports (such as RC-47s) and bombers (such as RB-47s). Both had shown themselves to be vulnerable to attack from Soviet fighters and ground fire. The solution was to build an aircraft that could get above these threats. The USAF issued a requirement for such an aircraft in 1951, but only Lockheed’s proposal, the CL-282, designed by famed Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, seemed to hold any promise. The CL-282 mated huge wings based on glider designs to the fuselage of a F-104 Starfighter, and took off from a dolly and landed on skids to save weight, similar to the wartime German Messerschmitt 163 Komet. The USAF rejected this as being too dangerous, but the Central Intelligence Agency was willing to put the CL-282 into development. It was given the designation U-2 to disguise its purpose.

Johnson tweaked the design considerably before the first U-2A flew in August 1955. The fuselage diameter was increased over that of the F-104, and it used a smaller J57 engine (though later variants would use the same J75 powerplant as the Starfighter). Landing gear was included in a “bicycle” configuration to save weight, which was paramount in the design: the cameras that were central to the U-2’s purpose had to be placed in two positions to maintain the center of balance of the aircraft. Because the enormous wings would droop on the ground, jettisonable wing “pogos” were attached before taxiing. While often referred to as a glider, the U-2 was a powered aircraft and used gliderlike design mainly to save fuel and allow it to reach altitudes of over 70,000 feet—at the time, well above any known Soviet defenses. The aircraft also had to be flown near its top speed at all times, as its stall speed was only twenty mph lower, requiring the pilot to constantly watch speed and altitude. U-2 pilots already had to be strong men—the aircraft was very sluggish below 70,000 feet and had to be manhandled to stay in the air—and had to fly in a full pressure suit due to the high altitudes they flew at. Finally, because of its high lift wings, landings were made at high speeds and the U-2 was hard to get down; pilots had to use a periscope to see the runway and be guided down by another pilot driving a pace car at speeds up to 120 mph. The U-2’s extreme difficulty made itself known very quickly, as three test pilots were killed in two months in U-2A crashes. It remained in service because there was no other option available.

If the U-2 was tough to fly, it did the job. Entering service in 1956, it began flying long-range flights from Germany and Japan, initially by USAF and US Navy pilots detached to the CIA, who actually controlled the flights under Project Dragon Lady. The U-2’s existence was a secret, and early bare-metal U-2As were responsible for a rash of UFO sightings in the late 1950s. The Soviet Union quickly learned what it was—though the USAF and CIA hoped the U-2 flew above Soviet radar coverage, the Russians could track the aircraft—it had no means of intercepting it. Efforts were made to increase the range of surface-to-air missiles, and finally, on 1 May 1960, a U-2A flown by Francis Gary Powers was shot down by two SA-2 Guideline (S-75 Dvina) SAMs. Powers ejected and was captured, causing the United States considerable embarrassment, as the Eisenhower administration had originally denied the U-2’s existence. Work was accelerated on a high-speed replacement of the U-2, which would eventually become the SR-71 Blackbird.

Despite the U-2 being no longer invulnerable, flights continued over both the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China, the latter being flown by both American and Taiwanese pilots from the Republic of China. Of the 19 U-2s operated from Taiwan, eleven were lost to accidents and combat. Gradually, responsibility for these missions was transferred from the CIA to the USAF, and the U-2 fleet began to be painted in overall black, an attempt to both give it a modicum of camouflage on night missions and make it somewhat stealthy. U-2 operations also expanded: a U-2 was the aircraft that brought back pictures of Soviet attempts to build missile sites in Cuba, starting the Cuban Missile Crisis, and were flying reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam as early as 1964. U-2 missions were even undertaken from aircraft carriers, with three variants developed for carrier operations, though this was rare.

The U-2 was continually updated over the decades, with the tactical version, the TR-1A, entering service in the early 1980s. This was a considerable upgrade over the U-2Cs then in service, with turbofan powerplant and large “mission pods” that could be carried under the wings, which could be installed with cameras, side-looking radar, or other equipment. TR-1s were later redesignated U-2R and further reengined. Some were equipped with fuselage-mounted Senior Span satellite communications equipment, allowing real-time transmission of photographs.

So important is the U-2 that attempts to retire it have so far come to naught, and it has outlasted both its replacements—the SR-71 and remotely-piloted RQ-4 Global Hawk, as the U-2 is actually cheaper to operate. The U-2R is now expected to stay in service until 2023, by which time the basic design will be nearly 70 years old. It has yet to acquire an official nickname, though it is often referred to by its crews as the Dragon Lady. 86 were built and about 32 remain in service, with nine on display in museums. NASA also operates two modified ER-2 atmospheric research aircraft.

This U-2C is 56-6716, built as a U-2A in 1957. It was originally used as a high-altitude air sampling aircraft, detecting amounts of radiation given off by Soviet nuclear tests, and operated with "sheep-dipped" USAF pilots flying for the CIA. Though 56-6716 was based at Edwards AFB, California, it also flew missions from Argentina. By 1960, it had returned to the United States, and on 15 March, it was flying over Canada when the aircraft suffered engine failure. The pilot, Capt. Roger Cooper, was able to deadstick the U-2 onto a frozen lake near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, without damaging the aircraft. Given how difficult the U-2 is to fly under normal circumstances, it was quite a feat.

56-6716's next stop was Takhli RTAFB, Thailand, where it participated in missions over North Vietnam. This only lasted a few months before it was transferred to the Republic of China (Taiwan) Air Force; with the ROCAF, it flew 220 missions over and around the People's Republic of China--an extremely dangerous undertaking, as U-2s were shot down over China several times. In 1974, 56-6716 returned to the USAF's control and the United States.

By 1980, the older U-2Cs were obsolete and being replaced by newer TR-1s, so 56-6716 was retired and placed in storage. In 1993, it was placed on display at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. It would remain there until 2022, when the aircraft was donated to the Hill Aerospace Museum. 56-6716 was refurbished and placed on display in 2023.

I missed this aircraft in 2022, when I visited Hill last--the aircraft was outside in pieces, as the new building wasn't finished yet. The the main reason to visit Hill in 2025 was to see 56-6716, and it didn't disappoint! This picture gives a good idea of the enormous wingspan of these aircraft.

2C by Bernardo Felgueiras

2c-164 by nick dewolf photo archive

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quintana roo, mexico

october 1978

human pyramid

dwarf bullfighting event

part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf

Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

2C by Alouisj Photo

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