WASHINGTON ROUNDUP
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
CIA-RDP33-02415A000100420001-2
Release Decision:
RIFPUB
Original Classification:
K
Document Page Count:
40
Document Creation Date:
November 17, 2016
Document Release Date:
August 4, 2000
Sequence Number:
1
Case Number:
Publication Date:
May 16, 1960
Content Type:
MAGAZINE
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Attachment | Size |
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CIA-RDP33-02415A000100420001-2.pdf | 4.78 MB |
Body:
*USAF Declassification/Release Instructions On File*
Approved ~wr Release 2000/08/21: C -RD 02415A000100420001-2
Washington Roundup
NASA Biomed Plans National Aeronautics and Space Administration is assuring Congress that it will
not duplicate the military services' work or facilities in space medicine. Dr. Clark
Randt, chief of NASA's Office of Life Sciences, says he plans to build a small head-
quarters staff of 16-18 highly qualified professionals this year.
Randt says NASA will stick to basic research and won't duplicate the services'
applied research in the bio-technology field. Space agency plans a small life sciences
research center to permit the headquarters staff to keep current on research.
NASA plans to hold meetings of 30-35 experts in space bioscience within the next
month or so to discuss improvement of bioscience experiments in space. Group will
try to find better ways to use payloads available in space vehicles. It also will plan pay-
loads aimed primarily at biological experiments.
Human factors expert Alfred M. Mayo will join NASA this month as assistant
director for bio-engineernrg in the Office of Life Science Programs. Mayo currently is
chief, equipment and safety research, for Douglas Aircraft Co.
Dr. Cornelius A. Tobias will join the space agency life sciences staff about Sept. 1.
Dr. ' L'obias has studied the effects of radiation on humans. Ile will be on leave from the
University of California.
Public Relations Policy National public relations policy on key space shots is being set by the White House,
not NASA, with Brig. Gen. Andrew J. Goodpaster, staff secretary, playing a key role.
Latest Goodpaster idea is to bounce a tape-recorded message from President Eisenhower
off the Project Echo communications relay satellite. Original tape stressed peaceful
use of space, but plans have changed since the U-2 incident.
USAF's Operation Cherrytrce, originally scheduled last month at Maxwell AFB,
will now be held May 18-20 at Andrews AFB. Purpose of the meeting is to give top
Air Force commanders a chance to take a hard look at weapon system development and
production programs over the next decade (A-\V Apr. 4, p. 25). Conference is to deter-
mine the hard core of the USAF weapon structure over that period.
Soviet air force commander Chief Air Marshal K. A. Vershinin and nine top aides
are scheduled to tour key USAF installations in a cross-country tour of the U. S. Soviet
group will attend the Armed Forces Day show at Andrews AFB, then leave on a tour
that will include Tactical Air Command headquarters at Langley AFB, Air Force Mis-
sile 'l'est Center at Cape Canaveral and Strategic Air Command base at Ft. Worth, Tex.
USAF Missile Concern Air Force is concerned over its lack of ballistic missile assembly, test and launch
capability. USAF has relied on contractors to handle these functions in research and
development launches. Contractors arc still used as an important supplement to test
and training activities at operational bases.
Major Air Force effort to increase its capabilities may come in the Dyna-Soar pro-
gram. USAF may try to assume the assembly, test and launch roles in the boost-glider
program.
Special House group is evaluating the aircraft nuclear propulsion program. Sub-
committee of the House Appropriations Committee was established after that group
questioned ANP progress when it approved the $75 million Fiscal 1961 request for
USAF's share in the program. Members of the special subcommittee now holding
closed hearings on ANP arc: Reps. George Mahon (D.-Tex.), Harry R. Sheppard
(D.-Calif.), Louis C. Rabaut (D.-Mich.), Ben F. Jensen (R.-Iowa) and John R. Pillion
(R.-N. Y.).
Russians apparently recovered the capsule ejected from Discoverer II last year which
landed on Spitsbergen. Re-entering capsule and parachute were seen and located by
three Norwegians. An intense search of the landing area produced no capsule, but there
were signs that it had been found and carried to a nearby Russian colony.
Descending capsule should have been easy to see from the Soviet colony, but the
Russians denied any knowledge of it when asked. Discoverer II was supposed to eject
the capsule south of Kodiak, Alaska, for recovery near Hawaii. A minor malfunction
and a programing error fired the rctro-rocket prematurely.
Wra u Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee is scheduled to complete hearings
' ' on the defense budget this week, then move into closed meetings to make its final deci-
sions. Senate version of the budget is expected by June 15 . . . General Accounting
Office report on Air Force management of its ballistic missile programs is scheduled to
go to Congress this week . . . Aviation subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Com-
mittee will begin hearings this week on proposed authority for the CAB to limit the
type and extent of service in air carrier certificates. -Washington Staff
Approved For Release 2000/08/21 : CIA-RDP33-02415A000100420001-2 25
AVIATION WEEK, May 16, 1960
Approved For Release 20,Q,J/08/21 : CIA-RDP33-02415A000+00426001-2
U. S. to Continue U-2 Flights Over Soviet
`Rocket' boast of Russians largely discounted;
loss of plane attributed to flameout of engine.
Washington-United States will continue manned reconnaissance flights
over the heart of the Soviet Union despite Russian retaliation threats until
an effective surveillance satellite system becomes operational and/or an arms
inspection agreement is reached.
The decision to continue such flights, which have been under way since
1956 at least, followed in the wake of the May 1 crash of a Lockheed U-2
high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft 1,400 mi. inside Russia near Sverdlovsk
in the Ural Mountain region.
It also was a public indication of U. S. official disbelief in Soviet Nikita
Khrushchev's boast that the U-2 had been downed by a single anti-aircraft
"rocket" while flying at an altitude of 65,000 ft. and his boasts that similar
"rockets" could destroy Strategic Air Command's bomber force.
The U-2, piloted by Francis Gary
Powers, a civilian under contract to design through structural changes and
Lockheed Aircraft Corp., actually ex- internal improvements.
perienced a flameout of its Pratt & Gross weight of early versions of the
Whitney J75-P-13 turbojet engine near U-2 with slipper tanks on the wings is
its maximum altitude of about 90,000 17,270 lb., including 995 gal. of fuel.
Without the tanks, weight is 1>,850
The aircraft had descended to about lb., with 785 gal. carried internally.
37,000 ft. attempting an engine restart Lockheed also lists the cruising speed
when last contact with the pilot was of this version as 460 niph. true air-
made. Efforts by Powers to restart the speed at altitude, top speed as 500 mph.
U-2 engine had not been successful true airspeed. Wing span, as given by
down to this altitude. the company, is 80 ft.; length, 49 ft.,
At this relatively-low altitude, or 7 in. Lockheed reports the range at
lower, the plane may have been inter- approximately 2,200 stat. mi. without
ccptecl by either Soviet interceptors or slipper tanks and about 2,600 mi. with
ground-to-air missiles. them. Range figures are based on hav-
ing a 100 gal. reserve on letdown.
Several Versions The Soviets apparently were alerted
The U-2, whose design was begun in
19 54, is not the only U.S. high-altitude
aircraft available for reconnaissance mis-
sions over the Soviet Union.
Other, more advanced manned recon-
naissance systems will go above 100,000
ft. using exotic fuels developed during
the past five years and a lightweight
supersonic airframe. These light metal,
boron and hydrogen-based fuels have
proved practical for specialized missions,
particularly those where the turbojet
engines can be overhauled after a few
hours of running time.
Cost and handling problems have
generally prevented the adoption of
these fuels for wide operational use
within the Air Force.
There also are several versions of the
U-2, whose subsonic airframe is limited
by Mach number effects to an altitude
of approximately 100,000 ft.
While the U-2 downed over the
Soviet Union was powered by a J75
engine, earlier versions were powered
by a version of the lower-powered Pratt
& Whitney J57. Range and altitude
performance also probably have been
substantially boosted since the initial
to the proposed U-2 flight and tracked
it by radar from its initial penetration
of the Afghan border on a course that
took it over Stalinabad west of Tash-
kent, over Tvura Tarn, past Aralsk and
on to the Chelyabinsk area where en-
gine trouble apparently developed.
The U-2 downed near Sverdlovsk,
which according to Soviet sources, was
equipped with extra fuel tanks, was fly-
ing a route from Pcshwar, Pakistan, to
Bodo, Norway, that would have cov-
ered more than 3,000 mi.
Main Checkpoints
Main checkpoints on the flight were
to have been:
? Large rocket launching complex at
Tvura Tani just cast of the Aral Sea to
monitor any space launchings which
might be made to coincide with the
Soviet May Day celebration.
? Industrial complex at Sverdlovsk to
report on the status of the new missile
defense installation there which has
hemispherical, domed launch points
rather than the herringbone pattern of
the older Russian ground-to-air missile
sites that resemble U. S. Nike installa-
tions. Vice President Richard M. Nixon
reported seeing these domed sites,
dubbed "I louse of David" by the U. S.,
at Sverdlovsk during his 1959 visit.
? Archangel and Murmansk, both of
which house large bases for the Soviet
navy and air force. Soviet submarine,
air defense and long-range bombing
forces all have numerous installations in
the vicinity of these two cities.
First pictures released by the Soviets
in their propagaucla barrage over the
incident and purporting to show the U-2
wreckage (see p. 30) were quickly dis-
credited by Clarence L. "Kelly" John-
son, Lockheed vice president who had
been charged with the aircraft's design.
After a thorough study of available
photographs, which showed a heavily
damaged aircraft, Johnson said not one
part could be identified as belonging
to the lightweight U-2 and that the
small pieces of heavy structure that
could be studied closely were definitely
not from a U-2. He said the wreckage
most probably was that of an obsolesc-
ing Soviet 11-28 Beagle light bomber.
Johnson's skepticism, which was
voiced in other quarters, including the
White House, prompted the Soviets to
display the remains of a relatively lightly
damaged aircraft at a public exhibition
in Moscow's Gorki park and to release
new pictures. Lockheed officials, after
a study of these photographs, said there
was no doubt that the aircraft on dis-
play was the U-2.
Mission Responsibility
Aircraft and pilots employed on stra-
tegic reconnaissance missions around
the periphery of the Communist tcrri-
tory also serve NASA by gathering gust
and meteorological data at altitudes of
up to 55,000 ft. as part of a four-year-
old high-altitude weather research ' pro-
gram.
Three reports by NASA and its
predecessor agency, the National Ad-
visory Committee for Aeronautics, pre-
senting data gathered by U-2 aircraft
have been issued during this time. 'I his
data has shown primarily that turbu-
lence at 55,000 ft. is, on the average,
half as frequent and half as severe as
that at 20,000 ft.
Under procedures established in
19 56, the aircraft used in this program
are paid for by the Air Force and put
out on bailment to NASA for specific
periods of time. This practice has been
used for many years by both Air Force
and Navy to support NACA programs.
The Air Force originally purchased
the U-2 for a joint USAF-Atomic
Energy Commission high altitude radia-
tion detection research program. The
26 Approved For Release 2000/08/21 : CIA-RDP33-02415A0001 4gqOgEIR?May 16, 1960
CIA
project, how ,KgVgq[lrFcqF Rpkea se 20. i8 21 : 01 1 ~IAQgQa 0420tOC~1r ~ la-alti
sporadic basis, and sonic of the aircraft Wreckage Displayed tilde planes. The wings flap noticeably
were baled to NASA for its weather Moscow-Underside damage predomi- during flight near the ground, and the
research program during slack periods. Hated in the sections of wreckage of a main landing gear has been reduced
The Air Force Weather Service acts blue-black unmarked Lockheed U-2 the to one strut with dual wheels to con-
as administrator for the portion of the Russians put on display here last week. serve weight. ]'his strut is located
NASA program investigating high-alti- Greatest degree of damage appeared to just forward of the center of gravity
tudc weather conditions outside the be in the center section and to the so that the pilot can balance on it
continental U. S. There are no person- Pratt & Whitney J75-P-13 turbojet en- during his landing ground roll.
ncl directly employed by NASA in these gine. Wing-tip skids are provided to prc-
overseas activities. Vertical tail surfaces were less dam- vent damage to the wing when the air-
These units apparently take their aged than the underside of the tail see- craft slows down and the pilot loses
orders primarily from the Central In- tion. Trailing edges of both wings were lateral control with his ailerons. I ur-
tclligence Agency, with NASA receiving torn and there were holes from one to ing takeoff, two small wheels under
only raw weather data from these units. ten inches in diameter in the right wing. each wing keep them level. These
Cover Plane Underside of the left wing showed very wheels are held firmly on the ground
little damage. Slipper tanks on the wings by a flexible strut inserted in a wing
On May 1, as Powers' plane flew into were bent upward and the left one was socket so that, on takeoffs, the struts
the Soviet Union from Pakistan, an- flattened on the bottom. cone out of the sockets and the whole
other U-2 was flying as a cover in the Unofficial Soviet sources maintained assembly remains on the runway.
Lake Van region near the eastern bor- the airplane was hit by a rocket in the Small wheel supports the tail section
der of Turkey. The aircraft over Tur- engine section. Equipment described by when the pilot lowers it near the end
key was following the pattern of a nor- the Soviets as radio and ground radar of his landing roll and during takeoff.
mal weather reconnaissance flight such reconnaissance systems was displayed
as those made for NASA. U-2 Surface
along with dome antennas carrying desig-
First reports that a U-2 was missing nations of MP 11719 and MP 12570. Surface of the U-2 is exceptionally
came on May 3 from the Incirlik Air Seven glass ports for cameras were noted clean, with flush riveting over much of
Base in Adana, 'l'urkev, the aircraft's by observers and a 9x18 in. film size the aircraft. Careful attention is paid
home base. 'I'liesc reports placed the camera designated 73B and an astro- to joints and junctures during manu-
aircraft in the Lake Van region and said tracker for calibrating pictures taken in facture, since a very smooth surface is
the pilot had reported difficulty with flight by reference to the sun also were required to keep friction drag low at
his oxygen system. included. high altitudes.
Two days later, when Soviet Premier Airspeed indicator needle was stuck Iligh aspect ratio, sailplane-type
Nikita Khrushchev told a session of the on 340 kt. Altimeter needle was gone. wing was used on the aircraft to per-
Supreme Soviet that a U. S. reconnais- None of the pilot's survival equipment mit it to operate at high lift coefficients
sauce aircraft had been downed over displayed appeared soiled or damaged. during cruise with a small penalty in
the Soviet Union, the U. S. still clung Lettering on the wing "Fuel only with drag clue to lift. The turned-down
to the Lake Van U-2. MIL-F-25524A" correspond with mark- wing tips that form the skids for land-
An NASA release, made at State Dc- ings on U-2s photographed in the U. S. ing increase the effective aspect ratio
partment insistence, and apparently (see p. 29, lower left photo). of the wing and make it more efficient
based upon reports received from Tur- for the U-2 mission.
key, reiterated the statement that the Primary mechanical modification to
bake Van U-2 was missing and that the plane and that he had admitted flying the J57 powerplant in initial installa-
pilot had experienced trouble with his a reconnaissance mission on orders from tions was the use of larger, wide chord
his "chiefs."
oxygen equipment. compressor blades to pump thin, low-
It added that the aircraft was on a State Department then issued a state- density air more efficiently than those
northeasterly course when last heard mhadeat been acknowledging that the aircraft mrcraisft _ on normal turbojet installations which
from and that, if the pilot had lost must function effectively through a
consciousness it could have strived sion over the Soviet Union and offs wide altitude range.
dally expressing surprise at the bclli
er-
g
across the Soviet border,
T'he State Department release stated ante of the Russian leaders' attack on the U. S. "there was no deliberate attempt of these flights . since,
ht it said, they had known
rcta
to violate Soviet airspace and there In n a a ~ later statement, years.
never has been." , Sccrctar of
These statements stood for two days State Christian Herter said the U. S.
-until Khrushchev announced to the intends to continue such flights, term-
Supreme Soviet that the aircraft had thattlitiwinecessary et takenrbyt West
h surprise
been downed near Sverdlovsk deep in attack. A day later, president Eisen-
Russian territory, that Powers had bower gave his tacit approval to the
safely parachutecl from his crippled flights and outlined the reasons the
SAC U-2 Fleet
Strategic Air Command has a fleet of
15 U-2 aircraft which are used for train-
ing purposes, high altitude weather re-
search and nuclear radiation detection
missions. Other USAF U-2 aircraft have
been assigned to Air Research and Devcl-
opment Command.
U. S. believes they are necessary (see
P 32).
Initial Design
In the initial design of the aircraft in
1954, existing state-of-the-art informa-
tion was used in the development of
the airframe, and no elaborate re-
search program was conducted before
work on actual hardware was begun.
Construction of the aircraft is ex-
Soviet Missile Command
Moscow-Soviet Union has established
a separate missile command, apparently
on a level equal to that of its air force,
army and navy.
New service is under the command of
Marshal Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin,
who has headed the Soviet array artillery
and served as chief of the principal artil-
lery administration in the Ministry of
Defense for the past 10 years.
First indication of the separate corer
wand came shortly after Soviet Premier
Nikita Khrushchev's initial announce-
ment that a Lockheed U-2 aircraft had
been downed over Russian territory. At
a formal reception, Khrushchev intro-
duced Nedelin as "Marshal of Rocketry
Nedelin."
WEE-AIpfgygO5jor Release 2000/08/21'' : CIA-RDP33-02415A000100420001-2
-Approved,* r Release 2000/08/2 : CIA-RD' i 3' 02415A000100420001-2
Extremely clean wing-fuselage juncture and engine air inlet design are shown in these photographs of a Lockheed U-2 with National
Aeronautics and Space Administration markings taken at Edwards AFB, Calif., five days after a U-2 was lost near Sverdlovsk, Russia.
Slight droop of the wings indicates their light construction.
Extreme Cleanness, Manufacturing Care Mark U-2
Unusual landing gear on the Lockheed U-2 provides considerable savings in structural weight; an important factor for high altitude
aircraft. Small wheels on flexible strut are held firmly on ground by wing weight and drop off at takeoff. Near the end of the landing
ground roll, the pilot normally turns onto the grass and heels over on one wing tip skid.
Approved l, For Release Q0/08/21
Sole identification marks on the U-2 shown at Edwards are
the NASA letters in a small stripe on the tail and a serial
number (left). Manufacturing excellence in the U-2 is evidenced
on its tail areas which have flush riveting and essentially no mis-
match of adjoining skin panels perpendicular to the airflow over
the aircraft. The manufacturing tolerances held on the after
sections of the U-2 are better than those on the nose of many
operational high-speed aircraft. The aerodynamically balanced rud-
der and elevator installations with almost no gap at the hinge again
show extreme manufacturing care. The hand-built U-2s were
originally constructed in the Experimental Department of the
CIA-RDP33-024'15A00420014
California Division of Lockheed Aircraft Corp. Nose view of the
double truck main gear and its brake system.
h
ows
U-2 (right) s
Large open areas are provided on bottom and both sides of the
U-2 nose structure to permit the mounting of a variety of cameras
and other reconnaissance equipment. Radar can be mounted in
the nose of the aircraft. Main engine air inlets are large for a
single engine aircraft and are needed for high-altitude operation.
The inlet lips are fairly sharp because of the compressibility prob-
lems the aircraft experiences near its maximum altitude. Auxiliary
air scoop on the right side of the fuselage is located back
under the wing.
SEW&V d th win tip skid design are shown at right.
e
g
the fuselage under the canopy states types of fuel tab installation an
late for the vdng and
s
r
Stenciling on and improves the effi-
o
the wing tip votex
of
T to be used in the aircraft, gives ejectiongseatdwarning reduces thestrength
instructions and includes the
sign. Bullet-shaped body on strut at the top of the windshield ciency of the wing when it is operating at high lift coefficients as
~
houses a reAvpprove rFlor iRelease
2000/08/21 : CIA-RDP33-02415A000100420001-2
AVIATION WEEK, May 16, 1960
Soi.pIgjopJ: CfF 3 241 0 40 r420001-
Ucl, j e ~h
or 7
REAL U-2 WRECKAGE was finally displayed later by Soviets in Moscow Gorki Park exhibit
after earlier faked wreckage picture had been exposed by Lockheed's Johnson and President
Eisenhower. Wreckage shows major portion of U-2 wing panel. Soviets claim to have
recovered most of the U-2 reconnaissance equipment intact and description of cockpit
equipment indicates they may have recovered this plane relatively undamaged, again
casting suspicion on their earlier claim of rocket hits at 65,000 ft. Pratt & Whitney J75
engine from U-2 exhibited in Moscow showed evidence of impact damage. Tail section was
intact except for missing rudder tab. U-2 wreckage was painted bloc-black and no insignia
was visible on wings, fuselage or tail.
FAKED U-2 WRECKAGE is shown in this photo originally released by the Soviets labeled
as the wreckage of the U-2 as it was shot down near Sverdlovsk. Wreckage is actually the
remains of an Aeroflot Tu-104 jet transport that crashed near Sverdlovsk last February
killing an official Chinese delegation to Moscow. C. L. "Kelly" Johnson, Lockheed designer
of the U-2, analyzed the structural members showing in this photo and said they bore no
resemblance to the lightweight U-2 structure and were probably of a bomber type aircraft.
Aeroflot Tu-104 crash near Sverdlovsk was one of few publicly announced in USSR because
of large foreign delegation aboard. Faked U-2 wreckage was apparently released to create
impression of heavy damage from Soviet anti-aircraft missile whereas genuine U-2 wreckage
displayed later in Moscow showed major damage sustained along aircraft belly similar to
that from a forced landing. Khrushchev awarded medals to Red Army missile crew who
allegedly fired the rocket that supposedly hit the U-2. New type anti-aircraft missiles have
been observed in the Sverdlovsk area since last summer.
Moscow-Soviet Union last week ex-
ploited the May 1 downing of a Lock-
heed U-2 reconnaissance plane well in-
side Russia with boasts of its own
defensive strength and warnings to U. S.
and its allies that further flights might
be met by "more drastic action."
At a press conference called shortly
after U. S. Secretary of State Christian
Herter said the U. S. plans to continue
such flights, Soviet Foreign Minister
Andrei Gromkvo warned:
"Once again, the violation of the
sovereignty and integrity of foreign
frontiers, spying and subversion, are
pronounced as the U. S. official policy.
"We shall meet, as the Soviet people
have always met aggressors, and air-
craft which dare to make a sortie into
our borders will he smashed to smith-
ereens."
Gromvko warned that those "who
lend bases on their territory for aircraft
violating our frontier ... should know
that in the event of a repetition of such
provocations, the Soviet Union will be
able to render these bases harmless."
Earlier, a Radio Moscow broadcast
beamed to the U. S. threatened that, "if
these American flights over our terri-
tory do not cease, the Soviet Union will
be compelled to take more drastic action
and the security of the United States
will hardly benefit."
The furor over the U-2 crash-and the
debate over the actual facts behind it-
near Sverdlovsk 1,400 mi. inside the
Soviet border was dramatically touched
off by Premier Nikita Khrushchev four
days after the incident.
In a speech before the Supreme
Soviet, in which he failed to mention
that U-2 pilot Francis Powers had been
captured alive, Khrushchev said:
"That day (May 1) . .. an American
plane flew over our frontier and con-
tinued its flight into the interior of the
Soviet land. A report on this aggres-
sive act was immediately given to the
government by the Minister of Defense.
"The government has stated this:
Since he realizes what he cones up
against when intruding into a foreign
territory, if he gets away with it, he
will attempt fresh provocations. There-
fore, the plane must be shot down.
"This task was fulfilled, and the
plane was shot down."
Khrushchev said that, upon being
told of the invasion, he personally or-
dered that the U-2 he shot down.
He saved his greatest propaganda
coup until May 7 after U. S. spokes-
men had issued a statement that a
U-2 flying a high-altitude weather mis-
sion in the vicinity of Lake Van near the
eastern border of Turkey had been miss-
ing since May 1.
30 Approved For Release 2000/08/21 : CIA-RDP33-02415A000100420001-2
AVIATION WEEK, May 16, 1960
The SAPP OW ,pace
two days, then retorted in a speech high-
lighted by a statement that U-2 pilot
Powers was in Soviet hands. Khrushchev
told the Supreme Soviet:
"The flier testified he had no dizzi-
ness nor had his oxygen apparatus failed
(as U. S. officials had speculated). He
was flying along an assigned course, ac-
curately executing his chiefs' order,
switching on and off equipment over
preselected targets for gleaning intelli-
gence data on the Soviet Union's mili-
tary and industrial establishments, and
flew on until the very moment his pirati-
cal flight into this country's interior was
cut short."
He told the Supreme Soviet that the
U-2 was hit at an altitude of approxi-
mately 65,000 ft. by a "rocket" and
boasted that, "if they fly higher, we will
also hit them."
A "competent commission of ex-
perts" which examined the wreckage of
the U-2, Khrushchev said, had estab-
lished "that this American plane was a
specially prepared reconnaissance air-
craft" with the mission of crossing "the
entire territory of the Soviet Union"
from Pakistan to Norway. He added:
"Besides aerial cameras, the plane car-
ried other reconnaissance equipment for
spotting radar networks, identifying the
location and frequencies of operations
stations and other special radio engi-
neering equipment."
Khrushchev also brandished pictures
2 x 2 ft. in size and tapes which he said
came from the U-2 and showed, among
other things:
? "Airfields and planes on it."
? "Petrol stores."
? "Industrial enterprises."
? "Signals of a number of our ground
radar stations," Khrushchev said, were
recorded on one of the tapes.
Terming Washington's version of the
light "baloney," Khrushchev gave what
re termed the "truth" of U-2 mission.
The plane's base was, as Washington
id, in Adana, Turkey, Khrushchev
d. It was attached to a military in-
'-igence unit headed by Col. William
'ton, numbered 10-10. The 10-10
Khrushchev charged, was using the
'ral Aeronautics and Space Admin-
'n, to which the aircraft was at-
as a "cover" while probing
adar installations.
shchev quoted Powers as saying
May 1 he left Peshwar, Pakis-
v over the Aral Sea and then
toward Sverdlovsk where his
:s downed.
;o quoted Powers as saying that
into Soviet territory "with in-
's to fly along a course indicated
ap over the Aral Sea, Sverdlovsk
?r points and reach Archangel
:mansk before landing at Bodo
in Norway." He said Powers
i Soviet authorities:
Khrushchev Scores Twining
Moscow-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, in rising anger over the U-2 incident,
last week described Gen. Nathan F. Twining, chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff,
as a man to be compared with "an animal that may do its dirty doings where it eats."
Recalling the 1956 visit of Gen. Twining, then USAF chief of staff, to Russia,
Khrushchev said the American general was "welcomed as a guest" and added:
"He left our country by air and next day sent a plane flying at great altitude
to our country. This plane flew as far as Kiev (approximately 200 mi. inside the
Soviet Union).
"The question arose-should we protest? I proposed no protest should be lodged.
All Twining might be compared to is to an animal that may do its dirty doings where
it eats. From such behavior, we drew a conclusion: To improve rockets, to improve
fighters.
"Our fighters can fly as high as 28,000 meters (92,000 ft.), but the difficulties of
a fighter are, though it can rise high, it is not so easy and simple to find a target in
the air; a plane in the air is like a needle in the ocean.
"But a rocket finds its target itself. This is the advantage of a rocket, and we make
use of it. We have both fighters and rockets. That is why I say: If there are still
politicians who would like to rely on bombers, they are doomed to failure.
"With up-to-date military techniques, bombers will be shot down even before they
approach a target."
Earlier, Khrushchev repeated his charge that a U. S. reconnaissance plane flew
over the Soviet Union on Apr. 9, adding:
"We should have shot down the reconnaissance plane.... However, our military
men slipped up, to put it mildly, and we put them on the carpet."
"I believe my flight over Soviet terri-
tory was meant for collecting informa-
tion on Soviet guided missiles and radar
stations."
Khrushchev said that, after the U-2
was struck by a "rocket," Powers "bailed
out by parachute; note he was not
ejected by catapult but left through
the upper canopy . . . He did this pos-
sibly because there was an explosive
charge in the aircraft which was to blow
the plane as soon as the pilot catapulted.
The pilot knew this and possibly was
afraid he would be killed in the explo-
sion."
Later, Red Star, the Soviet army
magazine, reported that the U-2 "cata-
pult" appeared faulty "and probably
would not have worked" had Powers
used it.
. The Red Star article written by Col.
F. Luchnikov and Maj. V. Zhukov said
Powers would have destroyed himself
if he had attempted to use the ejection
system. The article said investigation
of the wreckage showed that it con-
tained a cache of TNT designed to go
off after the pilot had ejected but that
the escape system bore a stamp saying
it had last been checked in 1956 and
would have failed if used. The explosive
mechanism, it added, was in perfect
order "and would have spared neither
the plane nor the flyer." It added:
"Powers apparently knew his bosses'
habits very well. Probably this is why
he did not make use of the catapult,
realizing what the end would be."
Red Star reported that the U-2 was
equipped with extra tanks providing
sufficient fuel to carry him the approxi-
mately 3,000 mi. needed to cross the
Soviet Union. .
The article said that, in an interview,
Powers had never heard of U. S. avia-
tion magazines mentioned to him and
concluded:
"So we are dealing with a stupid,
corrupt, greedy adventurer in military
form. He has no pricks of conscience
that he is a spy."
The article also reported that Powers
attributed the crash of his aircraft to
an "explosion" in the U-2 engine rather
than to a Soviet missile.
Other Soviet publications, however,
carried lengthy reports on the actions
of the missile crew which supposedly
downed the aircraft. Pravda carried
this account of the action:
"Interference made search difficult
and operators strained their eyes and
ears to the utmost. The target was
maneuvering and, with each minute,
their job was becoming ever more dif-
ficult." Noting that U-2's radar blips on
the screen were "barely visible," Pravda
continued:
"The pirate plane was flying with
almost sonic speed at very great alti-
tude. A private," it said, "manipulated
the instruments until the target mark
was fixed on the plane's course.
"Corp. Kharbargin faultlessly plotted
the target flight on a map. Maj. Mikahil
Voronov at the command post was
given precise parameters of the target,
then gave the order to fire.
"The rocket shot through the air,
shaking all things around and leaving
a fiery trace. Then there was an explo-
sion in the sky meaning destruction of
the American plane.
"Our Army has many units like the
one which has downed the pirate
plane."
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JN WEEK, May 16, 1960 31
A For Release ~/08/21 : CIA- P 3-024 Q004d0 0001-2
disen i.ower
issions Approve y
Washington-President Eisenhower
last week gave his tacit approval to
U. S. reconnaissance flights over the
Soviet Union. At the same time, he
documented the formal U. S. position
on such flights and, more specifically,
on the Lockheed U-2 lost near Sverd-
lovsk on May 1. In a prepared state-
ment presented at his weekly press con-
ference, the President said: "The first
point is this: The need for intelligence-
gathering activities.
"No one wants another Pearl Ilar-
hor. This means that we must have
knowledge of military forces and prcpa-
rations around the world, especially those
capable of massive surprise attacks.
Secrecy in the Soviet Union makes
this essential. In most of the world, no
large-scale attack could be prepared in
secret, but in the Soviet Union there
is a fetish of secrecy and concealment.
This is a major cause of international
tension and uneasiness today. Our de-
terrent must never be placed in jeop-
ardy. The safety of the whole free
world demands this.
"As the Secretary of State pointed
out in his recent statement, ever since
the beginning of my Administration, I
have issued directives to gather, in
every feasible way, the information re-
quired to protect the United States and
the free world against surprise attack
and to enable them to make effective
preparations for defense.
"My second point: The nature of
intelligence-gathering activities.
"These have a special and secret
character. They are, so to speak, 'below
the surface' activities.
"They arc secret because they must
circumvent measures designed by other
countries to protect secrecy of military
preparations.
"They are divorced from the regular
visible agencies of government which
stay clear of operational involvement
in specific detailed activities.
"These elements operate under broad
directives to seek and gather intelli-
gence short of the use of force-with
operations supervised by responsible
officials within this area of secret activi-
ties.
"We do not use our Armv, Navy or
Air Force for this purpose, first to avoid
any possibility of the use of force in
connection with these activities and,
second, because our military forces, for
obvious reasons, cannot be given lati-
tude under broad directives but must
he kept under strict control in every
detail.
"These activities have their own
rules and methods of concealment
which seek to mislead and obscure-
just as in the Soviet allegations there
are many discrepancies. For example,
there is some reason to believe that the
plane in question was not shot down
at high altitude. The normal agencies
of our government are unaware of these
specific activities or of the special
efforts to conceal them.
"Third point: How should we view
all of this activity? It is a distasteful
but vital necessity.
"We prefer and work for a different
kind of world-and a different way of
obtaining the information essential to
confidence and effective deterrents:
Open societies in the day of present
weapons are the only answer.
"This was the reason for my 'open
skies' proposal in 1955, which I was
ready instantly to put into effect-to
permit aerial observation over the
United States and the Soviet Union
which would assure that no surprise
attack was being prepared against any-
one. I shall bring up the `open skies'
proposal again at Paris-since it is a
means of ending concealment and sus-
picion.
My final point is that we must not
be distracted from the real issues of the
clay by what is an incident or a sv mp-
tom of the world situation today.
"This incident has been given great
propaganda exploitation. The emphasis
given to a flight of an unarmed non-
military plane can only reflect a fetish
of secrecy.
"The real issues are the ones we will
be working on at the summit-disar-
mament, search for solutions affecting
Germany and Berlin, and the whole
range of East-West relations, including
the reduction of secrecy and suspicion.
"Frankly, I am hopeful that we may
make progress on these great issues.
This is what we mean when we speak
of 'working for peace.' "
Asked if there have been Soviet
reconnaissance flights "over the western
part of the world," the President re-
plied:
"Well, I could just say this: As far
as I know, there has never been any
President's Visit in Doubt
Moscow-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev indicated last week that he may be
considering the withdrawal of his invitation for President Eisenhower to visit the
Soviet Union in June.
Reversing earlier statements in which he had taken pains to disassociate the Presi-
dent from responsibility for U. S. reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union,
Khrushchev told newsmen that his opinion of the President has now changed "of
course."
Khrushchev, during a tour of an exhibit in Moscow's Gorki Park allegedly show-
ing the wreckage of the Lockheed U-2 downed near Sverdlovsk on May 1, was asked
if he still wants President Eisenhower to visit the Soviet Union. He replied:
"What would you like me to say? Get up here in my place and reply.
"The difficulty is-and I say it frankly-that my hopes in him have not been
justified.
"After all, I am responsible for the Soviet government. The Russian people are
open-hearted. Can I expect them to welcome him as a dear guest?
"I would be mad to say to the Russian people to welcome as a host a man who
sends espionage planes here."
over the United States."
Earlier, in reply to a query as to
whether he saw any chance of success
at this week's Summit Conference in
Paris in view of the strong denuncia-
tions of the U. S. emanating from Mos-
cow, the President pointed out that
the Soviets have been, and presently
are, actively engaged in espionage in
the U. S. Referring specifically to the
trial of Soviet Col. Rudolph Abel, b-
said: "Well, I say yes. I have som
hope, because these things have bee
said for many years, ever since \Voi
War II, and there is no real change
this matter.
"Now, if wc-I wonder how n-
of you people have read the full
of the Abel trial, the record of the
of Mr. Abel. Well, I think he
sentenced to 30 years. Now, th'
ness of saying that you're doing
that arc provocative, why, tli
better look at their own reco-
I'll tell you this:
"The United States and nc
allies that I know of has e-
nothing that would be consic
estly as provocative. We ai
to our own security and ou
and we have no idea of prorr
kind of conflict or war. This
absolutely ridiculous, and the
is.
The President was also as
planned to order acceleratic
development programs for
Force Midas and Samos recoi
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satellite ppr"Y9 lFo9 r
"Well, I know of nothing-now, I going to be."
keep in touch with my scientific ad- In reply to another question as to
visory committee and operators, and I
know of nothing we could do to speed
these up. They are research items and,
as such, no one can predict exactly what
would he their degree of efficiency. So
I couldn't make a real prediction of
whether the satellite systems "will case
our worries on the question of secrecy,"
the President said:
"Well, I say, I just can't predict
what the final results will be. Now,
we do know this, right now. I believe
constantly pictures on the cloud cover
all around the earth, and that is ad-
mittedly a rather rough example of
what might be done in photography.
But that is being done constantly, and
I don't know how many thousands of
photographs have been taken, and they
send them hack on command."
U-2 Developmental and Operational Chronology
Following is a chronology of the developmental and opera-
tional cycles of the Lockheed U-2:
? Mid-1954-Lockheed began the design of the U-2.
? Lite 1.955-After flight tests had proven the capabilities of
the U-2, the Air Force purchased several of the aircraft for a
joint USAF-Atomic Energy Commission high-altitude research
program.
? Early 1956-National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics,
which had assisted Lockheed in the original design, began
planning a high altitude meteorological research program around
the U-2 and other aircraft. U-2s operated by NACA were
owned by the Air Force and bailed to the civil agency under
the arrangement used for the majority of its research aircraft.
? Early 1956-Air Force formed its first U-2 squadron, the
Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, Provisional (1st). It first
operated from Watertown Strip, Nev., and assisted the USAF-
AEC and NACA research programs which occupied the same
airfield but were separate.
? Feb. 16, 1956-U-2 crashed in Arizona after fire started in
cockpit. Pilot Robert J. Everett bailed out at about 30,000 ft.
Everett was a Lockheed employe flying for NACA with NACA
pilot number 357.
? May 7, 1956-NACA announces start of its high altitude
gust-meteorological research program.
? May 22, 1956-NACA announces it is making preparations
to begin the portion of its research program covering the
European area. First U-2 operations in Europe were to be
from USAF bases in England with the Air Force Air Weather
Service providing logistical support. All planes were civilian
with civilian contract pilots.
? July 9, 1956-NACA reported that the initial high-altitude
weather data gathered by the U-2 had been processed and
that it had proved the value of the aircraft as a research tool.
? Sept. 17, 1956-U-2 crashed near Kaiserlautern, West Ger-
many. Pilot was Howard Carey, a Lockheed employe.
? February, 1957-NACA released first U-2 pictures.
? Mar. 27, 1957-NACA published Research Memorandum
RM L57A11 entitled "Preliminary Measurements of Atmos-
pheric Turbulence at High Altitude as Determined From Ac-
celeration Measurements on a Lockheed U-2 Airplane." This
report was unclassified, as are all other reports concerning the
high-altitude weather program.
? April, 1957-U-2 crashed in isolated region of northwest
Nevada killing Lockheed engineering test pilot Robert L.
Sicker.
? July 2, 1957-NACA report RM L57G02 was written en-
titled "Airplane Measurements of Atmospheric Turbulence at
Altitudes from 20,000 to 55,000 ft. over the Western Part of
the United States," which contained more data taken by a U-2.
? May, 1958-Articles published in the Soviet air force news-
paper Soviet Aviation indicated that Red Air Force intelligence
was concerned over U. S. operations with the U-2. One article
complained that the U-2 "lacks all identification marks indicat-
ing its mission." The Soviet writer then suggested that strategic
reconnaissance was included among the high-altitude research
activities of U-2s based at Wiesbaden, West Germany.
? March, 1958-Japanese magazine Air Review ran pictures of
5e 0Q/q1 i 1h;,PI i1D i i1?AgQP Qi 41PQ1,.c9ding back
U-2s landing in Japan reportedly taken by a 16-year-old boy
standing at the end of the runway.
? Apr. 17, 1959-NASA personnel finished third report on U-2
weather research data. This paper, NASA Memo 41759L, was
entitled "Airplane Measurement of Atmospheric Turbulence at
Altitudes From 20,000 to 55,000 ft. for Four Geographic
Areas." These areas were Western Europe and England, Tur-
key, U. S. and Japan.
? Sept. 24, 1959-U-2 made an emergency belly-landing with
slight damage at Fugisawa airfield while it was attempting to
land at its base at Atsugi Airport near Tokyo. Six U-2s were
based in Japan at the time, and it was reported that at least
some of them flew almost every day.
? Nov. 28, 1959-New York Journal-American published an
article by George Carroll on U. S. reconnaissance over Russia
which suggested that U-2 flights were used for this purpose.
? Dec. 12, 1959-Article in Soviet Aviation discussed U. S.
strategic reconnaissance activity with the U-2 and gave some
of the design details of the aircraft. The Soviet newspaper
quoted Carroll's article and other material which had appeared
in Model Airplane News in March, 1958.
? May 3, 1960-U-2 based at Adana, Turkey, reported missing
since May 1 on weather mission in Lake Van region near the
eastern border of Turkey by U. S. officials in Adana. Report
says the civilian, Lockheed-employed pilot had radioed he was
experiencing trouble with his oxygen equipment. Missing plane
was officially assigned to NASA.
? May 5, 1960-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev tells the
Supreme Soviet that a U. S. aircraft has been shot down over
Russia. NASA's Washington headquarters reports that it had
been told the U-2 missing in the Lake Van region may have
strayed over the Soviet border while the pilot was unconscious
because of lack of oxygen.
? May 6, 1960-State Department said, "There was no delib-
erate attempt to violate Soviet airspace and there has never
been."
? May 7, 1960-Khrushclev retorts that the aircraft was
downed near Sverdlovsk well inside the Soviet Union, that the
pilot had been captured alive and admitted attempting a photo-
reconnaissance mission across the Soviet Union from Pakistan
to Norway. U. S. State Department then issued a statement
acknowledging that "an unarmed civilian" aircraft probably
had made an information-gathering flight over Soviet territory.
It denied that authorization came from Washington.
? May 9, 1960-Secretary of State Christian Herter admits
that U. S. reconnaissance planes have collected information on
the Soviet Union by flying along its borders and "on occasion
by penetration." Herter indicates the U. S. will continue such
flights, which, he says, are conducted under broad directives
from President Eisenhower.
? May 10, 1960-Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Grmnyko is-
sues a formal note of protest over the U-2 incident to the U. S.
Embassy in Moscow.
? May 11, 1960-President Eisenhower at his weekly press
conference gives tacit approval to reconnaissance flights over
the Soviet Union and the reasons the U. S. believes they are
necessary.
4VIATION K,rt~aveq, F9or Release 2000/08/21 : CIA-RDP33-02415A000100420001-2 33
Minuteman ICBM Tethered Test Vehicle Fired From Silo
Minuteman ICBM test vehicle is fired from a Silo at Edwards AFB, Calif., in one of seven successful silo launchings (AW May 9, p. 28).
Improvised nose cone is for ballast. The vehicle is restrained by a nylon tether which intc~rupts the flight after a few seconds.
Space Technology
Pioneer Switched to 150-Watt Unit
Washington-Pioncer V began broad-
casting space data through its I 50-watt
transmitter last week, but battery troii-
bles have dimmed prospects of getting
useful data from the space probe at dis-
tances as great as the hoped for 50 mil-
lion mi. (AW May 9, p. 32).
National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration turned on the 150-watt
transmitter after data broadcast from the
five-watt transmitter became almost use-
less and when it became apparent that
the probe's batteries are degenerating.
Pionccr V was 8,001,000 mi. from earth
when the 250-ft. Jodrell Bank radio tele-
scope at Manchester, England, com-
manded the first transmission from the
I 50-watt unit.
Since the larger transmitter draws a
great deal more power than the five-
watt unit, ground stations can intcrro-
gate the probe for only a few minutes
every six to eight hours. Broadcasts be-
gin when battery power is at 18 volts,
and the system has an automatic cutoff
that terminates transmission NvIicn
power drops below 15 volts. This was
cutting off transmissions from the five-
watt transmitter just before the shift
was made to the larger unit, and last
week it was limiting transmissions to
about a minute and a half.
demands and weakening power supply
Manchester station commanded t1i,
150-watt transmitter on and reccivec
the first transmission about 1.5 min
cells arc leaking. One theory is that the later, the time it took for the commam,
ambient gas in the batteries is leaking signal to reach the probe and for the
after two months in space. responding broadcast to reach earth.
Following the switch, Manchester This initial transmission followed a sc.
could receive data at the rate of either qucnce of command signals which pre-
8 or 64 bits per sec. Both Manchester pared the I 50-watt system for use.
and the station at South Point Hawaii, The day before the first transmission,
were taking data at one bit p~r second Manchester commanded power into the
before the switch. The data received at tubes through a resistor, warming the
Hawaii had been unusable for two filaments for about a minute. Six hours
weeks, and the data at Manchester had later, this step was repeated without the
become verv poor. resistor, supplying full filament hcating
The station in Hawaii will continue for several minutes. First transmission
to receive data at one bit per second. command was sent from Manchester
At this rate, it takes 44 irtin. to get a early the following day, May 8.
coiriplete readout of data on the seven transmitter and its converter opcr-
channels stored bv the Pioneer V te- qtcd after remaining idlc in space for
lemctrv svstem. A complete readout can two months. Packaged in the probe by
be obfaircd in 1.5 min. at 8 bits per Space Technology Laboratories, the
sec. and in 12 sec. at the 64-bit rate. transmitter was coiistructcd by Spectre-
As distance increases, Hawaii will be labs, Inc. It uses Radio Corp. of Airier-
out of range and Manchester will be re- ica tubes and is served by a converter
duced to receiving one bit per second. built by Engineered Magnetics, Inc., a
Diminishing power will make it diffi- division of Gulton Industries, Inc.
cult to obtain data at that rate. Earlier, a malfunction bad been dc-
The five-watt transmitter bad broad- tceted in the Pioneer V systern, and a,,,
cast 109 hr. of data before the change means was devised of compensating for
was made to the 150-watt unit. At its it in analyzing the data. Bad component
highest rate, the smaller unit broadcast was a diode in a tcmperature-sen sing
2.5 hr. of data in a single day; it was system which produced a battery tem-
down to about 68 min. just before the perature reading too low for an operat-
change' NASA can get only about four ing battery. Since the batteries were
minutes of data a day from the larger operating, the trouble was traced to thr
rapid power drop tat the 28 battery transmitter because of its greater power temperature-monitoring svstem.
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34 AVIATION WEEK, May 16, 1960
NASA d d from this rclativelv-
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The. Only English-Language Paper In Free China
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER. 13, 11959'
U-2 Of USAF Said Redonnoiterii g
Red` China At Unreachable Altitude
Iono1ulu, Sept. 11 (CNA- blase where the plane has
UPS The EonotulnStnr?Eutle- been st*ioned for "opera-
tin repdrted today a- top tional tests" since last A-
see t A ~.' Force experimen- Aril.
tdr it Pl"ane, the 1J, 2 may Waters +, described the
be t' lying from Havr...;i" on ' U?2 is one of' 25 nor being
"reconnaissance at unreach- used bY L:._ ;ir Force and
able altitudes over Red Chi said it 'v ' iy "above' 70,-
na ane}d viet Russia." 000 feet" ' in rarefied atmos-
`he story, written by phere at the fringes of apace.
Star,13uJtetin military report=
er, Mark Waters, drew a "lie deported the plane could
flat, "no comment" from "crats;Tor hours hey-end t he
E Pacific Air Force headquar- reach of any known airs - ft
ters at Hickam Air Force and per)iaps Nis !anti-radar'
to ward off detection by un-
friendly radar.'
Waters ' speculated'. that
it was U-2 "a pilot-on For-
mosa" referred? to last
spring lien Wtrs visited
porled ,oy our high -flying
recbnnAssance pIane~s."'
of the plane indtf a'tes:'
The results of its
work are being utilized by
air branches of the armed
services.
Waters said "the true
mission df the mystery
plane, now highly classified,
may be' more fantastic than
the wildest suppositions."
Waters said the U-2 car-
ries only a pilot and is pow-
ered by a single Pratt and
Whitney J-57 jet' engine. He
said wingspan was so
great trigger wheels
must rt it inn the
grOUna When taking off,
Water .S ground" crew-
'on each wing
ltral a wheeled dully in
plac._? ntil the plane gains
en ouspeed to support its
long w gs without scraping
the ground.
No Secret
Washington, Sept. 11
(CNA-UPI) Air For declined to coto-
day on a report in 0#0-
OT,
tutu Star Bulletin re-
eonnaissance flig ,,,y a
new U-2 jet plane.
But an Air Force
said the ekistence - of
the plane is "ZI,o secret."
He laughed at tie report
that crewmen of the plane
ride the wings on takeoff.
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ASTIA Document No. AD-160757
G R D RESEARCH NOTES
No. 4
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF TURBULENCE
AT HIGH ALTITUDES
Mariano A. Estoque
December 1958
GEOPHYSICS RESEARCH DIRECTORATE
AIR FORCE CAMBRIDGE RESEARCH CENTER
AIR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COMMAND
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
BEDFORD MASSACHUSETTS
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AFCRC yTNm58-624
ASTIA Document No, AD-160757
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF TURBULENCE
AT HIGH ALTITUDES
December 1958
Atmospheric Circulations Laboratory
GEOPHYSICS RESEARCH DIRECTORATE
AIR FORCE CAMBRIDGE RESEARCH CENTER
AIR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COMMAND
UNITED STATES AIR FORC E
Bedford, Masse
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Turbulence data obtained at altitudes of 23, 000 to
60, 000 feet by the GRD Project Jet Stream and the NACA-
AWS groups using instrumented aircraft are analyzed as
an initial attempt to construct a synoptic climatology of
high-altitude turbulence. Statistical characteristics of tur-
bulence in and outside of the jet stream region are presented.
The parameters examined are the horizontal e: tent of turbu-
lent areas and of the intervening non-turbulent areas, the
maximum gust velocity in a turbulent area, and the percentage
of flight time in turbulent air.
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Page
Abstract
Illustrations
vii
1 o
Introduction
1
2.
Observational Data
1
3.
Results
4,
Conclusions
v
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ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure Page
1, Diagram of gust velocity plotted against distance
showing maximum gust velocity and lengths of
turbulent area and smooth area
2. Cumulative frequency distribution of the extent of
turbulent and non-turbulent areas. Inside
parenthesis is number of cases
3. Cumulative frequency distribution of maximum
gust velocities of individual turbulent areas
4. Vertical distribution of percentage of time in
turbulent air
5. Horizontal distribution of percentage of time in
turbulent air across the jet stream
vii
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SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF TURBULENCE
A T HIGH ALTITUDES
Free-air turbulence is a phenomenon of sub-synoptic scale. In
the upper troposphere, turbulent areas which average about 15 miles
in horizontal extent are interspersed between relatively smooth re-
gions several times larger. Successive airplane flights traversing
along the same lines show that these turbulent areas persist only for
brief periods of time. The scale of disturbances associated with
high-altitude turbulence appears to be of the same order of magnitude
as those of thunderstorms and similar local convective phenomena. A
short-range categorical forecast of the occurrence, intensity, and
extent of an individual turbulent area is therefore extremely difficult
to make on the basis of physical considerations. The only practical
approach to the prediction problem seems to be in terms of probability
forecasts using statistical relationships between turbulence and synop-
tic scale parameters. It is therefore necessary to collect data under
various synoptic situations so that a detailed synoptic climatology of
high-altitude turbulence may be constructed.
This paper summarizes the results of an analysis of a limited
amount of high-altitude turbulence data and presents statistical charac-
teristics of turbulence in and outside of the jet stream region.
2. OBSERVATIONAL DATA
Two sources of information were available for study. These are
the GRD Project Jet Stream (B-47) and the NACA-Air Weather Service
(Lockheed U-2) flights.
Note: This Research Note was originally produced as a Technical
Memorandum to the Director, Geophysics Research Directorate,
AFCRC, August 1958.
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The Jet Stream data consists of about fifty flights made mostly in
jet streams over the eastern half of the United States from 1953 7.
Flight altitudes ranged from 23, 000 to X12, 000 feet. In the 1953-54
phase of the observational program, a NACA VGH accelerometer was
used to make the measurements. For the rest of the flights, a hinhly
sensitive airspeed cell was installed to measure the fluctuations in the
indicated airspeed. These fluctuations provided a measure of the tur-
bulence encountered. Turbulent areas are defined by portions of the
records where the VGH accelerometer and the airspeed traces were
continuously disturbed or where horizontal gust components of at least
5 fps were recorded. However, this does not mean that in a given area
of turbulence all the gust velocities were in excess of 5 fps,. Large
portions of the areas designated as turbulent contained numerous
velocities smaller than 5 fps; these were probably imperceptible to the
flight crew.
The U-2 research flights were made over Western Europe,
Turkey, United States, and Japan at altitudes mainll from 40, 000 to
60, 000 feet. During these flights no special efforts were made to fly
in the jet stream. Examination of the flight records indicated that about
80 percent were located at more than 10? of latitude from the jet stream
core or above 40, 000 feet. Therefore, it may be assumed that the U-2
data is approximately representative of conditions outside (laterally or
vertically) the jet stream. The turbulence probes used during the U-2
flights were VGH accelerometers.
In the analysis of the U-2 records, turbulent areas are defined as
those where the accelerometer trace was continuously disturbed and
contained vertical gust velocities greater than 2 fps. It will be noted
that this definition is somewhat different from that used in the analysis
of the E-47 data. Therefore,the two results are not strictly com-
parable.
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The data available may be classified into two broad synoptic types:
jet stream and non-jet stream as represented by the B-47 and U-2 data,
respectively. The parameters treated are the horizontal extent of a
turbulent area (Lt), the horizontal extent of a Besmooth19 area separating
two successive turbulent areas (Ls), the maximum gust velocity (V M)
in a turbulent area, and the percentage of flight time in turbulent air.
These quantities are shown schematically in Fig. 1. These parameters
may be important in planning mid-air refueling operations.
Figure 2 shows the cumulative frequency distribution of the hori-
zontal extent of turbulent areas both inside and outside of jet streams.
It may be seen that the turbulent areas are much longer inside the jet
stream than they are outside. No data on the extent of smooth areas is
available for non-jet stream regions; only the corresponding distribu-
tion for jet stream regions is presented. On the average, the lengths of
smooth areas are about five times those of the adjacent turbulent areas.
The cumulative frequency distribution of maximum gust veloci-
ties (Fig. 3) indicates that gust velocities within the jet stream are
much greater than in areas outside the jet stream. Thus, while some
gust velocities of 36 fps were recorded in the former, the largest ob-
served in the latter is only 12 fps in about twice as many cases.
Figure 4 represents the percentage of flight time in turbulent air
as a function of height. For convenience in interpretation, the average
vertical distribution of the wind speed through the jet stream region is
included. It may be seen that above the 150-mb level the percentage
of rough air for either synoptic type is smaller, being equal to about
2 percent. Below this level, however, turbulence becomes more fre-
quent. In jet stream regions the percentage gradually increases to a
maximum of 22 percent near 300 mb. Outside the jet stream, a
similar but smaller maximum occurs at a slightly higher level. This
maximum may in part be due to the fact that a few of the U-2 flights
in the vicinity of the jet stream were made.
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(216)
~x (187)
(I
-'
X (136)
X
__X....
(100)x
(94)
.
(76)
(72)
(701
X (56)
1
(48)
(36)
(31)
(27)
X (23)
(17)X
(16)
(13)
X00)
X
(
\
(7)
X-X(5)
(4)
(3)
(2)
(2)
(I)
X-X EXTENT OF TURBULENT AREA, LT,
JET STREAM REGION
0-O EXTENT OF TURBULENT AREA
LT
,
,
OUTSIDE JET STREAM
X--X EXTENT OF NONTURBULENT AREA
JET STREAM REGION
80 120 160 200 240
HORIZONTAL EXTENT, MILES
Fig. 2. Cumulative frequency distribution of the extent of turbulent and
non-turbulent areas. Inside parenthesis is number of cases.
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102
.10-1
0
335) (140)
(
1
(71)x
(120)
(31)
X(17)
(31)
(9)
X
-X -X (5)
X-
-X (3)
(7)
X (2)
(3)
(I)
X-X JET STREAM REGIONS
O-O OUTSIDE JET STREAM
REGION
NUMBERS IN PARENTHESIS
INDICATE NUMBER OF CASES
OBSERVED
I I
10 20 30 40 50
MAXIMUM GUST VELOCITIES(FPS) FOR
INDIVIDUAL TURBULENT AREAS
Fig. 3. Cumulative frequency distribution of maximum
gust velocities of individual turbulent areas.
6
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700 0
WIND SPEED (ARBITRARY UNITS)
40 60 80 100
ooo
0-0 PERCENT NON-JET STREAM REGION
x--x PERCENT JET STREAM REGION
--- WINDSPEED (JET STREAM)
45,000 u.1
0
D
t-
J
40,000 Q
B 12 16 20 24
Fig. 4. Vertical distribution of percentage of time in turbulent air.
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(S INn kav8iieuv)
033dS ONIM
0
N
U-
0
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cnN
ww
U) =
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The horizontal distribution of the percentage of turbulent air
across the. jet stream core is shown in Fig. 5. The percentages
represent average values for the layer from 400 to 200 mb. The
diagram indicates a relatively less turbulent core (10 percent)
flanked by more turbulent portions (20 percent) at a distance of
3 ? to 5 ? latitude from the core on both sides. The rather irregular
distribution is probably due to the small number of cases considered.
It is expected that the percentages would decrease beyond the two
maxima.
Table 1 is presented as a possible application of the data ob-
tained to the problem of mid-air refueling operations. in the table,
the percentage probability of failure in refueling is given for dif-
ferent altitudes and for different critical gust velocities (defined as
velocities above which refueling operations are impossible because
of turbulence).
Table 1. Percentage probability of failure in refueling
as a function of critical gust velocity, altitude,
and synoptic type. Percentages refer to oper-
ations outside and inside (in parenthesis) the
jet stream.
CRITICAL GUST VELOCITY (feet per second)
10
5
150
.02%
( .44%)
.16%
( 2%)
2%a
200
.09%
( .66%)
.72%
( 3%)
9%
250
. 15%
(3.74%)
1.20%
(16%)
15%6
300
. 1116
(4. 62%)
. 8816
(22%)
11%
350
.08%a
(4. 18%)
.721a
(19%)
9%
9
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The percentages are estimates based on Figs. 3 and 4 and the multi-
plication rule of probability. It will be seen that the risk of refueling
failure within the jet stream is about an order of :magnitude greater
when compared to the data for areas outside of it. However, refueling
is not a serious problem at the 150-mb level (45, 000 ft). A small in-
crease in the gust velocities which can be tolerated during refueling
operations would result in a large decrease of the probability of
failure,
4. CONCLUSIONS
The results of an analysis of turbulence characteristics at upper
levels in the jet streams and outside are presented. The statistics
confirm previous findings of more frequent and more intense turbu-
lence in the former. From this study it is shown that turbulence as a
problem in mid-air refueling operations is not an important; problem
outside and above jet streams. However, in the vicinity of jet stream
cores, the risks of failure are relatively high; it is therefore recom-
mended that refueling operations be avoided in these regions.
10
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LIST OF GRD RESEARCH NOTES
1. Contributions to Stratospheric Meteorology, P. Antanaitis, T. R. Borden, Jr., H. A. Craig,
W. S. Hering, II. S. Muench, II. A. Salinela, edited by George Ohring, August 1958.
2. A Bibliography of the Electrically Exploded Wire Phenomenon, by W. G. Chace,
November 158.
3. Venting of Hot Gases Through Temperature Inversions, by M. A. Estoque, December 1958.
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Approved For Release 200
11
100420001:2
Approved For Rheas 000/08/21 : CIA-RDP33-02415A. 0100420001-2
;T per -.ir Studies
ale over Argenti
Buenos Aires-Tests of Argentin
per air were started recently by 1 ,
Rrltc is Air Conlnlanrl tram to A,
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it the next 18 months. W b
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;srstained flight above 55,000 ft.
used for sampling atomic radiatioi
feed with test gear by National
Wrilit Air Development Center.
A IA I. N WEEK, July 21, 1958
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P--r >d from WEATITERWISE, Vol. 11, No. 3, June. '9CO
Approved For R FZP-Le ,2se 2000/0`8721 v-C A-RDP33-02i .$A000100420001-2
11/16
0000
01200
4
00400
Pacific
Ocean
11/10
1147 0630
E-- 0 E.- - - 0
The path of Typhoon Kit through Luzon in the Philippines. Location of reconnaissance fixes are
indicated; times are Greenwich Mean Time on 10-16 November 1957.
The First Flyover of a Tropical Cyclone
UAW-
LT. COL. ROBERT C. BUNDGAARD, USAF,
Hqs, 10th Weather Group
F OR the flying weatherman of the Third
Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, Pro-
visional, the mission was a new one, never
previously tried. It was their task to conduct
a reconnaissance of Typhoon Kit from above
and inside the eye of the storm and to produce
a film record of her violence through means
of a Perkin-Elmer Model-501 tracking cam-
era. This horizon-to-horizon aerial camera
would wipe Kit's image onto 70 mm film with
a continuously-rotating scanning-prism. The
Model-501 is small and light enough to be
carried aloft by the U-2 jet aircraft, which
are operated by the Air Weather Service in
support of the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics' upper-air research program.
To Americans back home, last year's Ty-
phoon Kit in the Pacific is probably not
cloaked with as much ill-repute as was her
eldest sister Agnes which earlier brought
havoc and destruction to our military installa-
tions in Okinawa. But Kit is well remem-
bered in the Republic of Philippines. Strik-
ing on the day of the recent presidential
election, Kit behaved very much unlike our
Lady of Liberty, and suspended the exercise
of their constitutional right to vote for up-
wards of a million citizens of the Republic.
June, 1958
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W.
FIG. 2. Vertically above the eye of Typhoon Kit. The storm center is located at 19?30'N and
123?35'E. This picture was taken at approximately 0422 GMT on 14 November 1957. It is an
unconstituted mosaic of aerial photographs taken from the WRSP/3, U-2 aircraft. The U-2
traversed the center of the eye on a 235? heading. This traverse is the mid-vertical of this picture
from top to bottom. Along this mid-vertical appears a 39 nautical-mile length of cloudscape.
From top to bottom of this picture, the middle-third continuously depicts a nearly correct vertically
downward view toward the sea and clouds below. From side to side, however, the picture falls
gradually off toward the horizons. The left side of the picture is toward the west-northwestern
horizon. At the time of this picture, which is approximately one hour and a half after local noon,
Kit is headed northward, which is toward the top of the picture and slightly to the left (N. B. the
compass directly in this figure). The large bowl-shaped appearance of Kit's eye is approximately
30 miles in diameter. Kidney-shaped, the darkened strips are portions of the sea surface visible
June, 1958
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through cloud-free moats. A fetch of transverse sea waves may be seen in the flour-de-lis shaped
moat just to the left of the picture's center. The tops of the cloud turrets at the upper middle
of the picture are at 48,000 feet. Along the right of the picture and curving counterclockwise in
from the upper left corner is a sheet of high cloud. As this cloud spirals cyclonically into the eye's
center, it appears to sink and dissipate, as part of an upper indraft ventilating the typhoon center.
This high cloud is also represented by the dotted shading in figure 3. Congruent with this picture
in figure 2 and having the same orientation and coverage, figure 3 shows also for the storm center
the horizontal streamlines indicated by the apparent motion and structure of the clouds, as shown
in this picture, figure 2.
FIG. 3. A horizontal steamline analysis made of the cloud picture in figure 2 for the eye of
Typhoon Kit. This figure has exactly the same areal extent and orientation as figure 2. This
figure shows that within Kit's eye there are nine small cyclonic swirls, marked by the "C's."
June, 1958
WEATHERWISE 81
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Surveyed in her aftermath, Kit wrought
over $5 million damage to public works, priv-
ate property, the maturing rice and palay
crops. She rendered some 58,900 persons
homeless, probably many more. Miracu-
lously, despite her viciousness, she claimed
the lives of only 39 persons. Yet, for all her
waste, suffering, and lives lost, Typhoon Kit
could well have led to a far greater catas-
trophe, were it not for the typhoon warnings
promptly and amply provided days in ad-
vance by the dependable WB-50 aircraft of
Lt. Colonel Howard Berg's 54th Weather
Reconnaissance Squadron, based at Andersen
Air Base on Guam.
Meandering westward over the Eastern
Caroline Islands during the early days of
November 1957, the South Pacific tradewinds,
it might be presumed, momentarily wobbled
and recurved northward, spanking rotation
and life into a small depression there. The
mothering trades then nursed this slowly-
spinning depression with her moisture-en-
riched hot breath. Doddering westward at-
tached to the trades' apron strings, the whirl
progressively strengthened and grew to gain
full storm intensity. On the morning of No-
vember 8th, Colonel Berg's vigilant typhoon-
chasers first spotted the storm practically in
their own backyard, just 170 miles south-
southwest of Guam. It was already spewing
50-mile-per-hour winds. By that same after-
noon, the storm had intensified into a full-
blown typhoon, and the watching of Kit by
the 54th began.
Typhoon Kit plowed west-northwest at 20
mph. toward the Philippines, 930 miles away.
Riding herd on Kit during the next three days
of fatiguing and teeth-chattering flights, the
54th weather crews twelve times boxed the
typhoon and penetrated into its very eye.
Little did these flying weathermen suspect
that fate had destined that a crew was soon
to be lost in these very same waters; for just
two months later a WB-50 from the 54th
disappeared into Typhoon Ophelia, following
Kit's same path, and was never heard from
again.
On November 11th, the eve of the Philip-
pines national elections, Kit packed 200 mph.
surface winds, only a day out of Luzon. De-
spite the fury of these howling winds, the 54th
continued to look three times more into Kit's
bewitching eye, as she skirted north past
Catanduanes Island, passed within 60 miles to
the north of the Bicol Peninsula, and until at
last she poised to stab into east central Luzon
at Baler Bay.
As Kit travelled inland, the rugged moun-
tain terrain of Luzon took a lot of wind out
of her, at least in the lower part of the
typhoon. Steered under the influence of the
upper southerlies, Kit now curved abruptly
northward into a parabolic swing, barely side-
swiping Clark Air Base. Apparently with the
prophetic power that would be the envy of
even the greatest of soothsayers, USAF ty-
phoon forecasters had gathered at Clark Air
Base from all over the Far East and were
midway through a two-week Typhoon Work-
shop, led by Professor C. S. Ramage and
Major James Sadler of the University of
Hawaii. The workshoppers followed Kit
closely, predicting her movement by various
techniques. Only one technique successfully
called for Kit's sudden swing northward
through Luzon after her four-day trek west-
ward. This technique is an empirical method
recently developed by Keith Veigas and Rob-
ert Miller at the Travelers Weather Research
Center under the leadership of Dr. Thomas
Malone.
Noon the next day, after exhausting her
strength in battering the Luzon land cap, Kit
bid her pallam, or adieu, and slipped out of
the Ilocos coast, at a point 30 miles east of
the coastal city of Aparri, at the Cagayan
delta. Now subdued, erratic Kit turned back
to the Pacific, zigzagging sluggishly northward
and skirting east of the Batanes Islands.
But now, as Typhoon Kit threatened to
recurve to the northeast in the direction of
Okinawa, the responsibility for watching her
passed to the 56th Weather Reconnaissance
Squadron and the 3rd Weather Reconnais-
sance Squadron, Provisional, both units based
in Japan. Again the WB-50 was dispatched
to keep a watchful eye on Kit. The suspense
of such flights was now beginning to appear
among the personnel of the 3rd Squadron.
By noon on the 14th, Typhoon Kit had
reached a critically interesting, degenerative
stage. Few opportunities had thus far been
afforded scientists for studying the manner in
which typhoons dissipate into tropical storms,
thence into tropical depressions, or some-
times into fast-moving, sub-tropical cyclones.
Occasionally, typhoons temporarily weaken
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into separate storms, such as Kit did, only
to be reborn again as typhoons. Scientists
had long hoped for an opportunity of examin-
ing a typhoon from above with the hope that
it might shed some light upon which of these
dissipating atmospheric processes future man
might alter in order to control typhoons.
So, as Kit mauled indecisively at 20?N and
123?E, Dr. Robert D. Fletcher, past president
of the American Meteorological Society and
currently visiting the 3rd Squadron, suggested
that now was the time to dispatch one of the
U-2 research aircraft to peer down at Kit.
Approaching the storm area the recon-pilot
was guided by giant cloud "streets" spiraling
in toward a coliseum-like wall of nimbostratus
surrounding Kit's eye. In the wide converg-
ing sectors between these towering squall
bands, a floor of soft flat clouds hid the ocean
from the pilot's view. Climbing into the
storm center, the U-2 hedge-hopped over the
towering 48,000-foot cloud wall around the
eye. Once within this wall at 10 miles above
the ocean's surface, the pilot saw the angried
ocean far below him and waves were clearly
visible through long moat-like arcs, clear of
cloud. Downdrafts of hot air had gouged
out these moats at the eye-wall's very edge.
Looking much like the froth on a boiling
caldron, a large island of low-lying and hard,
cauliflowery clouds blearied Kit's eye. Around
an island-like hub-cloud, the eye cloud
churned in smaller, cat-eyed swirls. The pilot
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counted nine such cat eyes within the center
area of Kit. These false-eyes, like parasites,
were consuming the dying typhoon, much in
the manner so aptly described in 1922 by
L. F. Richardson, on page 66 in his fa-
mous book, Weather Prediction by Numerical
Process.
Big whirls have little whirls that feed on
their velocity,
And little whirls have lesser whirls and
so on to viscosity.
Thus, the primary motion of Kit formed by
the instability of large-scale vertical and hori-
zontal motions, when subjected to destabiliz-
ing processes through loss of moisture supply
in passing over Luzon, now led to the creation
of secondary smaller whirls. These false-eyes
were partly of a dynamic nature, caused by
the disorganization of Kit's kinetic energy,
and partly of the thermal type.
Here, then, was the eye of Kit, the first
ever seen in its entirety. The mission had
been accomplished. The furor of Kit was
now recorded on film. Kit was dying a nor-
mal death, but in her last gasping breaths
she had provided scientists with a new area
of interest. The 3rd Squadron had also found
an entirely new mission to perform. Through
the willingness of NACA to utilize the U-2
in flights over typhoons, the way had been
opened for a better understanding of Nature's
most disastrous storms.
CONCISE WEATHER REPORT FROM THE PHILIPPINES IN
CONNECTION WITH THE PASSAGE OF KIT
1. Barometric Minimum at MSL ..... 937.0 mb at OOOOZ, November 11 and
921.0 mb at 0600Z, November 11
2. Maximum sustained winds:
a. Over land .................... 8Q miles per hour at Virac, Catanduanes, and
Casiguran, Quezon, at 2200Z, November 10,
and 1600Z, November 12, respectively; 100
miles per hour at San Vicente Quezon, at
1900Z, November 11
b. Over water .................. 200 miles per hour at 060OZ on November 11
3. Maximum 24-hour rainfall ........ 16.66 inches at Baler, Quezon, on November 12
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U.S. Planes Over Russia?
The Strategic Air Command's 2,000-
odd B-47 medium-jet bombers and hun-
dreds of heavy B-52 intercontinental jet
bombers hold an overwhelming power
margin over the U.S.S.R., reported the
monthly Missiles and Rockets magazine
last week. The proof, said M. and R., is
that SAC aircraft are conducting "numer-
ous and continuing" reconnaissance mis-
sions over the U.S.S.R., and the Russians
have not been able to stop them. "It is
true ' that modern Russian fighters attack
our bombers with major advantages of
altitude, speed and maneuverability. It is
also true that they score hits. But so far
no attacks have been made by the Rus-
sians with missiles, either because they
don't have antiaircraft missiles that are
operational or because the Reds don't
want to tip their hand. In any case, U.S.
radar and photographic mapping missions
over the Russian land mass continue with
a fair degree of success and immunity.
This indicates that in the event of an all-
out situation, SAC bombers would get
through in high enough proportion to
result in a major catastrophe to the So-
viet Union. The Kremlin knows this."
M. and R.'s report, reprinted by such
European newspapers as Rome's La Stam-
pa, and in the U.S. by the Christian
Science M mitor, brought a denial from
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UNCONTROLLEP PUBLICITY.- FILE
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SAC Bombers Map Soviet,
Paper Says; U.S. Denies It
Washington, Jan. 7 (A')-A
trade magazine said today
United States planes are flying
mapping missions over Russia
despite attacks by Soviet fight-
ers, but the Pentagon denied it.
"The Air Force denies that
it is engaged in photographing
Soviet Russia," the Defense De-
partment said. There was no
further comment.
The brief statement was
issued in response to queries
about an article in the maga-
zine Missiles and Rockets which
said such missions are being
flown by bombers of the Stra-
tegic Air Command.
Article By Editor
An article by Seabrook Hull,
associate editor of the privately
owned trade publication, said
such flights demonstrate that
this country retains "an over-
whelming retaliatory ability" as
compared with Russia.
"The clincher that demon-
strates the United States capa-
bility through its SAC bombers
is the fact that these aircraft
continue to fly over the Soviet
Union with a relative degree of
immunity," the magazine said.
"It is true that modern Rus-
sian fighters attack our, bomb-
ers with major advantages of
altitude, speed and maneuver-
ability. It is true that they
score some hits.
"But so far no attacks have
been made by the Russians with
missiles, either because they
don't have anti-aircraft missiles
that are operational or because
the Reds don't want to tip their
hand.
"Fair Degree Of Success"
"In any case, United States
radar and photographic map-
ping missions over the Russian
land mass continue with a fair
degree of success and im-
munity.
"This indicates that in the
event of an all-out, situation
SAC bombers would get through
in high enough proportion to re-
sult in a major catastrophe to
the Soviet Union. The Kremlin
knows this."
The article said. It is safe to
assume that within two years
the Russians will have inter.
(Continued, Page 10,- Column 6)
i'IIE BALTIMORE SUN
(Continw--d from Page 1)
continental ballistic missles
trained on American cities and
air bases, seriously diminishing
United States retaliatory
capacity.
"Already," the article said,
"pilots and crewmen of the
Strategic Air Command assume
that theirs would be a suicide
mission, if the countdown were
called."
Hull said: "The big problem
that faces the West is not now
today - but 12 to 24 months
from now," adding:
"There is strong evidence that
the United States is lagging be-
hind the Russians in missile and
space-flight development. "'Ws
. points toward a very dan.
gerous situation two years from
now, unless the West takes un-
precedented steps."
Is Widely Read
The magazine Missiles and
Rockets is widely read in indus-
try and Government circles and
is given a generally high ac-
curacy rating.
There have been a number of
incidents involving United
States and Soviet aircraft, but
Russia's last official protest was
made nearly a year and a half
ago.
On July 12, 1956, Russia com-
plained to the United Nations
Security Council that United
States aircraft had violated
Soviet air space on four oc-
casions that month. A United
States note to Russia one week
later dismissed the charges as
"in error.",
. The most recent shooting inci-
dent involving the United States
and Russia occurred June 22,
1955. Soviet fighters attacked a
Navy patrol bomber over the
Bering Strait, causing it to
crash-land and injure five crew-
men.
8 JANUARY 195i
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U.S. Planes Photographing Russia
Says Russia; Pentagon Denies It
I WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (a - A and Rockets which said such mis-
trade magazine said today U.S. sions are being flown by bombers
!planes are flying mapping mis- of the Strategic Air Command.
sions over Russia despite attacks An article by Seabrook Hull, as-
by Soviet fighters, but the Penta- sociate editor of the privately
gon denied it, owned trade publication, said such
The Air Force denies that it flights demonstrate that this coun-
is engaged in photographing So-try iviet Russia," the Defense Depart- retains "an overwhelming r
d
went said. There was no further W tatoru y ability" as compared
with Russ4a.
comment. The cli eher that demonstrates
The brief statement was issued the U n i t e d States' capability
in response to queries about an through its SAC bombers is the
[article in the magazine Missiles
fact that these aircraft continue to,
fly over the Soviet Union with a
relative degree of immunity," the
magazine said.
"It is true that modern Russian
fighters attack our bombers with
major advantages of altitude,
speed and maneuverability. It is'
true that they score some hits.
But so far no attacks havei
been madr by the Russians with
missiles, either because they don't
have antiaircraft missiles that
,are operational or because the
Reds don't want to tip their hand.
In any case, U.S. radar andl
photographic mapping missions
over the Russian land mass con
tinue with a fair degree of suc- I
cess and immunity.
"This indicates that in the event
of an all-out situation, SAC bomb-
ers would get through in high
enough proportion to result in a
major catastrophe to the Soviet
Union. The Kremlin knows this."
hA *EOR~ COURA i' fi January 1958
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