U2 Spy Plane: Briefing President Eisenhower
Historical Context
President Eisenhower and Foreign Policy
The year is 1960. Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower is serving his second term in office. A well respected Army General who served as the Supreme Commander of Allied Armed Forces during D-Day in WWII, Eisenhower is primarily concerned with maintaining peace during the Cold War. His foreign policy is called the New Look, and it is based upon maintaining American military strength as a way to deter Soviet aggression. It also relies heavily on covert action and plausible deniability. The CIA has overthrown the left-leaning governments of Iran and Guatemala, and is now beginning to plot a Cuban invasion to overthrow Fidel Castro.
While in office, Eisenhower has seen the Korean War end in a truce, the death of Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, and the development of the hydrogen bomb by both the US and the USSR. The new Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, is blustery and belligerent. He invades Hungary in 1956, to crush their independence movement, and tensions are rising regarding the fate of West Berlin. In September of 1959, Khrushchev and Eisenhower meet at Camp David, and agree to discuss an arms control agreement and the Berlin situation in May of 1960 at a summit in Paris.
The U-2 Program
Eisenhower authorized the top secret U-2 program in 1955, to gain more intelligence about the Soviet's military capabilities. A joint project between the Air Force and the CIA, the program was run by the CIA's Deputy Director of Plans, Richard M. Bissell, Jr. To create the U-2, Bissell selected a cutting edge design submitted by Lockheed aeronautical engineer, Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. Due to the confidential nature of the project, the Lockheed team worked out of a circus tent next to a manufacturing plant, which was so smelly that they nicknamed it Skunkworks.
The Lockheed U-2 (nicknamed the Dragon Lady) was essentially a jet-powered glider that could cruise at an extremely high altitude of 70,000 feet. This was its main advantage- the U-2 flew at heights so great that it was believed that enemy planes would be unable to shoot it down. It was a single seat, single engine reconnaissance aircraft, and required the pilot to wear a full pressure suit similar to those worn by astronauts. Average flight time was 9 hours, landing was hazardous, and visibility was poor. The U-2 is still widely regarded as the most difficult aircraft in the world to fly.
Kelly Johnson, James Killian (President of MIT), and Edwin H. Land (Founder of Polaroid), acted as the scientific brain trust of the program. While the Air Force trained the pilots, these three men built the plane and outfitted it with state of the art surveillance tech, including an electro-optical camera, an optical bar camera, advanced synthetic aperture radar, and signals intelligence and network-centric communications. Meanwhile, Bissell and the CIA were responsible for maintaining the project's secrecy. Fake shell corporations were set up to funnel money to Lockheed, Kelly received his CIA paycheck in an unmarked envelope sent directly to his house, and Bissell was known only as, "the mysterious Mr. B."
The first U-2 flight was authorized by Eisenhower in 1955, and flew in 1956. Although Soviet radar could track it, about 20 Soviet MiG planes tried and failed to shoot it down, due to it's high altitude. From that point on, U-2 flights were scheduled on a continual basis throughout the 1950s, because of the much-needed intelligence they produced. For example, the first five U-2 flights produced over 30,000 feet of undeveloped film. The CIA's Photo-Interpretation Department (operating in an unmarked building behind an auto repair shop in DC), developed the film, before Art Lundahl and his team of photo-analysts pored over the pictures with magnifying glasses.The pictures so clear that they could count individual boats at a Naval Base in Minsk, and they soon disproved the commonly held belief that the Soviets had more bombers than the Americans did. After seeing the photos, Frank Wisner, the head of CIA Covert Intelligence, was so impressed with the quality of the intelligence gathered by the U-2, that he estimated that just one U-2 picture was worth upwards of a million dollars to the national security community.
HOW TO AnalyZE A HISTORICAL DOCUMEnt
In order to analyze a source like a historian, you must do two very simple things:
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Highlight Key Terms
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Answer Key Questions
Let's Practice
Analyze the sample document below, and practice answering the questions in the margins. Continue scrolling down to check your answers.
Is this a primary or secondary source?
When was the document created?
Who created this document? What do we know about the author?
Who is the intended audience?
How reliable is this document, and how credible is the author? Is this source biased in any way?
What is the purpose of the document? What information can be gleaned directly from the text?
What is the historical context? What was happening in the period? What do you have to know about the time in order for this document to make sense?
What information, if any, can be learned from this document indirectly, by reading between the lines?
Check your answers
Is this a primary or secondary source?
Primary.
When was the document created?
April 3, 1959.
Who created this document? What do we know about the author?
These are notes taken at a conference, so a secretary probably transcribed the document at the president's request.
Who is the intended audience?
This document is labelled top secret. It was probably only intended for a few key players, most notably, those who were aware of the existence of the highly confidential U-2 plane.
How reliable is this document, and how credible is the author? Is this source biased in any way?
This is a reliable source, there is no bias. These are merely meeting notes documenting what was said at a conference with the president.
What is the purpose of the document? What information can be gleaned directly from the text?
We can learn that in 1959, the US intelligence community is primarily concerned with discovering details about the Soviet ICBM (Intercontinental ballistic missile) arsenal. We also know that the U-2 is the only way of discerning information about the ICBMs, and that Eisenhower is reluctant to approve another overflight of the Soviet Union.
What is the historical context? What was happening in the period? What do you have to know about the time in order for this document to make sense?
The reader would have to know that Eisenhower is the US President. and that Allen Dulles is the CIA director. They'd have to know what the U-2 project is and what ICBMs are. The most important thing they'd need to know is that this document was produced during the Cold War (the Soviets are referred to as "our enemies").
What information, if any, can be learned from this document indirectly, by reading between the lines?
It is clear that the US is very scared of the possibility of a Soviet nuclear attack. The President is relying heavily on the intelligence community to keep him informed of Soviet military capabilities, largely through high-tech surveillance. The President also knows how risky it is to keep flying the U2 over the USSR, and he expressed his reservations in the meeting.
U-2 Spy Plane Crisis
It's your turn! You are President Eisenhower. On May 1, 1960, your top advisers inform you that on a routine fly-over mission, a U-2 surveillance plane has been shot down by the Soviets. Premier Khrushchev is furious at the fact that the US has been conducting spy missions by invading Soviet airspace. He is threatening to cancel the Paris Peace Summit, scheduled for May 16th. The summit was supposed to be the first step in attaining "peaceful coexistence" with the Soviets. You had planned to discuss a nuclear arms agreement and the easing of tensions in Berlin. This U-2 incident could derail the summit. What do you do?
Will you resolve this Cold War crisis peacefully? Or will you lead the world towards nuclear war? Click the button below to find out.
If you'd like a refresher on how the game works, click here. Remember, your goals are to:
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Resolve your Cold War crisis peacefully
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Ease tensions with the Soviet Union
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Contain Communism and spread Democracy
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Support your NATO allies
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Maintain the National Security of the US
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Gain respect and project strength as a leader
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Protect the global reputation of the US
For Further Reading, Check Out:
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Reel, Monte. A Brotherhood of Spies: The U-2 and the CIA’s Secret War. New York: Penguin Random House, 2018.
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Powers, Francis Gary, with Curt Gentry. Operation Overflight: A Memoir of the U-2 Incident. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
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Powers Jr., Francis Gary and Keith Dunnavant. Spy Pilot: Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and A Controversial Cold War Legacy. Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 2019.
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Beschloss, Michael R. Mayday: Eisenhower, Khrushchev, and the U-2 Affair. New York: Harper & Row, 1986.
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Pedlow, Gregory W. and Donald E. Welzenbach. The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance: The U-2 and Oxcart Programs, 1954-1974. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2016.
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Bissell Jr., Richard M. with Jonathan E. Lewis and Francis T. Pudlo. Reflections of a Cold Warrior: From Yalta to the Bay of Pigs. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.
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Johnson, Clarence “Kelly” L. with Maggie Smith. Kelly: More Than My Share of It All. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books, 1989.
Citations
Situation Room Image:
"Situation Room Empty Meme Generator-Imgflip." https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/96913597/Situation-Room-Empty
President Eisenhower in the Oval Office Image:
"50 Years Later: Eisenhower's Military Industrial Complex." NPR. January 17, 2011. https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132983929/50-years-later-eisenhowers-military-industrial-complex
U2 Pilot in Flight Suit Image:
"Flying the U2." National Museum of the US Air Force. https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos/igphoto/2000471964/
U2 Plane Image:
"High Spy: The Amazing U2." Air & Space Magazine. March 31, 2012. https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/high-spy-the-amazing-u-2-126683062/
President Eisenhower and Foreign Policy Information:
Chester J. Pach Jr. "Dwight D. Eisenhower: Foreign Affairs." University of Virginia: Miller Center. https://millercenter.org/president/eisenhower/foreign-affairs
The U-2 Program Information:
"U-2S/TU-2S." U.S. Air Force. September 23, 2015. https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104560/u-2stu-2s/
Monte Reel. A Brotherhood of Spies: The U-2 and the CIA’s Secret War. New York: Penguin Random House, 2018.
For a complete bibliography of all the sources, images, and information included within the Quest game, click on the button below.