The Cold War Gallery in the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio includes some utility and reconnaissance aircraft.
According to the Museum:
The Cold War dominated the second half of the 20th century. This confrontation grew out of the clash between the ideologies of the Western democracies led by the United States -- and the communist nations led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The ever-present threat of nuclear weapons made this period the most dangerous one in world history, but the diligent efforts of the men and women of the U.S. Air Force helped bring this conflict to a peaceful end.
Cesna U-3A
According to the Museum:
Popularly known in the U.S. Air Force as the "Blue Canoe," the U-3 is the military version of the Cessna 310 twin-engine transport. The prototype made its first flight on Jan. 3, 1953, and production for the civilian market began in 1954. In 1957 the USAF selected the aircraft for service as a light administrative liaison, cargo and utility transport. The Air Force eventually bought 160 "off-the-shelf" under the original designation L-27A, later changed to U-3A. Thirty-five more were delivered in 1960-1961 as U-3Bs -- all weather versions with more powerful engines, additional cabin windows, a longer nose and a swept vertical fin.
This aircraft has a top speed of 238 mph, a range of 900 miles, and a ceiling of 22,000 feet.
Republic RF-84K Thunderflash
According to the Museum:
The RF-84K was a reconnaissance and nuclear strike fighter that was intended to be carried toward a target as a "parasite" underneath the GRB-36 bomber. At the time, jet aircraft possessed relatively short range and aerial refueling was not yet proven, so this provided a method to extend their range. The U.S. Air Force applied this parasite concept to the FICON (FIghter CONveyer) project, which became the RF-84K. The mission profile called for the recon aircraft or attack fighter to leave the carrier aircraft (a modified strategic bomber) upon reaching hostile territory, make a dash to the target and perform its mission. The aircraft then returned to the waiting carrier, hooked up underneath it and was carried back to a base. In 1952, as it tested two F-84 FICON prototypes, the USAF ordered 25 RF-84Ks and began modifying 10 B-36s into GRB-36 FICON carriers. The RF-84K design was a modification of the RF-84F, the USAF's most numerous and advanced tactical reconnaissance aircraft at the time. The only major differences were the RF-84K's retractable hook in the upper part of the nose, rods on either side behind the cockpit, and downward angled horizontal stabilizers (to fit inside the GRB-36's bomb bay). The RF-84K entered service with the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS) in 1955. For the next year, pilots of the 91st SRS successfully flew their RF-84Ks, but they experienced many near disasters while separating or hooking back up to the GRB-36 carrier aircraft. By 1957, the development of more capable strategic reconnaissance aircraft, along with greater range provided by dependable aerial refueling, made the parasite aircraft concept obsolete. The 91st SRS's RF-84Ks were transferred to other units flying RF-84Fs and thereafter flew conventional missions from runways.
This aircraft has a top speed of 629 mph, a range of 2,000 miles, and a ceiling of 39,390 feet.
McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II
According to the Museum:
In the early 1960s, the USAF recognized the need for more tactical reconnaissance aircraft to reinforce the RF-101s then in service. The USAF chose a modification of the F-4C fighter. The RF-4C development program began in 1962, and the first production aircraft made its initial flight on May 18, 1964. The Air Force officially accepted a total of 499 RF-4Cs. The RF-4C can carry a variety of cameras in three different stations in its nose section. It could take photos at both high and low altitude, day or night. The RF-4C carried no offensive armament, although during the last few years of its service some were fitted with four AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles for defense. The 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron became the first operational unit to fly the RF-4C. In October 1965 that unit deployed to Southeast Asia to provide photographic reconnaissance of the growing conflict in South Vietnam. In the following years, RF-4Cs flew reconnaissance missions around the world, including Desert Shield/Desert Storm in Iraq in 1990-1991. The Air Force retired all of its RF-4Cs by 1995.
The RF-4C on display was delivered to the USAF on Sept. 9, 1965. It served in Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Europe, Cuba and the Middle East. During Desert Shield/Desert Storm, this aircraft flew a total of 172 missions, more than any other F-4 aircraft.
This aircraft has a top speed of 1,384 mph, a range of 1,632 miles, and a ceiling of 55,200 feet.
Boeing RB-47H Stratojet
According to the Museum:
During the early part of the Cold War, the U.S. Air Force needed an aircraft to gather information about Soviet air defense radar systems, including details like their location, range and coverage. The electronic reconnaissance RB-47H, developed from the B-47E, met this requirement, and Boeing completed the first RB-47H in 1955. Boeing produced 32 newly built RB-47Hs and converted three B-47Es into ERB-47Hs.
The RB-47H first entered service in August 1955. Over the next decade, RB-47H crews of the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SRW) flew thousands of dangerous “ferret” missions. Flying in radio silence at night along -- and sometimes over -- the border of the Soviet Union and other communist nations, RB-47Hs collected essential intelligence about the size and capability of Soviet air defense radar networks. The need for this information and the relatively small number of RB-47Hs forced crews to spend much of their time deployed to places around the world, away from their homes at Forbes AFB, Kan. The RB-47H continued in service until the more capable RC-135 replaced it in the mid-1960s.
This aircraft has a top speed of 602 mph, a range of 3,9355 miles, and a ceiling of 38,850 feet.
Lockheed U-2A
According to the Museum:
In complete secrecy, a team headed by Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson at Lockheed's "Skunk Works" in Burbank, Calif., designed and built the U-2 to fly surveillance missions. With sailplane-like wings suited for the thin atmosphere above 55,000 feet (over 70,000 feet for later models), this single-engine aircraft made its first flight in August 1955. Entering operational service in 1956, its use remained secret until May 1, 1960, when a surface-to-air missile shot down a civilian-piloted U-2 on a reconnaissance flight over Soviet territory.
One of the most important U-2 missions took place on Oct. 14, 1962, when a U-2 piloted by Maj. Richard S. Heyser obtained the first photographs of Soviet offensive missile sites in Cuba. Eight days later, Maj. Rudolf Anderson Jr. was killed on a similar mission when his U-2 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. U-2s have also been used for programs as diverse as mapping studies, atmospheric sampling and collecting crop and land management photographic data for the Department of Energy.
The aircraft on display at the museum is the last U-2A built. During the 1960s, it made 285 flights to gather data on high-altitude, clear-air turbulence and in the 1970s it flight tested reconnaissance systems. Delivered to the museum in May 1980, it is painted as a typical reconnaissance U-2.
This aircraft has a top speed of 494 mph, and a range of 2,220 miles.
Martin RB-57D
According to the Museum:
Entering service the same year as the more famous U-2, the RB-57D helped fill the U.S. Air Force's need for a strategic reconnaissance aircraft that could fly high enough to avoid interception. In 1956 Martin delivered the first RB-57D to the 4025th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (Light) of the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (Light). From 1956-1960, the 4025th SRS(L), known as the "Black Knights," flew many classified reconnaissance missions around the world. Perhaps the most noteworthy mission took place Dec. 11, 1956, when three RB-57Ds overflew the city of Vladivostock in the Soviet Union in broad daylight. The ensuing protest by the Soviets led President Dwight D. Eisenhower to end military overflights of the USSR (later U-2 missions were flown by the CIA). Even so, RB-57Ds continued to fly reconnaissance missions along the border of the Soviet Union and over other nations. Although the RB-57D could carry a larger payload, and fly faster (and nearly as high) as the U-2, the USAF stopped using it as a strategic reconnaissance aircraft in 1960 due to wing failures. Some RB-57Ds, however, continued to fly weather reconnaissance, atomic air sampling and air defense training missions until the last aircraft was retired in 1970. The RB-57D differed significantly from the earlier B-57 bomber. The RB-57D's much longer wings had a lightweight, honeycomb internal structure, and its more powerful engines provided a total of 6,000 pounds more thrust. Martin built 20 RB-57Ds in three variants: 13 single-seat photoreconnaissance aircraft (seven of which could be refueled in mid-air), one single-seat radar mapping aircraft, and six two-seat electronic reconnaissance aircraft. Remarkably, there was an even larger B-57 reconnaissance version, the 122-foot wingspan RB-57F. Beginning in 1963, General Dynamics converted 21 B-57 airframes (four of them RB-57Ds) into RB-57Fs. These aircraft performed missions similar to the RB-57D, and the last USAF-operated RB-57F was retired in the early 1970s. This RB-57D (S/N 53-3982) is one of the 13 photoreconnaissance RB-57Ds. Painted as it appeared in the late 1950s while it served in the 4025th SRS(L), it went on display in 2004.
This aircraft has a top speed of 513 mph, a range of 3,115 miles, and a ceiling of 67,900 feet.
More airplanes
Air Force Museum: Cold War bombers (photo diary)
Air Force Museum: Cold War Boeing airplanes (photo diary)
Air Force Museum: Some Cold War era airplanes (photo diary)
Air Force Museum: Some Cold War era fighters (photo diary)
Air Force Museum: The Hanoi Taxi (photo diary)
Air Force Museum: Southeast Asia fighter planes (photo diary)
Air Force Museum: Lockheed F-22 Raptor (photo diary)
Air Force Museum: Space Gallery Aircraft (photo diary)