Brief introduction of U.S U2 reconnaissance plane

U-2 was the most advanced reconnaissance plane in the world at that time.

U-2 was developed by Lockheed Martin Company and made its first flight 1955. The US Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency were used to spy on strategic targets behind enemy lines, and they can still be used as tactical reconnaissance planes today. For decades, he traveled all over the world, scouted the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea, China, Viet Nam and other countries, but 15 planes were also shot down in enemy airspace.

I. Summary of performance

U-2, developed by Lockheed Martin of the United States, is nicknamed "Miss Black" and belongs to a high-altitude spy reconnaissance plane. First flight time1August 4, 955, a total of 55 aircraft were produced. They were used by the US Air Force and CIA to detect strategic targets behind enemy lines, which was one of the important sources of information in the United States during the Cold War. It has traveled around the world for decades, scouted the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea, China, Viet Nam and other countries, but more than a dozen planes were shot down in enemy airspace. This kind of plane flies at an altitude of 25,000 meters and is equipped with a special reconnaissance camera. It was originally used to detect the ballistic missile configuration of the Eastern bloc such as the Soviet Union. The prototype of the plane is F- 104. In order to make it have extraordinary height, it has huge wings. However, due to the technological progress of fighter planes and surface-to-air missiles, high-altitude reconnaissance is very dangerous. In May, 1960 and 1 U2 were shot down over Sverdlov, the Soviet Union for the first time, which caused the US Air Force to stop using the Soviet Union at 1970. At this time, due to the progress of electronic/optical sensors, reconnaissance satellites can collect information directly from the orbit of geostationary satellites, and the role of reconnaissance satellites has weakened in essence. Single-engine turbojet high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft developed by Lockheed. Mainly used to perform strategic or tactical photography and electronic reconnaissance tasks. 1956 began to equip the us air force. Captain15.1/m, aircraft height 3.96m, takeoff weight 7384kg, maximum flight speed 804km/h, maximum ceiling 2. 134m, and range 4 180km. Airborne equipment includes: 8 fully automatic photographic reconnaissance cameras.

Second, improve the model.

The improved ER-2 of U-2 was used as a NASA research machine for atmospheric measurement.

Three. engineering data

Size data:

Captain 15. 1 1 m

The height of the machine is 3.86 meters.

The wingspan is 24.38 meters

The wing covers an area of 57.30 square meters.

Weight data: empty weight is 5930 kg, maximum takeoff weight 13 154 kg, and maximum oil load is 4350 kg.

Performance data:

The maximum horizontal flight speed is 930 km/h.

The maximum cruising speed is 775 km/h.

Climbing rate 50 m/s

The service limit is 24384 meters.

The battery life is about 8 hours.

The maximum range is 4700 kilometers.

U-2R basic data

Total length19.20m.

The total height is 4.88 meters.

Full width 31.39m.

The fuselage weighs 7.03 tons.

The maximum speed is 692km/h (height 2 1300m).

The maximum cruising altitude is 27430m.

The maximum range is 4830 kilometers.

Fourth, the performance characteristics

U-2 flies at an altitude of 20,000 meters, and the pilot must wear a spacesuit. The U-2 (reconnaissance plane) is characterized by its normal aerodynamic layout, medium-sized monoplane with high aspect ratio, and J57 (thrust 48.9 kN) or J75-P-B engine as its power unit. When flying, the altitude is more than 25,000m in the stratosphere, which is more than twice that of ordinary aircraft. In order to prevent the reflected sunlight from being painted black, and to enlarge the wing to make it have the characteristics of a glider, there are auxiliary circular sliders at both ends of the wing when taking off. When landing, the wing end touches the ground first as a touchdown, and then assists the sliding movement. With a top speed of 82 1 km, it is considered to be the most difficult military aircraft to operate. In order to reduce the weight of the fuselage, the fuselage is all-metal thin skin structure, and the fuselage is very slender, which also leads to the obvious shortcomings of U-2. 1969, when the Soviet red army attacked with a surface-to-air missile, the missile exploded near the fuselage, and the air billow produced by the explosion caused the plane to crash, and the fuselage was seriously damaged before the crash. The pilot wore a special pressurized suit. It is reported that the pressure suit is for astronauts and has a life support device.

Verb (abbreviation for verb) was shot down by the Soviet Union.

U-2 began reconnaissance of the Soviet Union in June 1956. MIG-19P fighters of Soviet air defense forces met them many times. However, there are no fighters that can pose a threat to U-2. On May 1960, the U-2 reconnaissance plane belonging to the CIA encountered the Soviet S-75 surface-to-air missile while conducting reconnaissance in Soviet airspace, and U-2 was shot down. The pilot Gary Bowles escaped, was publicly tried by the Soviet Union and charged with espionage. The United States exchanged KGB agent Zo rudolf abel.

Sixth, the reconnaissance plane prompts

1April, 954, 165438+241October, issued a feasibility report on the development of a new high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, which was approved and developed. 1On August 4th, 955, the prototype made its first flight at 00 1, breaking the world record of 22,707 meters held by the British. On may 1956, the first batch of four U-2 reconnaissance planes began to serve, and on July 2 1956, the reconnaissance mission began. 1956 flew over Soviet airspace on July 4th (American Independence Day) and conducted reconnaissance in Moscow on July 5th. 1 960 may1was shot down by the Soviet union for the first time, and the U-2 plane was made public. 1958 began to spy on China, and shot down the first plane 1962 on September 9th. According to the data, China lost five planes. U-2 reconnaissance plane flew to Cuba in June 1962 65438+ 10/4, and discovered the construction of the Soviet missile launching base. The Cuban missile crisis ended with the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union 13 days and the destruction of a U-2, which can be regarded as black humor. The improved U-2R of U-2 reconnaissance plane is a newly developed TR- 1 reconnaissance plane. U-2R aircraft participated in the Gulf War of 199 1 and was used as a tactical reconnaissance plane. In April 2002, U-2 was further improved and began to be unmanned. On June 22, 2005, a U-2 reconnaissance plane of the US Air Force crashed in the United Arab Emirates on the way back to its base in that country, killing its pilot. In August, 2005, the key modification test of the US Navy Communication Data Link System (CDLS) was completed to enhance the battlefield data transmission capability. In June 2006, the improved U-2S "Dragon Girl" high-altitude reconnaissance plane flew to Wushan Air Force Base in South Korea. In March, 2007, there were signs that at least three U-2 planes found oil leakage, and the US Air Force grounded U-2 reconnaissance planes around the world for collective maintenance. U-2 has served in the US Air Force for more than 50 years, and it is considered an honor to fly this kind of aircraft. However, pilots of the US Air Force believe that this is the most difficult landing type of all aircraft in the US Army. Since 1955, the total number of U-2 pilots has not exceeded 850.

Seven, reconnaissance plane analysis

Born in the early 1950s, the confrontation between the East and the West began quietly. Because the traditional means of intelligence gathering can not meet the requirements, the key development plans of the Soviet Union, such as long-range bombers, ballistic missiles, submarines and nuclear weapons, have completely disappeared from the vision of the western world. The United States urgently needs information on the key national defense construction of the Soviet Union, so the US military is ready to start developing a new type of high-altitude reconnaissance plane. At this moment, Richard Lyman appeared. As a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was employed by Kodak Company in World War II, and was responsible for the management and maintenance of photographic equipment of reconnaissance troops of the US Air Force in Europe. After the war, Lehen returned to the United States to study photographic reconnaissance technology. 1946 and 1948, he submitted two reports to the us military, arguing that the United States needs to develop a high-altitude reconnaissance plane with a high-resolution camera. In his view, altitude is the key to the success of cross-border aerial reconnaissance. At that time, the best fighter "MIG-17" in the Soviet Union could only reach the height of 13000m at most. If the designed new reconnaissance plane can fly at an altitude of 20,000 m, "MIG-17" can't do anything about it, let alone the ground air defense artillery. At first, Lehen's suggestion was ignored, but the Korean War that broke out later made the US military think of using Lehen's "new high-altitude reconnaissance plane" to monitor the deployment of Soviet troops in the Far East. The reconnaissance plane originally used by the US military was Boeing's RB-47, but with the gradual strengthening of Soviet air defense forces, the RB-47 reconnaissance plane has lost its advantage in entering Soviet airspace to carry out reconnaissance missions. In this difficult problem, the US military has to consider developing an aircraft with higher flying altitude to perform this dangerous task of "walking a tightrope at high altitude". 1In April, 954, the famous "Skunk Factory" of Lockheed Advanced R&D Center in California submitted a development report of a new type of high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft to the US Department of Defense, and strongly recommended the CL-282 project proposed by its chief engineer kelly johnson. It is the predecessor of the U-2 reconnaissance plane. Johnson took the jet glider as the prototype, based on the fuselage and tail of XF- 104 prototype, and added wings with a wingspan of 2 1.54m and an aspect ratio of 10 as the main fuselage structure of the new high-altitude reconnaissance plane. Its flying height can reach 22,250 meters, which is enough to avoid the interception of various anti-aircraft guns, missiles and fighters of the Soviet Union at that time. The mission radius is 3200 kilometers and the payload is 270 kilograms. The engine is J73 engine just developed by General Motors. The CL-282 project attracted the attention of the CIA and the president's think tank. The task of the think tank is to make strategic suggestions to President Eisenhower at that time on how to take effective measures to deal with the Soviet nuclear surprise attack. After fully understanding the design concept and possible functions of the CL-282 project, the think tank strongly recommended this project to the President: to develop high-altitude reconnaissance forces as soon as possible and explore the development of Soviet nuclear weapons in order to seek strategic preemption. After lobbying by the president's think tank, President Eisenhower approved the project on June 24th, 195438+065438, and gave the initiative to the CIA, but the Air Force still provided great support for this secret plan-canceled their original order with Bell Company and officially named Lockheed's new plane U-2 reconnaissance plane (U stands for multi-purpose). The design of U-2 adopts all-metal cantilever intermediate wing and special airfoil of Lockheed. The fuselage is a slender all-metal semi-hard shell thin-gauge skin structure with a circular cross section, and there are hydraulic control resistance plates on both sides of the rear fuselage. The tail of cantilever all-metal structure is in normal layout, and the installation angle of flat tail can be changed around the front edge by hydraulic control. Due to the slender fuselage, a unique double main wheel bicycle landing gear is adopted, and both the main wheel and the tail wheel are brought forward into the fuselage. The detachable nose, the cabin behind the cockpit and the equipment cabin under the wing are equipped with communication, navigation and landing instruments. With only one jet engine installed, the U-2 reconnaissance plane climbs more slowly than a civilian airliner and needs more patience when driving. In addition, U-2 is equipped with a high-resolution photographic combination system, which can take clear images of the ground scenery with an altitude of 200 kilometers and a length of 4,300 kilometers at15,000 meters within 4 hours, and print 4,000 photos for information analysis; Synthetic aperture radar can be installed to penetrate obstacles and detect shallow underground facilities; Panoramic photography, multispectral analyzer and electronic reconnaissance equipment that can receive radar signals and communication signals can also be installed. Although the U-2 reconnaissance plane is not equipped with any weapon system, it can spread jamming metal foil to interfere with the missile and protect itself when the missile is attacked. Because the flying height of the U-2 reconnaissance plane is breathtaking, it is also nicknamed "angel" by Lockheed engineers. In the overall design process, kelly johnson encountered a difficult problem, that is, how to find a suitable balance between the fuel tank capacity and the engine block weight. In order to be able to carry out long-distance flight missions, U-2 had to carry a large amount of aviation fuel, but the increased weight prevented it from flying to the required safe altitude. Therefore, Johnson had to reduce the weight of the U-2 prototype on a large scale, and removed some temporarily unused equipment in the design, simplifying the functions of some equipment. If the pilot seat installed on the U-2 reconnaissance plane is not equipped with a height adjustment device at first, if a short pilot flies a plane, he must pad a wool felt on the seat to increase the height. The aviation fuel used by the U-2 reconnaissance plane must also be redeveloped. Ordinary jet fuel can't be used normally at an altitude of 20,000 meters. The new fuel is a special diesel fuel with low volatility and evaporation pressure. Because it is flying at high altitude for a long time, the development of pressure suit is also very important. Early MC-2 and MC-3 local compression suits were uncomfortable for pilots, especially at wrists and ankles, where local compression suits were stitched. After the pilot put on the pressure suit, eating and drinking water also became a big problem. The first generation of compression suits did not take into account the convenience of pilots. Later, the catheter was inserted to urinate, and then the external water bag was used to urinate, which made the pilot a little more comfortable. In order to reduce consumption, pilots often eat a small amount of food rich in high protein the day before the flight to avoid being in a hurry when performing the mission. In addition, in any case, the pilot can only get oxygen from the helmet. The achievements of U-2 project in compression suit will be a good reference for the later manned space program in the United States. The security and confidentiality of the U-2 project are the strictest since the "Manhattan" atomic bomb program 10 years ago. The contractor gave the contract to the "front desk" company to keep the protagonist of Lockheed as confidential as possible. After selection, a dry lake in the desert of Nevada was selected as the test site of the plane and named "Big Farm". 1On July 24th, 955, the U-2 prototype 00 1 was secretly transported from burbank to the "farm" test base by a C- 124 transport plane. On August 4th, Tony Levell flew for the first time, breaking the world record of 22,707 meters held by the British. Although the test flight of U-2 was smooth, there were still problems when landing. The more serious problem occurred on September 22nd, when U-2 was flying at an altitude of 19500m, the engine of J57 failed for the first time in the air. After the restart, the engine resumed its work and flew for another 20 kilometers. But when the plane descended to 18000m, the engine stopped again. This time, the engine didn't return to normal until it dropped to 1 10,000 meters. You know, it is not easy to design and manufacture a power plant that can run safely for eight or nine hours at high altitude. Before replacing the new engine, similar faults occurred many times at the altitude of 17000 ~ 20000 meters, and the U-2 test pilot dubbed this distance as "barren land". Because the task of flying over Soviet airspace is extremely dangerous, the CIA initially wanted to hire some mercenary foreign pilots to carry out these tasks. In this way, even if it is shot down over the enemy, the United States can completely push the responsibility. However, foreign pilots who meet the requirements cannot be found, and the CIA may not necessarily look for pilots in the US Air Force. The selected person signed a two-year service contract with the CIA, retired from the army and joined the U-2 reconnaissance plane project. For the sake of confidentiality, these people are employees of Lockheed. The maintenance of all aircraft, intelligence sensors and life support systems is completed by non-military technical representatives, and the selection of high-altitude reconnaissance targets and mission plans are issued by the Washington Project Command under the control of the Central Intelligence Agency. At the beginning of May, Chu Hang 1956, the first batch of four U-2 reconnaissance planes began to serve and were airlifted to Britain by C- 124 transport plane. In order to hide people's eyes and ears, the United States claims that U-2 is a meteorological research machine specially serving NASA and belongs to the First Meteorological Reconnaissance Brigade. On June 1 1, U-2 troops set out for Wiesbaden, west of Frankfurt, Germany, which is adjacent to the Rhine River, in order to alleviate the pressure brought to Britain by speculation about U-2 and start reconnaissance of Warsaw Pact countries as soon as possible. Shortly after the arrival of U 2, it was replaced with a more powerful J57-P-37A engine, which completely solved the problem of flameout in the air. Before President Eisenhower finally decided to conduct high-altitude reconnaissance on the Soviet Union, U-2 first conducted exploratory reconnaissance on the eastern European countries around the Soviet Union. Although the exploratory reconnaissance flight was successful, it was still found by ground air defense radar, but no official protest was received. After the news of the successful first flight of the U-2 reconnaissance plane reached the White House, the president still failed to approve the reconnaissance plan to fly over the Soviet Union. In the process of waiting, U-2 is not idle. 1On July 2, 956, two U-2 planes conducted reconnaissance in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, East Germany, Poland and Romania, and the photos were very clear. There are indications that the Japanese-inch aircraft for cross-border high-altitude reconnaissance of the Soviet Union has matured. When the weather over the Soviet Union began to clear up, President Eisenhower finally approved the high-altitude reconnaissance mission to the Soviet Union, hoping that the reconnaissance flight would cover the important targets of the Soviet Union to the maximum extent, especially the bomber base. President Eisenhower was very sensitive to Soviet protests, so he set the action period of U-2 as 10 days. In fact, at this time, the president's mood is very complicated, both excited about collecting high-quality information and worried about the possible consequences. 1On July 4th, 956, American Independence Day, U-2 began to fly over Soviet airspace. It first took off from Wiesbaden, then flew to Poznan, Poland, then flew to Belarus, then turned north to Leningrad, and finally flew over the Baltic Republic of the Soviet Union and returned. The successful flight lasted for 8 hours and 45 minutes, covering the highly confidential Minsk and Leningrad of the Soviet Union, where there were sensitive targets such as Soviet long-range bomber bases, naval shipyards and military training grounds. The next day, U-2 conducted another successful eight-hour reconnaissance in Moscow and other places. This was the only reconnaissance mission of the U-2 reconnaissance plane to Moscow, and pilot Vito became the only American pilot to fly the U-2 reconnaissance plane over Moscow. Although the clouds were thick at that time, the A-2 camera installed on the U-2 reconnaissance plane took many high-altitude photos of the Soviet capital. Through photos, the CIA found important military targets, such as the aircraft factory near Moscow that made Mia-4 heavy jet bombers, the rocket engine factory in Kahamko and the missile factory in Kaliningrad. Although both operations were successful, they were accurately captured by Soviet air defense radar, and MiG planes all appeared below U-2, only because the flying altitude was too low, which did not pose any threat to U-2 reconnaissance plane. According to analysis, the Soviet Union's radar detection ability in Moscow and Leningrad, two key cities, is the weakest, probably because confident Soviets think that no enemy planes can fly over these cities. Since then, U-2 has scouted Ukraine and other places, flying to Crimea as far as possible before returning. According to the information sent back by U-2, Americans were surprised to find that the number of Soviet long-range bombers was actually very limited, and the previous figures were exaggerated. In the previous Red Square military parade, the Soviet Union had only a dozen long-range bombers passing over Red Square many times, which made the United States mistakenly think that the number of Soviet long-range bombers had far exceeded that of the United States, with at least 100 Mia -4 heavy jet bombers. However, the photos brought back by U-2 confirmed that these judgments were completely wrong, which greatly eased America's fear of the Soviet "war machine". On July 10, the Soviet Union submitted a diplomatic note to the US Embassy in Moscow, and attached a detailed U-2 reconnaissance plane invasion road map. In the note, the Soviet Union expressed strong dissatisfaction with the spying activities of American planes flying over its airspace, believing that it was a twin-engine medium bomber of the US Air Force who illegally entered its airspace. These judgments of the Soviet army were made by asking MIG pilots who performed interception missions. Because these MIG planes are inaccessible, it is impossible to accurately describe the U-2 reconnaissance plane. On July 19, the Americans replied that the Soviets did not fly over the Soviet Union by American military aircraft, and the accusation of the Soviet Union was deliberately fabricated. Subsequently, Poland and Czechoslovakia also strongly protested that the United States violated their airspace, but the United States ignored their protests. Eisenhower was initially told that the Soviet air defense radar could not detect the plane flying at an altitude of 20,000 meters, but after receiving the Soviet note and the U-2 reconnaissance plane invasion road map, he began to doubt whether the future reconnaissance mission was necessary and safe. The president's confidence was greatly damaged. He was afraid that once such espionage activities were known by Americans, it would be difficult for him to explain. "Being discovered by the Soviet Union is one thing, but losing prestige in front of China is another," the president said. As a result, the U-2 reconnaissance plane's cross-border high-altitude reconnaissance mission to Warsaw Pact countries was temporarily suspended. Although the U-2 reconnaissance plane was temporarily grounded in Europe, it began to play a huge role in Egypt. 1On July 26th, 956, Egyptian President Nasser decided to nationalize Suez Canal Company in retaliation for France and Britain withdrawing their investment in Aswan Dam project in Egypt, forcing western investors to withdraw from the company. Suez Canal is a long and narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, with a total length of more than 100 miles, and its strategic position is very important. In fact, long before the Suez crisis broke out, the CIA planned to deploy a U-2 reconnaissance plane in the southern Turkish city of adana. However, because the aircraft and personnel are still in training, this deployment plan has been delayed until the beginning of September 1956. Driven by the Suez crisis, two U-2 reconnaissance planes left Wiesbaden, Germany, for the Mediterranean region on August 29th. Because the target was too far away, they made a short stop in adana to refuel. The next day, U-2 found that British combat troops had been assembled in Malta and Cyprus. Obviously, war was imminent. Of course, the United States does not want to see that the use of force by two European countries against Egypt will make the Middle East feel disgusted with the western world, thus giving the Soviet Union a chance to infiltrate. In order to put pressure on Britain, the President decided to send some photos of the eastern Mediterranean (including the Suez Canal) taken by the U-2 reconnaissance plane to the British government on August 30, hoping that Britain would take the Suez Canal issue seriously. At the same time, it also sends a signal to Britain that the United States does not want to see a conflict in the Suez Canal area. 1956,101On the afternoon of October 29th, Israeli paratroopers attacked Sinai Peninsula, then mechanized troops went deep into Egypt, and the "Ten-Day War" officially broke out. Just three days before the war broke out, according to the photos sent back by the U-2 reconnaissance plane, Americans already knew that Israel might attack Egypt immediately. On June 365438+1October 3 1 Day and night, British and French troops intervened in the conflict and bombed the main military airport in Egypt. ; Shortly after the outbreak of Sino-Turkistan, US President Eisenhower called for a ceasefire between the two sides, and at this time the Soviet Union also threatened to send troops to protect Egypt. Eisenhower immediately asked U-2 to spy on Syria to see if Soviet troops had entered Syria. The intelligence brought back by U-2 shows that no Soviet planes and troops have been found in Syria. Due to the President's special concern, U-2 carried out 1 14 reconnaissance missions to Syria from1October 7 to February 12. 1956165438+17 October, Britain and France decided to cease fire and began to withdraw their troops from Egypt at the end of the month. In this incident, the U.S. government has always taken the initiative, thanks to the quick and timely information provided by U-2. At the beginning of 1957, President Eisenhower still refused to allow U-2 to enter sensitive areas of the Soviet Union, but the reconnaissance of Soviet border areas often inadvertently turned into cross-border reconnaissance. 1957 On March 18, a U-2 that collected and deployed ground radar in the southern border area of the Soviet Union entered the Soviet airspace due to the failure of its flight compass. Because of the thick clouds, the pilot didn't realize that he had entered Soviet airspace-until he saw a Soviet fighter trying to intercept him under the plane. At a meeting on May 6th, 1957, President Eisenhower's attitude finally began to loosen. U-2 reconnaissance plane can scout the border areas of the Soviet Union, such as kamchatka peninsula, Lake Baikal and Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in the northeast of the Soviet Union. 1957 On July 8th, a U-2 plane took off from elson Air Force Base in Alaska and went to the Far East of the Soviet Union for reconnaissance. This is the first time that U-2 has taken off from the United States to carry out reconnaissance missions in the Soviet Union. 1On June 9, 959, U-2 flew over the Urals region of the Soviet Union and conducted reconnaissance on the Soviet missile test base. The reconnaissance results show that the Soviet Union is expanding their missile launch base. In the second half of this year, the U-2 reconnaissance plane flew over the Soviet area many times. However, the action is becoming more and more difficult, and the early warning time of U-2 reconnaissance action by Soviet air defense system is getting shorter and shorter, and the tracking time is getting longer and longer. The secret reconnaissance operation continued until 1 May, 9601day. A U-2 reconnaissance plane taking off from the airport near Peshawar, Pakistan was shot down by SA-2 anti-aircraft missiles of Soviet air defense forces in Sverdlovsk, and the pilot Gary Bowles was captured. There is another story about this matter. Since the U-2 reconnaissance plane is the top secret of the US military, if the plane is shot down over the Soviet Union, the consequences will be unimaginable. Therefore, the US military installed a self-destruction system behind the ejection seat on the U-2 reconnaissance plane. When the pilot ejects, it will start the self-destruction system to blow up the plane in 70 seconds. However, Bowles did not dare to take the risk after being shot in U-2. He didn't know whether to eject or self-destruct, so he ejected first to save his life. He didn't turn on the self-destruction system at all, so that the Soviets found a relatively complete U-2 wreck on the ground. In fact, it is quite foolish to choose May 1 International Labor Day to spy on the Soviet Union. Although there may not be many air defense personnel on duty, there are also few Soviet aircraft performing tasks in the air. Soviet radar can easily find and track the U-2 reconnaissance plane in the "silent sky". How Bowles was shot down is still controversial. There is a saying that Soviet intelligence agencies have long discovered that Peshawar is one of the main bases of U-2 aircraft through various channels. They quietly sent an agent named Peter into Peshawar Air Force Base to do odd jobs. After some careful planning, Peter "accidentally" met Robert, an American mechanic. He played to his liking and soon became Robert's close friend by playing cards. From Robert, Peter learned the top secret information that U-2 will take off at 0: 00 on May 1 and enter the Soviet Union to carry out its mission. According to the Soviet Intelligence Agency, after informing the Soviet spy agency, Peter sneaked into the airport apron overnight and inserted a magnetic steel wire into the U-2 altimeter unnoticed. The altimeter on the plane is an instrument to measure the altitude according to the air pressure outside the cabin. Due to the interference of magnetic steel wire, although the pointer of altimeter is 20000m, the actual height may be lower than15000m. The U-2 was shot down over the Soviet Union and Bowles was captured, which put the unprepared United States in an extremely embarrassing situation. At first, there was no movement in the Soviet Union. The United States does not know whether Bowles is alive or dead, and thinks that even if the pilot is ejected from the plane at an altitude of 20 thousand meters, it is difficult to survive; Moreover, the U-2 plane has a self-destruct device, and any handle will not fall into the hands of the Soviet Union. Therefore, it is strongly denied that only NASA claims that it is only an aircraft collecting meteorological data. But the Soviets quickly found and pieced together pieces of the U-2 plane and publicly tried the captured American pilots. Eisenhower had to stand up and admit that he personally approved these espionage activities against the Soviet Union. After Bowles was captured, the U-2 reconnaissance plane became the focus of the world overnight. Probably no plane crash in the history of the world has caused such a huge chain reaction. The direct result of the Bowles incident was that the summit meeting between the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain and France scheduled for mid-May was aborted, and Eisenhower's visit to the Soviet Union was cancelled. The cold war between the East and the West resumed, and the Cuban missile crisis followed, and mankind almost came to the brink of nuclear war. After the Bowles incident, the United States completely stopped the U-2 reconnaissance plane flying over the Soviet Union, and the figure of U-2 began to appear frequently in Latin America and the Far East of Asia. 1961April, the U-2 reconnaissance plane conducted reconnaissance on Cuba several times to prepare for the upcoming action to overthrow the Castro regime. After the failure of the "Bay of Pigs invasion", U-2 will conduct reconnaissance on Cuba once a month. By the spring of 1962, the CIA had received reports of increased Soviet activities in Cuba, and U-2' s reconnaissance of Cuba had increased to at least twice a month. Reconnaissance intelligence shows that Cuba has acquired more and more Sam air defense missiles, and reconnaissance against Cuba is becoming more and more dangerous. 196210 June 14, Major Richard Heisel discovered that the Soviet Union had begun to deploy a U-2 medium-range ballistic missile in Cuba, which opened the prelude to the "Cuban missile crisis" that was triggered at any time since World War II. Faced with the missile photos provided by the U-2 reconnaissance plane and the strong military pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union finally withdrew its ballistic missiles from Cuba. In a sense, the U-2 reconnaissance plane has become the "savior" to save the world. According to the Americans themselves, if the Soviet Union successfully deploys ballistic missiles in the "backyard" of the United States, the next solution to the problem is probably war. After all this, the U-2 reconnaissance plane became a household name, and an Irish band took U-2 as the name of their band, which has been popular until today.