They can be.
Posted on 06/22/2005 7:32:23 AM PDT by Frank_Discussion
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane has crashed in southwest Asia while returning to its base, killing the pilot, the military said Wednesday. The cause of Tuesday night's crash was under investigation, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. One official said the location of the crash was not released because "host nation sensitivities" were involved. The Central Command's statement used the term "southwest Asia," which can be used as a substitute for describing the Middle East. The pilot was returning to a base from a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. One official said the location of the crash was not released because "host nation sensitivities" were involved. "The specific location is not releasable due to host nation sensitivities," U.S. Air Force Capt. David W. Small, a Central Command spokesman, said in an e-mail when asked for more information. In Washington, Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, said the plane had completed a mission related to U.S. operations in Afghanistan and crashed as it was returning to its base, the location of which he did not disclose. A U.S. security team was at the site of the crash, he said. American U-2s operate out of a base in the United Arab Emirates, although U.S. military officials refuse to discuss this fact at the UAE's request. The U-2 operates at an altitude of more than 70,000 feet, beyond the range of most surface-to-air missiles. It has been used by American forces for decades. A U-2 was shot down May 1, 1960, over Soviet territory while photographing Soviet missile installations. After parachuting to safety, pilot Francis Gary Powers was captured and later convicted as a spy. He was held for almost two years before being traded for a KGB captive.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Vne - "never exceed" - is at the other end of the airpseed thingy from stall speed(s).
The Soviets had a Mig with seventy thousand feet capability in the early 60s?
I may have misunderstood what you were describing.
I reckon that the MiG-25 would be the first Russian aircraft that had the potential to down the U2, but it arrived six years after Powers was shot down.
The idea that the U2 in question was downed by a MiG doing a near-pass at 70,000ft is fanciful nonsense.
bump
They can be.
Isn't she beautiful!
The Dragon Lady!
Not quite.
Francis "Gary" Powers son founded The Cold War Museum to honor those in the Silent War. If you have a moment - you may want to check this out.
http://www.coldwar.org/
There is also a book called The Price of Vigilance by Larry Taft (et al).
Excerpt from the jacket...
The centerpiece of the book is the fate of USAF C-130 60528 and its crew of seventeen, shot down by a MIG over Armenia on September 2, 1958, with no known survivors.
Things we never heard about.....
I based my statement on an interview I saw with the Soviet pilot who did the zoom climb that washed the u-2 out of the air.
Who knows what the truth is?
The MiG pilot and Gary Powers - those are the only two who know the real truth.
Unfortunately - neither is talking.
(NASA flies some U-2s with women pilots -- studying "weather".)
I'm sure you're correct; I just remember (living in the area at the time) a lot of criticism of him about running out of fuel, as if it were his fault.
Well, sure - but I'm an old fashioned writer who doesn't play the PC pronoun game when referring to individuals of unknown gender.
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