The first U-2 flew back in 1955 in an attempt to scope out Soviet military capabilities. The United States was building military bombers at an extreme rate because they believed there was a bomber gap. But after flying over a Soviet airbase they discovered that the Soviets possessed only a couple of long-range nuclear bombers. While the U-2 enjoyed aerial superiority for a few years the Soviets eventually built anti-aircraft guns that could hit the spy plane. But the U-2 continued to fly missions all over the world. In 1962 the plane discovered the buildup of Soviet missiles in Cuba which would kick off the Cuban Missile Crisis. These days the U-2 is used to train pilots and provide services during search and rescue operations. As for the actual technical facts, the U-2 flies at seventy thousand feet. Additionally, the cockpit typically holds one pilot and flies at a speed of around four hundred miles per hour The fighter was designed by the Lockheed Corporation who continue to create military weapons to this day. The pilots had to wear astronaut like suits due to the air pressure at 70000 feet up.
It’s interesting to see that a plane that was developed in the mid 1900s is still being produced and incorporated today. I liked that you included the major consequences of using this plane in the war. It would be interesting to know what would have happened if the U.S. never developed a plane that was capable of doing what this one can, and whether or not the outcomes of many Cold War events would have changed or could have been prevented.
ReplyDeleteI really found this post insightful, nice job. It's interesting that the U-2 is still in operation today, kind of showing how close the history we are learning is to our generation. The U-2 incident is one of importance. When the Soviets shot down the U-2 with its zenith surface to air missile, they captured and questioned the pilot. The soviets from that point on distrusted the Americans and refused to negotiate nuclear disarmament which put further stress in the Cold War.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/u2-spy-incident
It is interesting to think about the question of whether the U2 spy plane put the Americans at danger or not. On one hand, it offered essential reconnaissance and intel that could not be obtained without the use of spies. On the other hand, after the Soviets found out about the capabilities of these planes, they were able to shoot one down and eventually develop more of these hostilities towards the US. On an unrelated note, these planes do not look outdated at all, which is interesting considering that they were made in the 50's.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident