Approved for Release: 2013/06/25
Secret NOFORN
Chapter 3
93
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U-2 Operations in the Soviet Bloc and Middle East, 1956-1968
By January 1956, everyone working on Project AQUATONE could see that the U-2 was nearing the time for operational deployment. During tests the aircraft had met all the criteria established in late 1954. Its range of 2,950 miles was sufficient to overfly continents, its altitude of 72,000 feet was beyond the reach of all known antiaircraft weapons and interceptor aircraft, and its camera lenses were the finest available.
Because the main targets for the U-2 lay behind the Iron Curtain, Bissell and his staff began looking for operational bases in Europe. The United Kingdom, America’s closest ally, seemed the logical choice for U-2 bases, and, on 10 January 1956, Bissell flew to London to discuss the matter with Royal Air Force (RAF) and MI-6 officials. Their initial response was favorable, but they told Bissell that the proposal needed approval at a much higher level.
Bissell reported his findings to DCI Dulles, who promptly arranged to meet with Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd in London to explore the possibility of winning the British Government’s approval for the project. Dulles presented his case to Lloyd on 2 February, and, by early March, Prime Minister Anthony Eden approved the basing of U-2s in the United Kingdom. The U-2s were to use Lakenheath AFB, an RAF base also used by the USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC).¹
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¹ *OSA History*, chap. 11, pp. 10-15 (TS Codeword).
Secret
Approved for Release: 2013/06/25