aviation

on immediate requests for essential mission

equipment and supplies. Since Saudi Arabia

was ten hours ahead, we set up a daily call

at 8pm their time, 10am at Beale. This gave

me ample opportunity to co-ordinate with

the wing commander if my efforts (and rank)

fell short of  lling their requests on my own.

The daily stand-up get-together changed

to OL-CH battle-staff meetings, with their

needs passed through established classi ed

channels as well as the behind-the-scenes

problems being encountered by the unit,

about which Bubba was brie ng me daily.

DESERT STORM

The build-up of OL-CH would continue until

the January 15 deadline for Iraq to pull

out of Kuwait, resulting in designating the

unit the 1704th Reconnaissance Squadron

(Provisional), comprising nine aircraft, 24

pilots and 231 support personnel. The

PARPRO rules were dropped allowing

direct over ights of targets comprised

of air elds, surface-to-air missile (SAM)

and radar sites, Scud missile locations

and troop emplacements. MiGs were

inconsequential, but always on the hunt for

the Dragon Lady, while the SAM threat was

easily defeated by the onboard electronic

defensive systems.

Back at Beale, the squadron turned into

a ghost town of sorts. I had only 29 pilots

to operate the dets and send to the desert,

as the lure of the airlines was drawing

pilots from all branches of the military. The

training squadron was sending new U-2

pilots to the 99th, but they were unusable in

combat until they had a couple of det tours

under their belts. Thankfully, the Alconbury

squadron could provide TR-1A aircraft and

experienced pilots. With only minor training

they could learn the multitude of other

sensor equipment used on the -R model.

I insisted that pilots returning from

combat and operational sorties receive the

maximum possible time off to spend with

their families and girlfriends, as their turn

times back at Beale dropped to 30 days and

sometimes less, with desert tours requiring

extension to 90 days. My wife was priceless

at calming down the inevitable rumours that

spread among the wives and I initiated a

weekly Dragon Lady’s newsletter along with

Friday brie ngs to ease their concerns.

The very predictable end to the Gulf War

came on February 28, 1991. The Dragon

Lady’s performance and contributions

during Desert Shield/Storm were very

impressive: 544 sorties and 4,749 hours

averaging 100 sorties a month and 8.8

hours per mission. Authorities estimated

that the aircraft provided 50% of all imagery

and 30% of the total intelligence for the war;

quite a feat for the platform’s  rst venture

into tactical reconnaissance!

As there is only one frontline U-2

squadron and the position of CO of the

unit is much in demand, the standard tour

for this role is one year as opposed to the

normal two in the USAF. I was destined for

another rung up the ladder as wing director

of reconnaissance, still a  ying job but with

heavy desk time again, that would lead

to a Pentagon assignment. It was not my

‘cup of tea’, as a dedicated military aviator

of 24 years. Turning down an offer for early

promotion to Colonel, I decided to leave the

air force and, for the next 16 years, I was a

pilot for American Airlines.

22 Aviation News incorporating Jets November 2018

The information for this article and most

of the photos are from the author’s book:

Shady Lady – 1,500 Hours Flying the

U-2 Spy Plane. With numerous  ve-star

reviews on Amazon USA, the book is also

available through Amazon Books (UK),

Crecy Publishing, Specialty Press and

bookshops. It is hardbound and has 280

pages and more than 100 photos and

The author at altitude over South Korea. Note the Earth’s re ection as well as the left wingtip illustrations. Crecy Publishing

and super pod, which can also just be seen. Author’s Archives.

A TR-1A on approach to RAF Alconbury. Peter R Foster