The pilots recalled that the night flights over Soviet territory were the most difficult. The usual feelings of emptiness and loneliness were replaced by attacks of icy horror: under the wing of the plane, a black abyss stretched for hundreds of miles around, with rare splashes of lights from farms and villages. Only sometimes, at the control points of the route, the lights of large cities flashed - and again, a thick bottomless darkness, above which the starry sky revolves.
Complete radio silence mode. A cramped space suit in which it is difficult to move and take a sip of water. Lack of clear navigational guidelines. And the alarming buzz of a warning buzzer about irradiation by enemy radars - throughout the entire route, Soviet radars continuously monitored the airspace violator; dozens of fighter regiments and anti-aircraft batteries eagerly looked at the U-2 floating at an unattainable height, waiting for the right moment when the scout would be in their zone of destruction. Alas…
Fear is unprofessional. All the pilot's attention should be focused on the dashboard - on the flight ceiling, the safe range between the stall speed and the speed of wing flutter (strong vibration that threatens to destroy the structure) was only 10 miles per hour. Periodically, to increase the range, it was necessary to turn off the engine and switch to gliding mode - in this case, exhausting physical exertion and fear of losing altitude appeared. To go below 16-17 kilometers meant certain death.
During daylight hours, the pilots more than once observed the cigar-shaped silhouettes of the MiGs - a verbal swarm of evil wasps, the planes of the Evil Empire were hovering somewhere below, periodically piercing the sky in a desperate dynamic jump … in vain, U-2 flies too high.
Mr. Powers grinned and turned on the navigation lights. Let the Russian Mongols rage in their impotent rage - their backward technologies are powerless in the face of the power of American aviation.
The unmarked black beauty is the Lockheed U-2 high-altitude scout, unofficially nicknamed Dragon Lady. The nickname has a very meaningful allegory: “At the highest altitude in the stratosphere, U-2 behaves as if you are waltzing with a beautiful lady. But save you from getting into the zone of turbulent flows - the lady will turn into an angry dragon. The description exactly matches the technical features of the aircraft design: the unique capabilities required special technical solutions.
Disproportionately large wingspan for a jet aircraft (on the first modification 24, later 31 meters - with a fuselage length of 15 meters), unusual elongation (degree of elongation) - if in modern jet aircraft it does not exceed 2-5 units, then in the U-2 reconnaissance this factor was 14. A real glider with a turbojet engine!
Extremely lightweight design: refusal to completely seal the cockpit (internal pressure is equivalent to a pressure of 10 thousand meters - hence the pilot's high-altitude spacesuit), the absence of the usual fuel tanks (kerosene was poured directly into the wing console), tandem landing gear: a pair of main struts - bow and tail retracted into the fuselage. During takeoff, two additional drop struts were used at the ends of the planes; when landing, the plane fell on its side and leaned on one of the wingtips, made in the form of titanium sleds.
The chassis design was a real torment for the ground personnel. During takeoff, the technicians had to run after the plane, until the U-2 took a stable vertical position, after which the bushings had to be pulled out - and the additional landing gear struts with a screeching noise on the runway concrete, looking goodbye after the plane being carried away into the distance.
The design of the cockpit brought no less problems (the "long-nosed" modifications of the U-2 suffered especially) - having pulled a deaf pressure helmet over his head, the pilot was deprived of the opportunity to observe the runway. As a result, the Dragon Lady's takeoff and landing operations turned into a real Hollywood blockbuster - a sports car was rushing behind the scout with dispatchers who were operatively controlling the position of the aircraft in space.
Al Dhafra Air Force Base, United Abar Emirates. Nowadays
Another feature: due to its huge wing and lack of power, the Dragon Lady was critically dependent on the weather. Spreading its huge black wings, the scout calmly floated in the stratosphere, but upon landing, even a weak gust of a side wind could lead to disaster.
The lightweight design was not very durable - the ultimate overload value for the U-2 was estimated at only 2.5 g.
It is noteworthy that the unique machine was created in the shortest possible time (the beginning of work - 1954, the first flight on August 1, 1955), without the use of any composites and other "high technologies". The shape of the fuselage was borrowed from the F-104 Stratfighter fighter. The Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet engine is the standard power plant for many types of aircraft (F-100 Super Saber fighter-bomber, B-52 bomber, etc.). The only difficulty arose with the fuel - to prevent its "boiling" at high altitudes, Shell developed a special fuel mixture with a high boiling point.
Spy equipment
Long-range high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft "Lockheed" U-2A, 1955 (data on modification of U-2S, 1994 are given in brackets)
Crew - 1 person
Maximum takeoff weight, kg - 7260 (18 600);
Engine: Pratt & Whitney J57 (General Electric F-118);
Thrust: 50 kN (86 kN);
Maximum speed ≈ 800 … 850 km / h;
Cruising speed: 740 km / h (690 km / h);
Service ceiling: 21,300 meters. According to the recollections of eyewitnesses, the plane could rise higher ≈ up to 25-26 thousand meters);
Flight duration: 6.5 hours (more than 10 hours). Aerial refueling equipment has been installed starting with version "F".
***
… Jumping convulsively in the cab of the truck, Gary Francis Powers scowled at the Ural landscape. He didn’t like the harsh nature of these places, he didn’t like the disgusting quality of the road surface, he didn’t like the truck and its driver. But I especially disliked the silver dollar medallion dangling on my chest. Especially for such cases - inside a needle with curare poison.
To hell! Resolved: his life is dearer than all the world's secrets.
Barely falling into the hands of the KGB, Powers tore off the ill-fated amulet from his neck and, throwing it on the table, declared: “There is a dangerous substance inside. I don’t want a Russian to die because of my negligence.” It was a good omen - the spy plane pilot was openly cooperating.
Go!
… On that day, everything went wrong from the very morning: the flight was delayed by 20 minutes - all navigational astronomical calculations lost their relevance, it was necessary to re-calculate the height of the Sun for each of the control points of the route. In addition, the route itself caused considerable concern - having taken off from an airbase in Pakistan, it was necessary to cross the entire European part of the USSR diagonally - from the southern borders in the mountains of Tajikistan to the Arctic latitudes of the Kola Peninsula. Further, it was necessary to go to the West and land at the Norwegian Bodø airbase.
This was Powers' 28th raid over Soviet territory - and Powers, as an experienced pilot, was well aware that the risk was increasing each time. The Soviets are offended by the boorish behavior of spy planes and are probably looking for a solution to the problem. Powers saw more and more "forbidden areas" appear on the map of the Evil Empire - places where, based on the results of processing U-2 photographs, the positions of stationary S-25 air defense systems were found.
Mr. Powers knew about the possible threat, but did not suspect how dangerous it was to fly on that fateful day - the S-75 Dvina mobile anti-aircraft missile systems appeared in the armament of the USSR air defense units.
The complex hit up to 30 kilometers, and was able to intercept any air targets (from combat aircraft to cruise missiles and automatic stratospheric balloons) moving at speeds up to 1000 m / s on a head-on and catch-up course. The warhead of an anti-aircraft missile weighing 200 kg left no chance for violators of the airspace of the Soviet Union.
Powers' plane was shot down over the Sverdlovsk region on May 1, 1960, at 08:53 Moscow time. At that moment, U-2 was at an altitude of 20,000 m and followed a given course towards the next control point - the city of Kirov.
The explosion tore off the U-2 wing and damaged the engine and tail assembly. Shocked, Powers found himself trapped between the seat and the dashboard. Now, when ejected, his legs will be torn off. However, he would not have used the catapult in any case - one of the technicians he knew warned Powers that something was wrong with his plane: an object resembling an explosive device was mounted behind the pilot's back. It is him, and not the catapult, that activates the saving lever under the armrest of the pilot's seat.
Powers was not in the least surprised by the shocking find. A "shot in the back of the head" from the CIA? This is how it should be: when trying to escape, a dozen kg of powerful blasting agent will kill an unwanted bystander and destroy all the secret equipment inside the fuselage.
Well, I do not! He will stay alive today. Tumbling in a fatal fall from a 20-kilometer height, Powers managed to throw off the lantern on his own and leave the wreckage of the plane at an altitude of about 10 kilometers.
Pilot Workstation U-2
And at this time …
The incident with the destruction of U-2 over Sverdlovsk was accompanied by many bright and tragic events.
No one had any doubts that the S-75 would cope: in Powers' six months, on October 7, 1959, the complex "removed" the reconnaissance "Canberra" * over China from a height of 19 kilometers. Despite a keen desire to declare its success, the USSR quickly said that Canberra fell for technical reasons. Indeed, why cover a six with a trump card, if you can later cover an ace?
The beginning of 1960 brought another success - the S-75 air defense system destroyed the high-altitude stratospheric balloon at an altitude of more than 20 kilometers.
But in Powers' case, things didn't go according to plan. Realizing that victory was almost in their hands, the air and air defense commanders literally burned out with impatience and threw into battle everything that came to their hand - after all, a golden shower of rewards and awards would be poured on the one who managed to intercept U-2 first. The situation was complicated by the holiday: the garrisons were preparing to celebrate May Day, the personnel received leave of absence - the military alarm literally took people by surprise.
The operation took place in great haste and with severe nervous tension. Igor Mentyukhov was the first to intercept - on that day the pilot was ferrying the newest Su-9 interceptor from the factory. The aircraft was not equipped with weapons, and the pilot did not have a high-altitude compensation suit. The order was simple: to destroy the enemy with an air ram (the pilot himself should have died - everyone understood that he had no chance without a high-altitude spacesuit). Alas, the interception did not take place due to an error in the afterburner activation time.
Fortunately, the anti-aircraft gunners of the air defense of the Ural Military District did everything right and accurately - having received a rocket in the tail, U-2 fell like a stone from the heavens. However, even here it was not without a tragic accident - at the moment when the twisted wreckage of the Dragon Lady was already rushing to the ground, the neighboring air defense division fired a second volley - it seemed to the anti-aircraft gunners that the U-2 was still flying. At this time, a pair of MiG-19s of Boris Ayvazyan and Sergey Safronov arrived at the scene. Having come under the intense "friendly fire" of the S-75 air defense system, the more experienced Ayvazyan abruptly threw the plane down, towards the rushing missiles - and safely avoided the strike. The second pilot was unlucky - his MiG-19 was shot down, Sergei Safronov was the only victim of that story.
And then there was a trial. The most humane court in the world. The Soviet Union made fun of the West with a couple of funny traps.
For example, the insidious Soviets kept silent about saving Gary Powers. Deciding that the unwanted witness was dead, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower told the whole world a touching story about a "lost plane" doing "meteorological research." He sang a mournful ballad about "peaceful skies", swore oath that no flights over the territory of the USSR had ever taken place, that he gave his word of honor - the Word of the President of the United States.
The representatives of the USSR nodded their heads in agreement, and then at the trial they presented the pilot, who plainly told foreign reporters that he had been shot down over the Central Urals. He was on a military mission, so spy equipment was installed on his U-2. President Eisenhower was deeply disgraced.
The wreckage of the plane and spy cameras were put on public display. Nearby, on the shelves, lay other curious "artifacts" - a pistol with a silencer, packs of Soviet rubles, a detailed map of the USSR, and other things "a la James Bond". It was really funny. The CIA's reputation was tarnished.
As for Gary Powers himself, a 30-year-old young man, Soviet representatives treated him with a certain amount of understanding and respect, like a defeated enemy.
Powers was the average American hard worker. He was not a very erudite person, but technically well-versed, who was accustomed to the steering wheel, altitude, speed. He was the son of a shoemaker and a housewife, who lived very poorly on a farm with other children. Not only physical influences, but even a loud word or a threatening knock. They just asked him - he answered. Fair enough.
- Investigator Mikhailov, who interrogated the American pilot
All this was credited to him in court - exemplary behavior, voluntary recognition and cooperation with the investigation. Sentence: 10 years in prison, of which Powers barely served 1, 5 - in February 1962 he was exchanged for Rudolf Abel.
Powers returned to the United States and continued his work in military aviation, taking a job as a test pilot at Lockheed Martin. In the last years of his life, he worked as a helicopter pilot for the KNBC news agency, in 1977 Gary Francis Powers died in a plane crash at his workplace.
Epilogue
The legendary U-2 Dragon Lady revealed the true location of Baikonur, leaked secret information about the rings of the Moscow air defense system, scrupulously counted the number of Soviet ships, submarines, aircraft and air bases. Thanks to its superintelligence officer, the CIA got a fairly clear idea of the state of Soviet industry, the system of closed cities and towns, military training grounds and other strategic facilities on the territory of our country and not only. The scouts regularly took part in espionage missions in different parts of the world - China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America. Nothing could hide from the watchful eyes of U-2.
According to statistics, out of ~ 90 aircraft built, half were lost for various non-combat reasons, six more were shot down over the territory of the USSR, Cuba and the People's Republic of China.
Paradoxically, aircraft of this type continue to be actively used today - the latest versions of the TR-1 and U-2S are in service in troubled regions around the world. Now their tactics have changed - instead of unceremonious incursions into the airspace of other countries, "Dragon Lady" calmly hover along their borders, looking with curiosity for hundreds of kilometers deep into foreign territory.
Powers # 2
Powers' plane wreckage at the Central Armed Forces Museum
