On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft entered Soviet airspace for reconnaissance when it was suddenly locked by enemy air defense radar. However, the pilot Bowles was not nervous at all, he knew that as long as the flight altitude was controlled above 20,000 meters, the Soviet air defense had nothing to do with him. But is that really the case?
The U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was custom-made by the United States for the Soviet Union. Its flight altitude reached a staggering 27,400 meters, exceeding the launch altitude of all Soviet fighter jets and anti-aircraft missiles. Then. It also carried seven high-definition high-altitude reconnaissance cameras and flew over the Soviet Union without refueling. At that time, it can be said that such an airplane looks down on the world and surpasses the hero!
To deceive people, U-2 spy planes are nominally affiliated with NASA. Their missions are said to be "flight weather tests" and "radioactive sample collection."
In June 1956, a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft took off from the Base in Inchery, Turkey, and first infiltrated the Soviet Union for aerial reconnaissance operations. Soviet air defense radar detected the U-2, but its fighter jets and anti-aircraft missiles could not reach such altitudes. In the end, the U-2 returned smoothly after taking several photos in Moscow and Leningrad.
The success of the first flight excited the Americans. Taking advantage of the U-2's altitude, the U-2 invaded Soviet airspace at least 50 times over the next three years, intercepting Soviet missiles, submarines, atomic bombs, and air force deployments.
The time is May 1, 1960. At 5:30 a.m., at Pakistan's Peshawar airport, a black U-2 reconnaissance plane quietly left the runway and headed north. U-2 entered Soviet airspace immediately after crossing the Pamir Plateau.
Bowers, the pilot who flew the plane, often flew over the Soviet Union, so he flew the plane skillfully. His travel mission was to reconnoiter the Soviet missile, rocket launch and nuclear research center in the Sverdlovsk region.
I chose International Labor Day because it had a special meaning for the SOVIET Union. On this day of the year, there are large rallies and military parades on Moscow's Red Square, and this year is no exception. At that time, the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev, stood in the center of the judging platform, watching with great interest as tanks, missiles and other new weapons and equipment passed in front of him. This time the U-2 penetrated deep into Soviet airspace and provoked strongly.
As usual, the U-2 was detected by Soviet air defense radar shortly after entering Soviet airspace. Powell was not nervous at all, he knew that as long as the altitude of the flight was maintained above 20,000 meters, the Soviet air defense system had nothing to do with him.
At about 9:00 a.m., a U-2 reconnaissance plane successfully entered the skies over Sverdlovsk, and Bowers deftly turned on the control switch on the reconnaissance aircraft's camera, allowing the seven wide-angle cameras under its abdomen to start shooting in quick succession.
However, at this moment, Bowers heard a violent explosion from the tail of the plane, and the plane crashed out of control and began to descend sharply. Was it hit or did the engine explode? Bowers didn't have time to think much about it and quickly parachuted out.
It turned out that the newly developed Sam-2 missile of the Soviet ground air defense system shot down the U-2 in the first attack, far exceeding Bowers's expectations.
In fact, as early as 1958, the Soviet Union began to install Sam-2 anti-aircraft missiles at an altitude of 32,000 meters. However, the operation is complex, the response is slow, and the anti-interference performance is low, which requires a certain amount of time to be effective. At that time, the Soviet Union installed more than 1,000 Sam-2 missiles.
"U-2 shot down!" Marshal Bilyuzov, commander-in-chief of the Soviet Homeland Defense Air Force, rushed to the review stage to tell Khrushchev the exciting news. Khrushchev immediately smiled happily and immediately told his colleagues the news that shocked the whole world. It's an American U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft! For this day, the SOVIETS waited for four years in anger and anxiety.
The incident humiliated the United States in the international community, and for the first time in American history, Eisenhower was forced to publicly admit that as head of state he personally ordered a disgraceful espionage operation against another country, an event that led directly to the resignation of CIA Director Dulles. The United States subsequently cancelled U-2 reconnaissance flights over the Soviet Union.
The ill-fated pilot Bowers, along with the wreckage of the U-2 and the onboard camera, became Soviet booty shortly after landing. After being tried by a Soviet military tribunal, Bowers was sentenced to 10 years in prison but released 17 months later in the Soviet Union, where he traded a KGB spy who had fallen into U.S. hands.
The mighty U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was born for the Soviet Union, but it was an "old friend" of China. The U-2 moved to China after being shot down in the Soviet Union. However, between 1962 and 1967, five U-2 reconnaissance aircraft were shot down, and the last one was shot down by an internally developed Hongqi-2 missile.
