Özet:

After World War II, an aircraft model CL-282 was designed by Lockheed for the United States of America’s (USA) need for high-altitude aerial reconnaissance. This Project, also known as U-2, was not approved by US Air Force (USAF) in the first place. However, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agreed to be the project coordinator, with the support of then-US President Eisenhower. The primary mission of the U-2 aircraft, rigged with specific cameras and electronic devices, was to spy on the strategic military establishments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The most well-known activities of these aircraft, whose first detachments were established in Germany, were carried out with the flights taken off from İncirlik Air Base in Adana, Türkiye. Detachment B, a unit of U-2 in Adana, used the Peşaver of Pakistan and Bodo of Norway Air Bases. The plan, designed for U-2, was named Operation Grand Slam. This operation was the first intelligence flight to cross over the USSR territory. Francis Gary Powers, an experienced pilot, was chosen for this historic flight. However, shooting down the Powers’ U-2 in the USSR territory took the operation to an unplanned point. The capture of the pilot alive by the Soviets caused a crisis so difficult to manage. USSR held the USA and her allies responsible. In this respect, this crisis took on an international dimension Türkiye got involved as well. Being a current issue of the United Nations (UN) with the effort of the USSR, this incident caused U-2 detachments stationed in Türkiye to be removed. This article, analyzing the U-2 incident, one of the significant diplomatic crises of the Cold War, used the official records of the parties, the press of that period, memoirs of the pilot, and specific studies on the U-2 program.

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