Inside The Spy Plane That Was At The Center Of Kennedy's Cuban Missile Crisis

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At the time of the Cold War, Russia had nothing that could shoot the U2 out of the sky. Even their MiG jets had a ceiling 10,000 feet below the U2's gliding altitude.

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One pilot said they'd buzz around below him, "like angry bees."

When the U-2 "Dragon Lady" debuted in 1957 it was an astonishing piece of technological achievement.

Able to fly reconnaissance from more than 13-miles above the earth, gather data through all weather conditions any time of day or night, while staying beyond the reach of Soviet military - it was an unbelievable achievement.

(Special thanks to the guys at Airmen magazine for the great imagery.)

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