ARMED FORCES: Mystery Plane

Two crashes, less than 100 miles apart in Texas and New Mexico, last week put the spotlight on a military plane that the Pentagon tries not to talk about. The plane: the Lockheed U2. Its mission: high-altitude reconnaissance. The U-2s, flying out of Laughlin A.F.B. near Del Rio, Texas on separate missions, crashed within a 24-hour period, killing their pilots. Air police rushed in, set up roadblocks to screen both crash sites from view. The Air Force ruled out sabotage, tersely ordered the grounding of some 25 sister ships, and clammed up.

The U2, a strange, ungainly bird, has been flying for two years. Single-seated, powered by one Pratt & Whitney J57 Jet engine, it has a wing so long that outrigger wheels must support it on the ground. This configuration gives the U-2 little dash but great lift and good performance at 60,000 ft. and above.

Impressive altitude capabilities (details classified) and a respectable range (also classified) put the U-2 for hours at the fringe of space. There it flies beyond the reach of any known U.S. production plane —and presumably any effective Russian interception. One likely reason for Air Force secrecy: at its solitary height, the U-2 might cruise anywhere unmolested, casing the distant terrain through its all-seeing, cloud-piercing radar eye.