Close-up cockpit Lockheed U-2S.
Registration: 80-1073.
The Lockheed U-2 is a strategic reconnaissance aircraft designed for sustained operations at 21 km altitude, in all weather conditions, both day and 'night. For this purpose, the U-2 is equipped with very powerful cameras and is known by the nickname Dragon Lady.
In May 1960, U-2 flights made the news after a U-2 was shot down over Soviet territory, which had taken off from an air base near Peshawar in Pakistan. The pilot, Gary Powers, was captured. During the subsequent trial of Powers, the Russians fiercely lashed out at US policy.
The photo of the cockpit was taken on 11 November 2017 during the Aviation Nation Airshow at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada.
I am Jaap van den Berg and photography has become a great passion of mine since 2010. Since then I travel all over the world to take pictures of military aircrafts. But besides aircraft I also love to photograph other subjects like landscapes, architecture, flowers, animals, .. Read more…