Editing Lockheed U-2 (section)

====Test flights====
[[File:Lockheed U-2 aircrew.jpg|thumb|Pilot in U-2 spacesuit (2010)]]
After AQUATONE was funded and security handled by the CIA, the agency referred to all its high altitude aircraft as "articles". This was intended to reduce the chances of a security breach as part of a compartmented security system. These three-digit "article" numbers were factory assigned. Article 341 was the original U-2 prototype, and it never received a USAF serial.{{sfn|Pedlow|Welzenbach|1992|p=59}} The first flight took place at Groom Lake on 1 August 1955, during what was intended to be only a high-speed taxi test. The sailplane-like wings were so efficient that the aircraft jumped into the air at {{convert|70|kn|mph km/h|sigfig=2|sp=us}},<ref name="I&T">Huntington, Tom. "U-2." ''Invention & Technology Magazine'', Vol. 22, No. 3.</ref> amazing LeVier who, as he later said, "had no intentions whatsoever of flying". The lake bed had no markings, making it difficult for LeVier to judge the distance to the ground, and the brakes proved too weak; he bounced the U-2 once before it stopped rolling, but the aircraft suffered only minor damage. LeVier again found landing the U-2 difficult during the first intentional test flight three days later. On his sixth try, he found that landing the aircraft by touching down on the rear wheel first was better than making the initial touchdown with the front wheel. Pilots continued to have difficulty during landing because the ground effect held the aircraft off the runway for long distances. On a test flight on 8 August, the U-2 reached {{convert|32000|ft|m|-2}}, proving that Johnson had met his promised specifications and deadline. By 16 August, the prototype flew at {{convert|52000|ft|m|-2}}, an altitude never before reached in sustained flight; by 8 September, it reached {{convert|65000|ft|m|-2}}.{{sfn|Pedlow|Welzenbach|1992|pp=68–71}}

By January 1956, the U-2 had so impressed the USAF that it decided to obtain its own aircraft. The USAF purchased a total of 31 U-2s through the CIA; the transaction's code name, Project DRAGON LADY,<!-- NOTE: DRAGON LADY is all-caps here, in CIA codeword context; elsewhere, it is used as the name of the aircraft, which is written about in mixed case in sources. (AlanM1) --> was the origin of the aircraft's nickname. Meanwhile, U-2s conducted eight overflights of the U.S. in April 1956, convincing project overseers that the aircraft was ready for deployment. As often happens with new aircraft designs, there were several operational accidents. One occurred during these test flights when a U-2 suffered a [[flameout]] over Tennessee{{Dubious|Test flights|date=February 2023}}; the pilot calculated that he could reach New Mexico. Every air base in the continental U.S. had sealed orders to carry out if a U-2 landed. The commander of [[Kirtland Air Force Base]] near [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]], was told to open his orders, prepare for the arrival of an unusual aircraft making a [[deadstick landing]], and get it inside a hangar as soon as possible. The U-2 successfully landed after gliding for more than {{convert|300|mi|km}}, and its strange, glider-like appearance and the space-suited pilot startled the base commander and other witnesses.{{sfn|Pedlow|Welzenbach|1992|pp=76–79}}

[[File:Christopher_Michel_in_a_U-2_Dragon_Lady.jpg|thumb|A pilot in a U-2 cockpit in 2010 at 70,000 ft wearing a pressure suit similar to that used in the [[Lockheed SR-71]].]]
Not all U-2 incidents were so benign, with three fatal accidents in 1956 alone. The first was on 15 May 1956, when the pilot stalled the aircraft during a post-takeoff maneuver that was intended to drop off the wingtip outrigger wheels. The second occurred on 31 August, when the pilot stalled the aircraft immediately after takeoff. On 17 September, a third aircraft disintegrated during ascent in Germany, also killing the pilot.{{sfn|Pedlow|Welzenbach|1992|pp=79–80}} There were other non-fatal incidents, including at least one that resulted in the loss of the aircraft.