stalled the aircraft just above the ground, and it touched down on both gears in a perfect landing. As the plane rolled out at 55–60 knots, the pogos, which had been locked in place, were still off the ground. LeVier used the gust control to reduce lift. Article 341 came to a stop at 4:34 P.M.[45]
As LeVier climbed out of Article 341, he saw Johnson, who had been flying as a passenger in the T-33. LeVier jokingly 'saluted' him with an obscene gesture and accused Johnson of trying to kill him. Johnson responded with the same gesture and a loud, 'You too,' which was heard by the ground crew. LeVier answered back, 'You did.' So was born the 'U-2' name. Ten minutes later, the rain squalls flooded Groom Lake with two inches of water. The Lockheed personnel celebrated that evening with beer-drinking and arm-wrestling contests.
The following day, LeVier made a second, short flight to check out the landing technique. The plane's official first flight took place on August 8.
On hand were Bissell and other government officials. LeVier made a low pass, then zoomed up to 30,000 feet. The T-33 chase plane, with Matye at the controls, struggled to follow. At the end of the hour-long flight, LeVier made another low pass and landed.[46]
LeVier made a total of twenty flights, which completed the Phase 1 testing. These flights took the aircraft to its maximum speed of Mach 0.84, an altitude of 50,000 feet, and a successful dead-stick landing. LeVier said the plane 'went up like a homesick angel.' With the Phase 1 testing completed, LeVier left to join the F-104 program.[47]
Lockheed test pilots Bob Matye and Ray Goudy replaced LeVier. They expanded the altitude envelope to 74,500 feet. On three occasions, Matye broke the world altitude record of 65,890 feet set on August 29, 1955, by Wing Commander Walter Gibb in an English Electric Canberra. The Canberra record had made headlines; there was no announcement from Groom Lake. On the third flight, Matye suffered an engine flameout. This qualified the pressure suit emergency oxygen system and emergency descent procedures.[48]
Despite these successes, Matye's flameout indicated a major problem with the J57 engine. When the engine flamed out, the aircraft would have to descend to 35,000 feet before the pilot could attempt a relight. On test flights, this was no problem. On an overflight, however, the plane would be helpless against MiGs. Bissell said later, 'Plainly, unless this problem could be licked, it would be altogether too hazardous to fly this aircraft over unfriendly territory.' The early J57-37 engines also dumped oil into the cockpit pressurization system. This left an oily film on the windshield. The test pilots had to carry a swab on a stick to clean it. Pratt and Whitney made a number of small fixes, but with only limited success. It would require a new version, the J57-31, before the flameout problem was solved. And this would not be accomplished until early 1956.
By November 1955, there were four or five U-2s in the test program at Groom Lake. Robert Sicker and Robert Schumacher were added to the flight test staff. The initial flight tests were of airframe and engine, followed later by tests of subsystems, such as the autopilot. Finally, with the arrival of the cameras, these would be tested on simulated operational missions.[49] The initial test flights did not venture more than two hundred miles from the Ranch. From 70,000 feet, the U-2 could glide back to Groom Lake. As confidence in the aircraft grew, the Lockheed pilots began flying triangular patterns up to one thousand miles away from the Ranch. These flights could last up to nine and a half hours.
If the triumphs of Groom Lake were secret, so too were its tragedies. At 7:00 A.M. on Wednesday, November 17, 1955, the daily air force flight to Groom Lake took off from Burbank. Aboard the C-54 transport were ten Lockheed and CIA personnel and five crewmen. There would have been more passengers, but a party at the Flight Test Division had left some people with hangovers. The weather was poor and the C-54 hit the peak of Mount Charleston near Las Vegas, killing all fifteen. It took three days to reach the wreckage, which was only thirty feet from the eleven-thousand-foot summit. An air force colonel accompanied the rescue party to recover briefcases and classified documents from the bodies.
The air force issued a statement saying they were civilian technicians and consultants. It was assumed by the press that they had been scientists connected with the AEC's nuclear tests. They would not be the last to meet secret deaths. In the wake of the tragedy, Johnson insisted Lockheed take over the daily flights to the Ranch. A company-owned C-47 was used.
During this time, Bell had continued work on the X-16. In early October 1955 (two months after the first U-2 test flight), Bell signed a contract with the air force for twenty-two aircraft. Then, a few hours later, Bell was notified that the project had been terminated. It had been realized that the U-2, even with the engine problems, was a vastly superior aircraft. Loss of the X-16 was a major blow to Bell; it was one of the few contracts the company had.[50] The loss meant the end of Bell's involvement with fixed- wing aircraft. Ironically, the X-16 would remain secret for another decade — it was not until 1976 that photos of the aircraft would be released.
Following the cancellation of the X-16, Lockheed received contracts for a total of fifty U-2s. Lockheed gave back some $2 million on the initial contract. Later, an additional five U-2s would be assembled from spare parts.[51]
In late 1955 and early 1956, recruitment of the CIA U-2 pilots began.
They were all F-84 pilots from two Strategic Air Command (SAC) bases, Turner Air Force Base, Georgia, and Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas. The Strategic Fighter Wings at these bases were being phased out. The 'disappearance' of a few pilots would not be noticed.[52] The pilots approached were all reserve officers with indefinite service tours, Top Secret clearances, exceptional pilot ratings, and more than the required flight time in single-seat, single-engine aircraft.
The pilots initially were told only that a flying job was available. If they were interested, an interview would be arranged. These interviews were held at night, at nearby motels. The pilots were not told much more — simply that they had been picked to be part of a group that would carry out a special mission. It would be risky, but they would be doing something important for the United States. They would be well paid but would have to be overseas for eighteen months without their families. If they were interested, they should call the motel the next day and arrange another interview.
Several pilots refused because of the separation from their families. The remainder were highly curious. There was wild speculation on what the job offer was really about. Marty Knutson thought they were going to be astronauts.[53] Francis Gary Powers thought it sounded like the Flying Tigers.[54]
It was not until the third interview that the tantalizing mysteries were made clear. The pilots were told they would be working for the CIA and that they would be flying a new airplane that could go higher than any other. Their pay, during training, would
Those pilots who agreed underwent several months of briefings, lie-detector tests, and medical checks at the Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The examination lasted a week and involved tests developed specifically for the prospective U-2 pilots. (They were later used for the Mercury astronauts.) One series tested for claustrophobia — a necessity given the cramped cockpit and restrictive partial-pressure suit. A handful of pilots washed out. The rest, about twenty-five in all, resigned from the air force (a process called 'sheep dipping') and signed eighteen-month contracts with the CIA. They were then sent to the Ranch.
The training program at the Ranch was a joint CIA-air force operation.
The group was commanded by Col. Bill Yancey and included four experienced instructor pilots. Because there were no two-seat U-2s at this time (or even a ground simulator), the instructor pilots were limited to conducting the ground school.[55] The CIA pilots underwent training in three groups, starting in early 1956 and continuing through the year. While at the Ranch, the pilots used cover names. Francis Gary Powers became 'Francis G. Palmer' (same initials and similar last name). [56] The pilots' gray green flight suits had no name tags nor squadron patches. They did wear film badges that measured radiation exposure, because of the nearby nuclear test site.[57]
