The U-2 Spyplane: Toward the Unknown - A New History of the Early Years

by Chris Pocock

The full story of the development and early use of the U-2 has never been properly told until now. This book describes in vivid detail how the high-flying spyplane was conceived, designed, built, and deployed in record time. It explains why the CIA, and not the U.S. Air Force, controlled the project. It traces how the Iron Curtain was pried apart by the epic overflights of denied territory from 1956 to 1960. It discusses why these flights were needed, what they were looking for, and how the intelligence they returned was processed and analyzed. Readers are taken inside the Soviet Unions military machine, as it developed new strategic weapons and (eventually) the means to shoot the U-2 down. The book also explores the political dimension, telling how President Eisenhower and Premier Khrushchev each faced the challenge of the U-2 flights albeit from very different perspectives. Toward the Unknown will appeal to students of aviation and intelligence history, and to anyone wishing to learn more about a key episode in the Cold War.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The number of pilots killed in testing or training is startling- a dozen or more though I didn't count. It's possible other aircraft had similar numbers, with the number of pilots to die in training scaling with the number of aircraft in operation.

The cruise-climb is an interesting trick- the U-2 reaches a maximum altitude for its current weight early on, but then burns fuel and becomes lighter and eventually reaches a few thousand feet of additional altitude.

The writing is generally good, though though there are an excessive number of exclamation points- which is usually an indicator for less capable writing.