Testors 1/48 Lockheed U-2C (Article 360)
Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 7:01 am
Yeah!! Time to start!!
Article 360 refers to the Lockheed U-2C Gary Powers was flying on May 1, 1960, when it was brought down over the Soviet Union. This was the last overflight of the Soviet Union before a confrence scheduled to begin on the 16th of May. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev used this incident as a huge propagandar boost, as he waited four days after announcing to the world that a U.S spy plane had been brought down, to reveal that Powers was alive and well. This event is of course one of the best known, and at the time, one of the most serious to occure during the Cold War. It was inevitable that the at some point a U-2 would be brought down, it was expected that the pilot would not survive (we also lost one over Cuba during the Cuba Missile Crisis, with the loss of the pilot). Kelly Johnson, the designer of the U-2 knew this, and was confident enough in Powers ability to fly the aircraft that after returning from Russia Johnson gave Powers a job at Lockheed as a test pilot flying the U-2.
So, for this project I will use the Testors 1/48 scale kit of the U-2C. This is an old kit and is going to require a decent bit of work; new cockpit, landing gear bays, re-scribe and some sensors added on. But it should be fun and hopefully will result in a decent replica of this historic aircraft, the remains of which can be seen at the Centeral Military Museaum in Moscow.
Article 360 refers to the Lockheed U-2C Gary Powers was flying on May 1, 1960, when it was brought down over the Soviet Union. This was the last overflight of the Soviet Union before a confrence scheduled to begin on the 16th of May. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev used this incident as a huge propagandar boost, as he waited four days after announcing to the world that a U.S spy plane had been brought down, to reveal that Powers was alive and well. This event is of course one of the best known, and at the time, one of the most serious to occure during the Cold War. It was inevitable that the at some point a U-2 would be brought down, it was expected that the pilot would not survive (we also lost one over Cuba during the Cuba Missile Crisis, with the loss of the pilot). Kelly Johnson, the designer of the U-2 knew this, and was confident enough in Powers ability to fly the aircraft that after returning from Russia Johnson gave Powers a job at Lockheed as a test pilot flying the U-2.
So, for this project I will use the Testors 1/48 scale kit of the U-2C. This is an old kit and is going to require a decent bit of work; new cockpit, landing gear bays, re-scribe and some sensors added on. But it should be fun and hopefully will result in a decent replica of this historic aircraft, the remains of which can be seen at the Centeral Military Museaum in Moscow.
