Jim Long, Chairman of the Board of the Laughlin Heritage Foundation (LHF) has died, age 82. The LHF was created in Del Rio, TX in 1983, to record and promote the memory of the US Air Force’s RB-57D and U-2A wing. The 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was based at Laughlin AFB from 1957 until moving … Continue reading JIM LONG – AN APPRECIATION
Tag: U-2
THE U-2 AT DUXFORD – HOW IT GOT THERE
The U-2 at Duxford today The U-2 on display in the American Air Museum, part of the Imperial War Museum at Duxford in the UK, has a remarkable history. That includes how it arrived there. I am proud to say that this was my idea, although much credit is also due to those who approved … Continue reading THE U-2 AT DUXFORD – HOW IT GOT THERE
THE STRANGE STORY OF THE GREEK U-2 PILOTS
This is the last untold episode from the early U-2 days. How the CIA attempted to train some Greek air force pilots to fly the U-2 over the Soviet Union, instead of Americans. Even today, the story is obscured by misinformation and continuing secrecy. The CIA has declassified two histories of the U-2 project, but … Continue reading THE STRANGE STORY OF THE GREEK U-2 PILOTS
THE LOST BLACK CATS
This the title of a new documentary on Taiwan’s U-2 squadron, which flew over and around mainland China from 1962 to 1974. The film was made by a Taipei-based crew for a local audience, although it does have English subtitles. It is 90 minutes long and was shown in cinemas throughout Taiwan last fall. The … Continue reading THE LOST BLACK CATS
IT ALL BEGAN WITH RICHARD LEGHORN
The first photo in my book 50 YEARS OF THE U-2 is of Richard Leghorn (left). That’s because I consider him to be the conceptual father of the U-2. Why? Leghorn was a P-38 reconnaissance squadron commander in the Second World War who was recalled to military service for the Korean War. Since 1946, he … Continue reading IT ALL BEGAN WITH RICHARD LEGHORN
NEW BOOK ON THE CUBA MISSILE CRISIS – PLENTY TO CRITICISE!
Yet another book has been published on the Cuba Missile Crisis, this one with significant U-2 content. And one particular focus for the “best-selling” authors of “Above & Beyond”, is the missions flown by SAC pilots Rudy Anderson and Chuck Maultsby on ‘Black Saturday’, 27th October 1962. That was the day that Maultsby accidentally strayed … Continue reading NEW BOOK ON THE CUBA MISSILE CRISIS – PLENTY TO CRITICISE!
Dragon Lady History 