Lockheed U-2 facts for kids

For the band, see U2 (band).

A U-2

The U-2 (nicknamed the Dragon Lady) is an espionage fixed-wing aircraft made by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). It first flew in 1955 and was introduced in 1957. It flies a lot like a glider. It was made during the Cold War, because the United States needed a way to look at the Soviet military from high up. Taiwan also used it to spy on China.

The United States wanted to keep the purpose of the U-2 secret, but on May 1, 1960, Francis Gary Powers was shot down in his U-2 by a Soviet SAM SA-2 missile. In 1962, Powers was released and traded for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. After this, the SR-71 Blackbird started spying on the Soviet Union, which was faster and harder to see on radar.

The U-2 is still in service even though the design is over 50 years old.

U-2 details (U-2 model)

The U-2S is 62.99 feet (19.20 meters) long, 104.99 feet (32 meters wide), and is 15.75 feet (4.80 meters) tall. It weighs 14,991 pounds (6,800 kilograms) empty, but when full, it weighs 41,006 pounds (18,600 kilograms). It is powered by one General Electric F118-101 engine with 17,000 pounds (7711.2 kilograms) of thrust. It can go 475 miles per hour (764 kilometers per hour), fly 7,000 miles (11,265 kilometers) without refueling, and can fly upwards of 70,000 feet (21,336 meters), possibly as high as 84,974 feet (25,900 meters).

Related pages

• Cold War
• Espionage

Images for kids

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  Original U-2A at USAF Museum

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  Model "B" U-2 camera on display at the National Air and Space Museum

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  U-2 at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford

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  U-2 with range of possible payloads

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  U-2 testing aboard USS America (CV-66)

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  A pilot in a U-2 cockpit. Note the pressure suit worn by the pilot, similar to that used in the Lockheed SR-71.

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  U-2 "GRAND SLAM" flight plan on 1 May 1960, from CIA publication 'The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 And Oxcart Programs, 1954–1974', declassified 25 June 2013.

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  Kelly Johnson and Gary Powers in front of a U-2

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  External view from cockpit of U-2 near maximum service ceiling

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  One of NASA's ER-2s in flight over the California desert. A NASA ER-2 set the world altitude record for its weight class.

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  U-2S with the Senior Span/Spur communications suite at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, ca. 2017

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  Cockpit of a U-2S Block 20, at Osan Air Base, South Korea, circa June 2006

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  Official emblem of the Black Cat Squadron

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  U-2 pilot's view in the cockpit: The large circular monitor is vital for navigation, evading interceptors and surface-to-air missiles as early as possible.

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  A NASA ER-2 atmospheric research aircraft in flight

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  A Lockheed U-2F being refueled by a KC-135Q

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  ER-2 being chased by support vehicle on landing

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  U-2C 56-6691 wreckage restored and on display at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution, Beijing

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  Part of the wreckage of 56-6693 (Article 360) on display in Moscow

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  U-2 56-6680 on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC

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  U-2 56-6682 on display at the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia

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  U-2/ER-2 on display at the NASA/Moffett Field Museum, Calif.

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  A two-seat TU-2S

See also

In Spanish: Lockheed U-2 para niños