Approved for Release: 2013/06/25
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Secret NOFORN
Chapter 6
270
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designs and continued the competition. Lockheed continued to work on developing a design that would be less vulnerable to detection, and Convair received a new CIA contract to design an air-breathing twin-engine aircraft that would meet the general specifications being followed by Lockheed.¹¹
Following recommendations by the Land committee, both Lockheed and Convair incorporated the Pratt & Whitney J58 power plant into their designs. This engine had originally been developed for the Navy’s large, jet-powered flying boat, the Glenn L. Martin Company’s P6M Seamaster, and was the most powerful engine available. In 1958 the Navy had canceled the Seamaster program, which had left Pratt & Whitney without a buyer for the powerful J58 engine.¹²
Although the Land committee had not yet found an acceptable design, it informed President Eisenhower on 20 July 1959 that the search was making good progress. Concerned about the U-2’s vulnerability to detection and possible interception and aware that the photosatellite project was encountering significant problems, the President gave his final approval to the high-speed reconnaissance aircraft project.¹³
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THE SELECTION OF THE LOCKHEED DESIGN
By the late summer of 1959, both Convair and Lockheed had completed new designs for a follow-on to the U-2. Convair’s entry, known as the KINGFISH, used much of the technology developed for the F-102, F-106, and B-58, including stainless steel honeycomb skin, planiform wing design, and a crew capsule escape system, which eliminated the need for the pilot to wear a pressurized suit. The KINGFISH had two side-by-side J58 engines inside the fuselage, which significantly reduced the radar cross section. Two additional
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¹¹ *OSA History*, chap. 20, p. 15 (TS Codeword).
¹² Cunningham interview, 4 October 1983 (TS Codeword); Joseph V. Charyk, interview by Donald E. Welzenbach, tape recording, Washington, DC, 5 December 1984 (TS Codeword).
¹³ Andrew J. Goodpaster, “Memorandum of Conference with the President,” 20 July 1959, WHOSS, ALPHA, DDEL (TS).
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Secret
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Approved for Release: 2013/06/25