U-2 Dragon Lady Pilot’s Flight Operating Instructions

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Conceived during the dark days of the Cold War, the U-2 is a single-engine, single-seat, surveillance aircraft. Designed by aeronautical engineer Kelly Johnson, the plane was used by the C.I.A. to photograph installations deep inside Soviet Russia and remains in use by the U.S. Air Force. Known as the Dragon Lady , the U-2 was originally highly classified. Its existence remained a secret until 1960, when a U-2 flown by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over Soviet territory that precipitated a major political crisis. Despite the incident, the U-2 went on to have a long and illustrious career, and upgraded airframes remained in use five decades after it first debuted. Originally printed by Lockheed and the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s, this Flight Operating Handbook taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Classified Restricted , the manual was recently declassified through the Freedom of Information Act and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been slightly reformatted. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text. Please note, due to the provenance of this manual some pages contain photographic reproductions which may be considered to be of sub-standard quality.