[doorgunner69]

Just finished reading the U-2 chapter in “Skunk Works” by Ben Rich.

Turned out a Russian fighter pilot was also hit and Powers saw his chute.

Almost sounded like a lucky missile hit. Used to think I read that Powers had to descend a bit for some reason making him vulnerable.
They had been trying soome early radar spoofing stuff and one might have acted like a beacon for the missile.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“Skunk Works” by Ben Rich is a fantastic book. Being a mechanical engineer, it made me feel I really had missed my calling. After reading it, my son and I did an aerospace tour of Southern California. The Air Force Flight Test Museum – "Blackbird Airpark" in Palmdale is amazing. We saw a U2, an SR-71, a Lockheed A-12 Oxcart (predecessor to the SR-71), and the Lockheed D-21 drone that sat on top of the SR-71. That museum is really worth a tour!

You can see the tail-end of the U2:

Another nearby museum is the "Air Force Flight Test Museum – Century Circle" at Edwards Air Force Base.

There's a small museum at the "Mojave Air & Space Port" with some great exhibits. Burt Rutan used this as his main development base.

[BatGuano]

At the altitude the U-2 was flown, a small turn would cause a 500 feet loss or more.
The air is very thin. Those flights were extremely dangerous.
Powers and all the other U-2 pilots had great courage!

[Clay Moore]

The aircraft he was flying had a history of flaming out. It was thought that he had descended to try to restart the engine but in his book “Operation Overflight” he stated that he was flying at proper altitude when he was hit.