Flying the U-2 off of a carrier (?!)

[David413]

A friend at the Johnson Space Center sent this along to me today and I found it pretty interesting...

Subject: The U-2 CARRIER OPS

The U-2 was a cold war spy plane used by the Air Force to keep tabs on
the Soviet Union. It flew so high it was thought that it couldn't be
shot down by anything that existed then...that is until Gary Francis
Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union by a new SA 2 Guideline
surface to air missile...used extensively later during the Vietnam war.
It caused the demise of many Navy and Air Force aircraft. The U2 is a
glider with wings...NEVER meant for anything but land based runway
operations. Note the wing tips hitting the deck and the ships crew
holding the wing up for launch. For experienced Navy
tailhookers.....note the very shallow glideslope...definitely Air Force
runway approach procedures because of the delicate landing gear. Navy
planes are made to "crash" onto the deck and the landing gear on all
Navy aircraft are significantly more beefy than any Air Force airplane.
This took significant skill and daring to see if it could be done.
These pictures are a first .... very few people knew that this was done.
Enjoy...

I received this from Tony who flew both the SR71 and the U2 during the
60's. Sent to me by an air force buddy. I was on this cruise. This was
in late 62 or early 63. After the U2 carrier quals, we departed
Oakland with 2 U2's and about 6 F4's. aboard the Ranger (CVA61), We had
7 or 8 crews, some maint guys, and 3 Air force (or Maybe CIA) U2 pilots.
Our Officer in Charge was John Young (later Astronaut) . We were gone
about 3 weeks. Never found out where we went except that we crossed the
equator and had a big shellback ceremony. After about a week the U2's
flew several 6 or 7 hour missions and then we turned for home. We flew
several times during the cruise just for proficiency but just in the
landing pattern. No tacan locks and no radar returns (and no bingo
fields!) so we were way out in the middle of nowhere.

http://www.creativefission.com/Frame_MOV_Carrier320x240.html

 

[Donamy]

Balls of steel.

 

[SlyCoopersButt]

Very interesting, Great footage of takeoff and landings! I have the highest respect for such skilled pilots flying like that!

 

[Andy44]

I wonder. All the films I've seen of U2 landings showed the planes doing very long, shallow approaches, with a second pilot driving alongside the runway in a fast car calling out altitudes to the U2 pilot and talking him down to the runway. I didn't know the U2 was capable of making a carrier-type landing, which has a much steeper approach.

 

[David413]

My experience (as a pilot and a U.S. Navy veteran) tells me that you can land almost anything on a carrier, provided you have a) a reasonable approach, and b) a sturdy tail-hook. Based upon this video, they certainly had "b)", and "a)" is a matter of style...

 

[tblaxland]

"a)" is a matter of style...

And skill.

 

[David413]

And skill.

Sorry. In my profession, those two are synonymous.

 

[tblaxland]

Sorry. In my profession, those two are synonymous.

Fair enough. Anyone who land on an air field, let alone a carrier, has my respect

 

[Linguofreak]

My experience (as a pilot and a U.S. Navy veteran) tells me that you can land almost anything on a carrier

What about this: http://home.att.net/~dannysoar/BelGeddes.htm

I suppose you could, for sufficiently large values of "carrier," or sufficiently destructive values of "land".

Of course, the challenge would first be to build the aircraft and get it to fly.

On a more serious note, I always wanted to get into naval aviation (having fallen in love with the Tomcat as a kid), but my eyes are way too bad for it (Corrected I'm 20/20, but uncorrected I'm around 20/3000, and last I heard, military aviation required 20/20 uncorrected). I also have a soft spot for the SR-71, and alot of accounts of the 71 mention the U-2 in passing. So that was a fairly interesting video for me.

 

[Andy44]

On a more serious note, I always wanted to get into naval aviation (having fallen in love with the Tomcat as a kid)

Back in the 80s Top Gun was a major recruiting aid...too bad most people who join the Navy wind up scrubbing toilets and pushing mops. So don't feel too bad! I managed to learn flying in a Cessna. It's no Tomcat, but it sure is fun.

 

[tblaxland]

What about this: http://home.att.net/~dannysoar/BelGeddes.htm

Wow, what a monster!

 

[garyw]

Back in the 80s Top Gun was a major recruiting aid...too bad most people who join the Navy wind up scrubbing toilets and pushing mops. So don't feel too bad! I managed to learn flying in a Cessna. It's no Tomcat, but it sure is fun.

The guy that did all the actual F-14 flying in TopGun is NASA astronaunt Scott Altman.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Altman

 

[movieman]

Back in the 80s Top Gun was a major recruiting aid...too bad most people who join the Navy wind up scrubbing toilets and pushing mops.

One of my Navy friends had a better job than that; he was the one who had to go out on the deck and wash off the fallout if there was a nuclear war. I think he said he got an extra ration of rum a week for it so it wasn't all bad though .

 

[T.Neo]

My experience (as a pilot and a U.S. Navy veteran) tells me that you can land almost anything on a carrier

A Space shuttle?

 

[SlyCoopersButt]

Hehe, That plants some pictures in my mind! I doubt any cable on Earth could stop that much mass so quickly. I doubt either the shuttle or carrier would like it as well. But for spacecraft of the future, May be a great option for launch and landing.

 

[Scrooge McDuck]

Wow, thanks for the link David.
I noticed they even used wingtip runners at takeoff for those U-2's, just like we do with glider planes!
No matter how good the glide ratio, you can always learn to land at a small spot. I'm currently (when gliding season starts) practicing to land at a marked 30x30m area, this is doable, even with a glide ratio of 1:45. I need to get 5 target landings (solo) in a row before my final exam flights. If the 5th try goes outside, back to zero... :lol: :crazy:

 

[Andy44]

I noticed they even used wingtip runners at takeoff for those U-2's, just like we do with glider planes!

Well, the U2 is basically a glider with a jet engine. Another one of Kelly Johnson's Lockheed marvels.

What I find interesting is that it appears they are launching it with the steam catapult, so the runners only hold onto the wings for a very short time, and then get out of the way REAL quick.

 

[pattersoncr]

As might be surmised from my pic, I'm a big Kelly Johnson fan. The variety of outstanding aircraft that guy designed is really amazing.

 

[C3PO]

WOW!
When I saw that title, my first thought was "What an unrealistic addon!!!":lolol:

Without tha footage I would have called anyone talking about U2 carrier ops a liar. That's an awesome piece of piloting!!!:clap:

 

[Urwumpe]

I need to get 5 target landings (solo) in a row before my final exam flights. If the 5th try goes outside, back to zero... :lol: :crazy:

Remember, if you descent at 90°, it is hard to miss the target.

(Remember StuKa?)