U-2's and the Cuban Missile Crisis

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

I need some reference material (photos preferred) for U-2’s that participated in the Cuban Missle Crisis.

I understand that Air Force pilots were flying CIA owned U-2E’s which had some sort of defensive countermeasures in the tail area which made them heavier and affected performance. (According to Jay Miller’s Lockheed U-2 published under the AeroGraph label, they were modified A models and maybe some B’s as well.) So far, I’ve not found a single photo of the E model or been able to learn what the modifications were.

I also know that some U-2A aircraft participated in the reconnaissance effort. I’ll take photos of them as well.

I need the references to build some models for a display for a nearby Air Force unit. Thanks in advance.

2

Send Jay Miller an email and ask him if there are any external differences. I suspect that if there were any he would have at least put a drawing into the Aerograph #3 to describe it. He’s usually pretty thoughtful when it comes to modeling.

3

Wings or Airpower one or the other did a big write up on the evolution of the U2. They had interviews with pilots from the Cuban Missile Crisis aong with some photos. There’s a guy who sells back issues on Ebay, and he’s probably got the right one.

gary