While Lockheed’s U-2 spy plane remains in operation to this day, it is still synonymous with the Cold War era, not least because of some high-profile successes and failures. Originally designed by Clarence ‘Kelly’ Johnson in 1953, the plane was intended as a response to the seeming intelligence hole the United States was experiencing as the USSR built up its arsenal of weapons. This new plane would enable the US to see what was happening behind the Iron Curtain.
The first test flight for the U-2 took place at a remote airbase in the Nevada Desert, known today as Area 51. The test was successful and the very next year, in 1956, it was put into service by both the United States Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency. Its early missions were reconnaissance into the USSR, looking for intel into its missile and nuclear weapons programmes. For instance, it was a U-2 plane that spotted the nuclear weapons in Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis. It would also be used to detect nuclear weapons testing in the upper atmosphere.