The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974

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Chapter 1
gravity (g's) instead of the military specification strengLh of 5.33 g's.
For the power plant he selected the General Electric 173/GE-3 nonaf­
terburning turbojet engine with 9,300 pounds of thrust (this was the
same engine he had chosen for the F- 104, which had been the basis
for the U-2 design).
1
" Many of the CL-282's design features were
adapted from gliders. Thus, the wings and tail were detacihable.
Instead of a conventional landing gear, Johnson proposed using two
skis and a reinforced belly rib for landing- a common saillplane
technique-and a jettisonable wheeled dolly for takeoff. Other tea­
tures included an unpressurized cockpit and a 15-cubic-foot prnyload
area that could accommodate 600 pounds of sensors. The CL--282's
maximum altitude would be just over 70,000 feet with a 2, 000-mile
range. Essentially, Kelly Johnson had designed a jet-propelled
gl"d
I er. .~•
Early in March 1954, Kelly Johnson submitted the CL-282 de­
sign to Brig. Gen. Bernard A. Schriever's Office of Development
Planning. Eugene Kiefer and Bud Wienberg studied the design and
recommended it to General Schriever. who then asked Lockheed to
Kelly Johnson
. sµbmit a specific proposal. In early April, Kelly Johnson _presented a
full description of the CL-282 and a proposal for the construction and
maintenance of 30 aircraft to a group of senior Pentagon officials that
included Schriever·s superior. Lt. Gen. Donald L. Putt, Deputy Chief
of Staff for Development, and Trevor N. Gardner, Special Assistant
for Research and Development to the Secretary of the Air Force.
Afterward Kelly Johnson noted that the civilian officials were very
much interested in his design but the generals were not.
16
The CL-282 design was also presented to the commander of the
Strategic Air Command (SAC), Gen. Curtis E. LeMay. in early April
by Eugene Kiefer. Bud Wienberg, and Burton Klein from the Office of
" Lockheed Corporation. ··strategic Reconnaissance and Intelligence ... Development
Planning Note #I. 30 November 1953 (U).
" Miller. locklctted U-2. p. 12. For more: J.:tails on Kdly Johnson's original pr,:,posal.
see '"Profile of CL-282 High Altitude Aircraft prepared by Lockheed Aircrati
Corporation. 5 March 1954'" in Helen H. Kkyla and Robert D. o ·Hem. Hiswrv of the
Office of Special Activities. DS&T. Directorate of Science an<l Technology Hi~:torical
Series OSA-1. 16 vols. (CIA: DS&T. 1969). chap. I. annex 2 (TS Codeword). Th,: 16
volumes of this history contain 20 chaptr:rs . .:ach paginated separately. Future rd,:rcm;,;;s
will be shorten,:d to OSA Hiswry. follow<:!d by the rekvant chapter and pag<:! numbers.
•· Kelly Johnson Papers. ··Log for Project x:· April 1954. Lo.:khec:d Corporation.
Advanced Devdopmcnt Projec:ts Divi~ion. Burbank. California.
Sec,et