The Luvas sisters, Trudy and Struppi, formerly of Heidelberg, Germany, practice a high-flying act suspended from a helicopter piloted by Frank Horn in Denver on September 15, 1955.

The Luvas sisters, Trudy and Struppi, formerly of Heidelberg, Germany, practice a high-flying act suspended from a helicopter piloted by Frank Horn in Denver on September 15, 1955. Trudy holds on to the helicopter under rigging by her knees while the swing dangles from a hook in a belt around her neck. Struppi swings from the bar, holding on only by the back of her head and neck. They claim it is the first time two persons have performed such feats from a helicopter. (Photo by AP Photo)

The subtitle of Chris Pocock’s book says it all. 50 Years of the U-2: The Complete Illustrated History of the“Dragon Lady”  (Schiffer Military History, Atglen, Pa., 2005, $69.95) is the most complete book on the mysterious Lockheed U-2 spy plane, dubbed Dragon Lady by the U.S. Air Force, that one could ever hope for.

British writer Pocock has been researching the U-2 for more than 30 years, and he brings a multitude of fascinating facts to light that are not just interesting but groundbreaking. Using formerly highly classified information, he has come up with exclusive discoveries that will no doubt surprise even those who were intimately involved with the U-2 during its half-century of operation.

Of course, there’s Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, who is credited with its original design in his famous Skunk Works in 1954, but there are a host of others like Jack Carter, Richard Leghorn, Generals Bernard Schriever and Curtis LeMay, Richard Bissell and dozens of others who participated in the many decisions that had to be made to get the original article into production, off the ground and into service. Many complicated engineering problems had to be solved to keep pilots alive, making it possible for them to endure lengthy flights at unprecedented altitudes and complete their missions.

Major General Pat Halloran, one of the early U-2 pilots, who flew the aircraft for nine years, tells about his experience in the foreword:

Each airframe seemed to have unique flying characteristics and a personality of its own. It was always an interesting experience to ease this marvelous machine above 70,000 feet, and to enjoy the unparalleled view of our private world, while at the same time trying to ignore the drawbacks.

To start with, you had to be stuffed into a horribly claustrophobic partial pressure suit. Then, you had spent two hours pre-breathing 100% oxygen, before being squeezed into a very tiny cockpit. Once airborne, you spent a great deal of time attempting to fine tune the autopilot; manage airspeed control inside the 10-knot window of the “coffin corner”; keep over 1,000 gallons of fuel balanced between those floppy wings; shoot and plot celestial navigation fixes; do map pilotage through a drift sight; and wonder how long your bladder would continue to hold on this 9-10-hour flight. That was before they added in-flight refueling to extend the range! Oh and yes, you mustn’t forget to operate your primary reconnaissance equipment on cue. That’s why you’re up there. Of course, in the back of your mind you were always anticipating the exciting landing which lay in store for you in this strange, bicycle-gear machine.

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