Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady

I have just seen that the U2 is to be retired by 2015, the replacement - UAV's

See;
www.history.com/news/2011/08/05/u-2-spy-...s-the-end-of-an-era/

I think the role and designation difference was admitted to be a ruse to be able to operate the particular new variant worldwide wasn't it Peter?
The USAF TR-1 was essentially a CIA standard U-2R. The TR-1 became the U-2 again in safer times (post early '90s, along with an engine upgrade), as the U-2S, along with the remaining U-2Rs. They were all long-range Recce aircraft, with very little 'Tactical' about them, all of the model range got up to diverse activities.

If you ever get the chance, check out the recent James May programme where he rides in the back of a U-2, fascinating stuff.

Still visit Fairford on their rotations to/from sandy places. Two there on saturday...one left yesterday but the other went tech

2 U2s flew into Fairford on Saturday, Callsign Dragon 21 and 31, and where due to leave on Sunday, the U2s still use Fairford on a fairly regular basis over a year, i hear them quite often on the scanner transiting the airways

If the U2 is being retired I wonder if the British government will allow all the facts to be released about the RAF pilots who flew tham?

www.spyflight.co.uk/u2.htm Gives the details of flights of which only 24 were over the Soviet Union and this was a recent press article www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/...-heroes-1285189.html
I also believe there is a book which names all the pilots who may have been

John W.McArthur 3 Jun 1958
David E.Dowling 4 Jun 1958
Michael G.Bradley 10 Jun 1958
Christopher H.Walker 12 Jun 1958 Killed in Crash of U-2 9 Jul 1958
Robert T.Robinson 29 Sep 1958
Ivan B.Webster 9 Mar 1961
Charles Taylor 13 Mar 1961
Martin E.Bee 10 Jun 1964
Basil W.Dodd 19 Jun 1964
Richard Cloke 1967
Harry Drew 1967

Thanks for that. Back in the mid nineties the BBC 2 series"timewatch" did a programme on the RAF overflights of Russia using B45s and Canberras, they also mentioned RAF pilots flying U2s. They actually interviewed an RAF U2 pilot it was a very brief interview, all he said was that he flew U2s nothing else.

The CIA revealed yesterday that RAF pilots flew U2 missions over the UUSR. This has long been known about, but the British government didn't want the fact revealed. They named the four pilots who flew the missions as; Wing Cdr Robert "Robbie" Robinson and Flt Lts Michael Bradley, John Macarthur, and David Dowling. A fifth pilot Sqn Ldr Christopher Walker dided in a training accident in the USA.

Now all we need is for them to give the details on Operation ROBIN and the Canberra missions flown from Chile during the Falklands.