Documents / FOIA release
This is a CIA History Staff monograph by Gregory W. Pedlow and Donald E. Welzenbach, published in Washington in 1992 and approved for release in 2011. It covers the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program from 1954 to 1974, which developed and flew the U-2 and the A-12 OXCART. It traces the U-2's development, the overflights of the Soviet Union, the downing of Francis Gary Powers on 1 May 1960, and later operations. One section is titled U-2s, UFOs, and Operation BLUE BOOK.
“The Advance”26 pages
CO5653421 UNCLASSIFIED Secre N Chapter 2 47 In designing the U-2 aircraft, Kelly Johnson was confronted with two major problems—fuel capacity and weight. To achieve interconti- nental range, the aircraft had to carry a large supply of fuel, yet, it also had to be light enough to attain the ultrahigh altitudes needed to be safe from interception. Although the final product resembled a typ- ical jet aircraft, its construction was unlike any other US military air- craft. One unusual design feature was the tail assembly, which—to save weight—was attached to the main body with just three tension bolts. This feature had been adapted from sailplane designs. The wings were also unique. Unlike conventional aircraft, whose main wing spar passes through the fuselage to give the wings continu- ity and strength, the U-2 had two separate wing panels, which were attached to the fuselage sides with tension bolts (again, just as in sail- planes). Because the wing spar did not pass through the fuselage, Johnson was able to locate the camera behind the pilot and ahead of the engine, thereby improving the aircraft's center of gravity and re- ducing its weight. The wings were the most challenging design feature of the entire airplane. Their combination of high-aspect ratio and low-,drag ratio (in other words, the wings were long, narrow, and thin) made them unique in jet aircraft design. The wings were actually integral fuel tanks that carried almost all of the U-2's fuel supply. The fragility of the wings and tail section, which were only bolted to the fuselage, forced Kelly Johnson to look for a way to pro- tect the aircraft from gusts of wind at altitudes below 35,000 feet, which otherwise might cause the aircraft to disintegrate. Johnson again borrowed from sailplane designs to devise a "gust control" mechanism that set the ailerons and horizontal stabilizers into a posi- tion that kept the aircraft in a slightly nose-up attitude, thereby avoiding sudden stresses caused by wind gusts. Nevertheless, the U-2 remained a very fragile aircraft that required great skill and concen- tration from its pilots. The final major design feature was the lightweight, bicycle-type landing gear. The entire structure—a single oleostrut with two light- weight wheels toward the front of the aircraft and two small, solid-mount wheels under the tail—weighed only 208 pounds yet could withstand the force of touchdown for this 7-ton aircraft. Because both sets of wheels were located underneath the fuselage, the U-2 was also equipped with detachable pogos (long, curved sticks with two small wheels on them) on each wing to keep the wings level during takeoff. The pilot would drop the pogos immediately after takeoff so UNCLASSIFIED
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 406 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.