Month: August 2025

Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier would later say, “I had no intentions whatsoever of flying.” But during a high-speed taxi test, the aircraft’s unique aerodynamic design lifted it off the ground at approximately 70 knots.

Attempting to return to the surface, LeVier struggled to gauge his altitude over the featureless lakebed and landed hard in a slight left bank. The impact burst the tires and stopping the aircraft set the brakes on fire, but for all that, the aircraft sustained only minor damage.

The U-2 was developed in secrecy by Lockheed’s Skunk Works under the leadership of Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, following a Central Intelligence Agency directive to create a platform capable of conducting aerial reconnaissance at altitudes beyond the reach of Soviet defenses.

Just ten years after World War II and two years after the Korean War, geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were intensifying. The U-2’s mission was to gather photographic intelligence on Soviet military capabilities, particularly nuclear facilities and missile sites, at a time when reliable satellite reconnaissance did not yet exist.

After repairs were completed, LeVier successfully piloted the U-2 on its first scheduled flight on August 4, 1955. The aircraft quickly became a cornerstone of American intelligence efforts during the Cold War. Its altitude advantage over Soviet air defense range didn’t last long, though, and the U-2 grabbed global attention in 1960 when Francis Gary Powers was shot down over Soviet territory, triggering an international incident.

Despite this, the U-2 has remained in active service, continually updated to meet modern surveillance needs, and continues to fly today as one of the most enduring and unique aircraft in aviation history.