Photos of U2s Carrier Launched

[EDowning]

Does anyone have any photos of Carrier launch or recovery of the U2? It would have been 1963 or 1964, probably off of the USS Ranger.

[tom d. friedman]

what is the story behind that request??? i could post a question mark as big as my computer screen on that!!! do tell!!

[EDowning]

Just curious.

I didn't know until recently that any carrier launchs were made with the U2. They used it in 1964 off the Ranger to monitor the French nuke test in the Mururoa atoll of French Polynesia to determine if the French had the bomb. (I don't know why the French wanted the Bomb anyway, they never really put any of their previous weapons to practical use)

Lockheed test pilot Bob Schumacker launched and recovered on the carrier as well.

All classified at the time, but I am sure some pics were taken.

[tom d. friedman]

i trust the ranger had the dual flight deck arrangement........ 1 pointing at 12 o'clock & 1 angled to the left or right??

[CWBuff]

U-2 Aircraft Carrier Operations
When the U-2 Went to Sea

No shots on either of these showing ops from Ranger though, just America...


Fade to Black...

[EDowning]

Thanks, I figured the WIX crew would have the info.

[rwdfresno]

The USS Ranger if I remember was actually the first carrier to be laid from the keel as an angled deck carrier. As most of the angled deck carriers it has also 2 forward catapults that fire in an almost 12 o'clock but actually pointing slightly away from the centerline of the ship. Of course they didn't catapult the U2. They did something similar to C-130s, P2-Vs and some others using JATO bottles. U2 were actually used on a limited basis operationally from a few aircraft carriers.

When I was involved with the launch of 2 B-25s from the Ranger the they took some safety tape and threaded through the tie down eyes to make a line that was centered in on the ships straight deck.

[tom d. friedman]

fascinating new refreshing stuff!! would they ever dismantle & stow the u 2 to ship in / out of port for security reasons??

[John Kerr]

Several sites on the U-2 carrier operations. Just type U-2 Carrier Operaitons in your search engine. Here is one of them:

http://www.afa.org/magazine/feb2001/0201spyplane.asp