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On August 4, 1955, the prototype of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft No. 001 developed by Lockheed Martin made its first flight.
On its maiden flight, the aircraft broke the previous world record of 22,707 meters set by the British.
Despite the fact that the U2 had problems when landing, this did not affect the favor of the Americans for this high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft.
In the special context of the Cold War at that time, the United States urgently needed an aircraft capable of performing high-altitude reconnaissance missions to replace the previous RB-47 reconnaissance aircraft.
The appearance of the U-2 just made up for the urgent need of the United States for this kind of reconnaissance aircraft.
A nightmare for the Soviets
In 1956, the U-2 was put into service with a modified and modified version of the aircraft using an all-metal cantilever mid-wing that used a specialized wing from Lockheed. Therefore, the aircraft can have a great ceiling.
Although the U-2 climbed slower than the civilian airliners of the time as a single-engine reconnaissance aircraft, its 22,000-meter ceiling was far beyond the reach of Soviet missiles and fighters at that time.
The Soviets have been closely following the development of the U-2 in the United States since the beginning, but no matter how much the Soviet military industrial units try, they have not been able to decode how the U-2 flew at an altitude of 20,000 meters in extremely thin air.
After the U-2 reconnaissance plane was put into use, the Americans relied on the advanced photographic equipment installed on the U-2 to reconnoiter the military and scientific research facilities deployed in the Soviet Union and the socialist camp countries, and obtained a large amount of video data.
The design idea of the U-2 is actually very simple, that is, to avoid the interception of Soviet fighters and missiles with extremely high ceilings, and there was no concept of stealth fighters at that time.
Therefore, the U-2 reconnaissance plane was detected by Soviet radar when it first flew over the Soviet Union, but the Soviet air defense forces also discovered the fact that they had nothing to do with this reconnaissance plane.
At that time, there were two main types of anti-aircraft equipment used by the Soviet Union, one was a 130mm heavy anti-aircraft gun, and the maximum height of this anti-aircraft anti-aircraft gun was only 15,000 meters.
For most aircraft of the time, this anti-aircraft gun was undoubtedly a devastating threat, but unlike the U2, its flight altitude of 22,000 meters was completely beyond the range of this anti-aircraft gun.
And the other anti-aircraft equipment is the SAM-2. However, although the Soviet Union was already equipped with the Sam-2 low-altitude missile capable of reaching an altitude of 32 kilometers at that time, the anti-jamming capability of this missile was weak, and the reaction and preparation time was very long.
If the radar had discovered the enemy plane in accordance with the air defense operation procedures at that time, and then locked on to the target and launched it, the US U2 reconnaissance plane would have fled long ago.
Therefore, when the U-2 appeared, and the Soviet air defense system was still helpless against it, the Soviet top brass could be said to be quite angry.
In particular, Khrushchev believed that the US high-altitude reconnaissance planes had directly threatened the national security of the Soviet Union, questioned the Soviet air defense system at that time, and even planned to find someone to ask for guilt.
Shoot down the U-2 at all costs
Khrushchev demanded that the Soviet military-industrial units come up with a plan for dealing with the US U-2 reconnaissance plane as soon as possible, and that the US U-2 reconnaissance plane should not come back at all costs.
At the request of Khrushchev, the defense department of the USSR began to focus on finding ways to deal with the U-2.
If we can't make a breakthrough in technology in the short term, then we will do everything we can to make use of the existing conditions, constantly optimize the air defense process, and try to make the SAM-2 catch up with the U-2.
However, this kind of optimization and development is a process, and it will not solve the threat posed by the U-2 in the short term.
In fact, any advanced weapon in the world has a moment when it is equaled by the opponent, and the advanced advantage that can be exerted is the period before the opponent develops the corresponding weapon. It can be as short as months as long as years.
It's just that for the Soviet Union at that time, even if it only took a few months to find a means of air defense against the U-2, it would be too long.
After all, exposing one's country's military secrets in front of the enemy's cameras for months without reservation is indeed deadly.
Whether it was possible to shoot down a U-2 with existing means as soon as possible became a time-limited task of the USSR Ministry of Defense at that time.
In doing so, it would not only be possible to save the international reputation of a skilled air defense system, but also to have a chance to obtain the wreckage of the U-2, so that the Soviet Union could find a way to deal with the U-2 through reverse research.
Therefore, while the Soviet military-industrial complex was trying its best to study new equipment, the KGB of the USSR also developed a set of methods for dealing with the U-2.
At that time, the head of the KGB, Serev, summoned the top Soviet aviation technologists and military strategists to discuss how to deal with the American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.
Finally, Soviet aviation technologists and military strategists, based on the data available on the U-2 reconnaissance plane, developed a set of methods that would allow it to be shot down in a short period of time.
The principle of this method is simple, that is, to use technical means to interfere with the flight instrument panel of the U-2, so that the pilot misjudges the altitude of the aircraft, so that the U-2 can be within the effective response and interception distance of the Soviet 130 anti-aircraft guns and SAM-2 anti-aircraft missiles when it enters the airspace of the Soviet Union.
However, if you want to interfere with the flight instruments of the U-2, it is obviously impossible to achieve it by conventional means, and you can only take a special way, that is: "spy sabotage".
A magnetic screw
According to Soviet military experts, it was possible to have an effect on the altimeter by simply fitting a magnetic screw into the altimeter of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.
Under the action of magnetic force, the altimeter will not be able to accurately obtain the altitude of the aircraft during flight, and this change is very small, so the pilots of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft will not notice its presence during the climb of the aircraft.
But the question arises, how to put such a screw on the altimeter of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft? The only way to do this is to send agents to infiltrate the U-2 reconnaissance plane's garage to replace it.
To achieve this, not only will it require a team of agents who can skillfully infiltrate the opponent's base and have strong espionage infiltration skills, but also that team will be familiar with the mechanics and be able to replace parts for precision instruments in the North Pole.
In order to be able to achieve this goal, Serev personally supervised the formation of a special team, from the selection of personnel to special training.
After almost a year of preparation, Serev's special forces team finally completed their training, and all that remained was to wait for a suitable moment to carry out the mission.
In early April 1960, Serev received secret information that one of the bases of the U-2 reconnaissance plane of the US military happened to be in Peshawar, Pakistan.
So Serev immediately sent a team of agents to infiltrate Pakistan in disguise and wait for the opportunity.
Finally, on the night of April 30, members of the secret service team quietly infiltrated the hangar of a U-2 reconnaissance plane at Peshawar Air Base, taking advantage of the change of airport guards.
Interestingly, such an important military base has infiltrated the interior so easily, and I really don't know if it is the US military or Pakistan that has a problem.
The day went well. Soviet agents, dressed in the same costumes as the maintenance personnel of the airbase, did not even encounter cross-examination by the guards on duty after entering the base.
After entering the hangar of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, the members of the special agent team divided the work according to the predetermined plan. Agents first interfered with the hangar's surveillance with special equipment, so that the surveillance equipment could only see a static image at all times.
The agent's mechanical turnaround then found the U-2 reconnaissance plane parked in the hangar and boarded the plane's cockpit.
Agents carefully unscrewed the plane's control panel with a screwdriver, and then attached the magnetic screw. The process is actually much simpler than you think.
After installing the magnetic screws, the agents restored everything to normal without leaving a trace, and then quickly withdrew from Peshawar Air Base.
U-2 was shot down
The next day, the US pilots took off in the U-2 reconnaissance plane as usual, preparing to conduct high-altitude reconnaissance of the Soviet Union, but they did not know that a nightmare was waiting for the hapless pilot.
The pilots who flew the U-2 reconnaissance plane on a mission conducted a self-inspection of the plane in accordance with the usual operating procedures, but did not find anything unusual.
The pilot then flew the U-2 reconnaissance plane into the air in accordance with the reconnaissance plan and route that had been drawn up long ago.
After the plane circled and lifted off, the pilots of the U-2 reconnaissance plane flew according to the established course. On this day, it was the Soviet Union's ICBM launch sites that needed to be reconnoitred.
The pilots were correcting the course while fiddling with the optical reconnaissance equipment on the plane.
The plane would climb to an altitude of 20,000 meters before entering the airspace covered by the Soviet air defense forces, the pilots on the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft always believed so.
But in fact, due to the interference of magnetic screws, the U-2 reconnaissance plane flew at an altitude of only 16,000 meters, and the pilot was completely unaware of this situation.
Compared with the unconsciousness of the pilots on the U-2 reconnaissance plane, the ground air defense units in the Soviet Union were indeed ready for a long time, waiting for the other side to enter the range of their own missiles.
The Soviet military had already turned on the air defense radar and captured the opponent's track from a distance.
The pilot of the U-2 reconnaissance plane took the initiative to turn off the radar alarm after discovering that the other party's radar was shining on his plane, because the pilot knew that even if he was discovered, nothing would happen.
However, this time it was contrary to the pilot's expectations, and after the radar discovered and locked the trajectory of the U-2 reconnaissance plane, the Soviet ground prevention and control personnel immediately calculated the route and trajectory of the plane.
Subsequently, 14 SAM-2 anti-aircraft missiles, which had been waiting for a long time, were launched into the air in one fell swoop, filling the route through which the plane was about to pass.
The pilot of the U-2 reconnaissance plane is in the midst of a "murder" orchestrated by the anomaly, and he will soon have to pay the price for his arrogance.
Just as the pilot of the U-2 reconnaissance plane was about to fiddle with the high-precision optical camera on the plane to take pictures of ground targets, suddenly all the sirens in the plane were lit up in red and a piercing siren sounded.
This is the case when you are locked by a missile. How can it be! The pilots simply couldn't believe it was true.
There was no time to make him think more, and soon the pilot of the U-2 reconnaissance plane heard several deafening explosions one after another, followed by bursts of turbulence.
The Soviet SAM-2 anti-aircraft missile detonated in the air as it approached the U-2, blasting the air flow and fragmentation of the Raider U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.
The pilot was frightened and immediately tried to pull the plane up, but the plane refused to listen. When the pilot turned around and looked through the cockpit fairing towards the tail, he could already see black smoke rising from the tail.
The plane then lost control completely and crashed straight to the ground, eventually crashing into a remote mountainous area near Sverdlovsk, where the pilot, who survived but did not have time to escape, was captured by the Soviet military.
Shortly after the plane fell, Soviet ground forces immediately arrived at the scene to collect the wreckage of the plane. At this point, the myth that the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance plane of the US military could not be shot down was shattered, and the Soviet army also had all the information of the U-2.
Resources:
"U-2 Aircraft Incident", China Encyclopedia Database
"Documentary of the Soviet Union's Shooting Down of an American U-2 Reconnaissance Plane" Author: [Russian] Anatoly Dokuyye, compiled by Li Youguan
"Shi Hai Retrospective" American U-2 reconnaissance plane fell in the Soviet Union in 1960, and the pilot was captured and put on trial