U-2

Lockheed engineering guru Clarence "Kelly" Johnson created the initial designs in 1953 for what would become the U-2, working under a cloak of secrecy in the famed Skunk Works division to develop a light high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft capable of flying above the reach of Soviet anti-aircraft fire. Borrowing its sleek looks from the profile of a traditional sailplane, the aircraft used a long, tapered wing, one third the weight of what was normal at the time, to fly missions covering a range of 3,000 miles and carry up to 700 pounds of the latest photoreconnaissance equipment to a staggering and unprecedented altitude of 70,000 feet.

Burbank, California · United States