Lockheed U-2 variant
Lockheed U-2 U-2G
U-2Cs modified for carrier operations with reinforced landing gear, an arrester hook and lift-dump spoilers on the wings. The census records two conversions, while accounts of the operation mention three aircraft fitted with hooks. Their only genuine operational use was spying on a French atomic test in the Pacific in 1964.
- 2
- Units built
History
Why put a U-2 to sea
Flying the U-2 from a carrier promised two things: a wider effective reach and, above all, freedom from negotiating the use of foreign bases with their governments, a political step that shaped every overflight campaign. The gear was strengthened, an arrester hook and lift-dump spoilers were added for the recovery, and carrier-qualified naval aviators were recruited to fly the aircraft.
Trials and a single mission
The idea worked: trials in 1964 aboard USS Ranger and in 1969 with USS America proved a U-2 could take off from and land on a deck. The only operational use came in May 1964, when a U-2 flying from Ranger watched a French atomic test in the Pacific. The Lockheed C-130 was also evaluated as logistic support for U-2 sea deployments.
End of the programme
In 1969 it was the far larger U-2R that flew from America. The U-2 carrier programme is believed to have been halted after that year, never having grown from an exceptional capability into routine practice.