How the U-2 Spy Plane Affected the Cold War Research Paper

A Spy in the Sky: How the U-2 Affected the Cold War

            Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, a race on the international level takes place. Two world superpowers go all out against each other to claim victory. Cold War tensions skyrocketed between the U. S. and Soviet Union during this time frame and the driving force behind this struggle was to see who could develop the best technology. Basically anything was fair game and even if it was considered unfair by either side, it was most definitely done by both sides. Although it was illegal, a major factor that determined the U. S.’s success was the creation of a plane that could spy on the Soviets. Without the involvement of the U-2 during the Cold War, it is certain that important historical events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, as well as the Bomber Gap would have had different outcomes, which most likely would not have been as successful from the U. S.’s standpoint. Where would the U. S. be today if the nuclear missile bases in Cuba were never spotted?
            The U-2 was the most advanced reconnaissance aircraft of its time, mainly because nothing similar to it existed. Mounted on its underside, was a massive camera system that was a technological breakthrough itself (Taubman 177). The resolution of the camera is six times greater than that of the human eye (Holloway 2). Lockheed had even incorporated a unique method that allowed the U-2 to create its own fuel:

            ...its kerosene fuel mixture was “cold-soaked” in the wing tanks, and when the fuel heated and expanded as it passed through the fuel-oil exchanger, it actually produced 20 to 30 more gallons of useable fuel (Pocock 1). 

Even though the U-2s were jam-packed with new sophisticated technology, Lockheed had managed to exclude fuel gauges from the cockpit, so pilots were relieved to have this useful fuel-generating technique. A massive 80 ft. wing span, which was nearly twice as long as the plane itself, gave the U-2 the ability to glide long distances while the engines were idling, preserving fuel (“Bomber” 1). Adding to all of these impressive characteristics, the U-2 operated at around 70,000 ft., 20,000 ft. higher than what any Soviet fighter jet or missile could reach (Roberson 1). This made the plane nearly invincible, giving the U. S. a much needed advantage over the Soviets.
            With the creation of the ultra-secret Project Aquatone, the CIA was confident they had a solution to most of Eisenhower’s worries (Holloway 2). The pressing issue at hand was that the U. S. lacked intelligence of Soviet activities, so the untouchable U-2 spy plane seemed ideal. Several different names for the plane were proposed during the development, but U-2 or “Utility-2" became its official name (Larson 1). Project supervisors also referred to the plane as the “Idealist,” while Lockheed, the plane’s creators, referred to it as the “Angel” (Holloway 1). Eisenhower had confidence in the project; however, he still had a few doubts and decided to pass Project Genetrix before Aquatone on December 27, 1955. The other project sent out 516 air balloons equipped with cameras into the jet stream over Europe, hoping that they would be carried over Eastern Europe (Taubman 179). Once the CIA could gain Eisenhower’s approval, the team could move on from test flights to actual missions, but gaining his trust was the most challenging part of the project.
            An immovable wall was preventing the Aquatone team from gaining more progress, for they had to win Eisenhower’s approval of the project. This proved to be more difficult than it needed to be when Eisenhower had an intestinal attack on June 7, 1954, causing him to postpone his review of the plans (Taubman 180). Richard Bissell, one of the top supervisors of the project, impatiently authorized a flight over East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland on June 20 without Eisenhower’s consent (Taubman 181). Upon the presidents recovery, he finally reviewed the plan and was presented with very strong evidence of the U-2s capabilities. He was shown photographs of some American cities which contained extremely great detail, even from altitudes exceeding 70,000 ft. Eisenhower said, “On these we could easily count the automobiles on the streets and even the lines marking the parking areas for individual cars... There was no doubt about the quality of the information to be obtained.” Eisenhower was impressed with the photographs, especially when he was shown pictures of his Gettysburg farm and some from the unauthorized flight from June 20 (Taubman 177). The CIA assured him that the project was safe and Eisenhower gave them the green light, so the team prepared for flights over the Soviet Union.
            With the new high-tech U-2 spy plane in use, the United States government could easily retrieve information from any part of Europe quickly. The cameras on the U-2 captured countless numbers of photographs taken from above the Soviet Union, which would later be analyzed. In 1958, the CIA created PIC (Photographic Intelligence Center), which was assigned to analyze the photographs and determine if there were any object of interest or anything that imposed a threat to the United States. By 1961, PIC was replaced by the NPIC (National Photographic Intelligence Center) and was made up of around 1200 analysts and recorders (Larson 2). The U-2 demonstrated it usefulness when over 600 S-75 missile-launch sites were discovered in the Soviet Union between the years 1958-1964 (“S-75" 1). This was crucial information for the U. S. and only the U-2 was capable of providing this information that Eisenhower was desperately craving.
            On August 28, 1962, the U-2 discovered perhaps one of its most important findings during a flight: Soviet nuclear missile bases positioned in Cuba. This discovery was a preliminary event of what was to become the Cuban Missile Crisis, also referred to as the “sixteen days in October.” The U. S. had previously known that the Soviet Union was providing assistance to Cuba based on previously obtained evidence, and they knew it was most likely military-related assistance. However, the U. S. did not expect the Soviets to assemble nuclear missile bases in Cuba since it was such a bold move. Mass hysteria began to develop among the American people after President Kennedy publically announced that Soviet nuclear missile bases were in Cuba because people feared a nuclear attack. Tensions between the U. S. and Soviets were steadily rising and without the U-2, the U. S. may not have found out about the nuclear missiles until a threat was posed. Because Cuba was an ally of the Soviet Union, the U. S. could not have simply invaded Cuba to search for nuclear missiles, so the spy plane was the only option for gathering information. As a result of the secretly found information, the Kennedy-Krushchev “agreement” was formed on October 28, 1962 without anything catastrophic occurring (“Cuban” 1).
            Another display of the U-2s usefulness was during a time called the “Bomber Gap.” In July of 1957, a suspicion that the Soviets were mass producing intercontinental bombers arose, and the U. S. government became worried because it meant that the Soviets could transport nuclear weapons to the U. S. Two different bombers were supposedly being produced: the Bear and Bison Bombers, but both were capable of intercontinental flight. The Soviets had even flown them nearby major cities along the east coast just to showcase their bombers and put fear into the American people (“Bomber” 1). President Eisenhower needed information about the status of the intercontinental bombers production immediately. His best and basically only option was to employ the U-2 spy plane, so flights were conducted over the Soviet Union in hopes to detect the facilities producing the bombers. Many photographs were taken over a several months span and eventually Dino Brugioni, a CIA photo analyst, reported to Eisenhower, “...we could positively produce facts that the bomber gap didn’t exist” (“Bomber” 2). Although the Soviets had been bluffing the entire time, because we had the U-2, we did not have to directly confront the Soviets which saved a lot of trouble and prevented Cold War tensions from increasing even more.
            The most famous and well-known story of the U-2 spy plane is the one of the pilot Francis Gary Powers being shot over the Soviet Union. During a routine flight over Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, an S-A-M (Surface-to-air missile) exploded near the rear of Powers plane, causing him to fall to around 34,000 ft. before ejecting (Pocock 2). Powers drifted to the ground, surviving the crash, and surprisingly his plane remained intact to a degree that it could be identified, even though the CIA had assured Eisenhower that “...it was almost certain that the plane would disintegrate and that we could take it as a certainty that no pilot would survive...” (Taubman 178).
            Upon landing on the ground, Powers was instantly swarmed by curious citizens and then taken prisoner by the Soviets. The CIA fitted all of their U-2 pilots with suicide pills, labeled “L-Pills,” incase they would need them in an emergency, but Powers decided not to use his (Taubman 178). Several items were recovered from the plane wreckage, such as “...flight maps, a Department of Defense/Department of the Air Force ID card, Russian rubles, gold francs, a hunting knife, a silenced .22 pistol, and a seemingly innocuous pin found in the prisoner’s pocket” (Holloway 1). After recovering all of this evidence, the Soviets did not believe the CIA’s explanation that the plane was just a weather plane that had diverted from its flight plan; therefore, Eisenhower was forced to reveal the truth but he refused to apologize because the Soviets knew of the secret flights for years (Foner 1). Francis Gary Powers was traded for the Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel, in 1962 and the role of the U-2 in the Cold War would be forever changed after the Gary Powers incident (Yanak 1).
            The fact that the Soviets had acquired the SA-2, a transportable surface-to-air missile, ultimately led to the demise of the U-2 (Grant 288). The SA-2 was capable of reaching altitudes equivalent to what the U-2 operated at, so the government considered the flights to no longer be safe (Larson 4). Even flights over territories of Soviet Union allies were unsafe because the Soviets sold SA-2s to them and the missiles could be used against us (“S-75" 1). The CIA now had the motivation to build better faster planes such as the Blackbird.
            Even though the U-2 spy plane was forced to be decommissioned from the governments use during its prime, a legacy has been established. If it weren’t for the U-2, events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and Bomber Gap would have never been solved as effectively or safely; furthermore, all of the United States’ questions of the Soviets’ secret activities would not have been answered. The U-2 was the very first of its kind and no other plane during that time could match its capabilities. The “cloak and dagger” portion of the spectrum of aeronautics was redefined by the U-2 and it set a pathway for more advanced planes to come about, such as the SR-71 Blackbird (Elton 149). The U-2 was also a precursor of new inventions to come about during the space age. A machine similar to the high-altitude flying spy plane is the satellite in the sense that they are both used for reconnaissance purposes. The YAK and the M-17 were the Soviets’ attempts to create a plane of their own with similar cloak and dagger characteristics; however, they were unsuccessful in their replications (Pocock 1). Some U-2s are still in use by the USAF while many others are displays in museums such as the Smithsonian National Air and Space museum (Elton 149). Utility-2 was the American governments secret eye in the sky.