The American U-2 spyplane is one of the most recognisable aircraft of the Cold War. The U-2 was developed for a very special reason – its sole purpose was to spy on the enemy. It was not designed to drop bombs or weapons of any kind, but as a reconnaissance aircraft that could fly high over enemy territory and take photographs of the ground below it using highly sophisticated onboard cameras.

The film from each mission was brought back to the airbase and studied by US analysts and intelligence experts. In the early days, the U-2 could not be detected by the Russians and could therefore secretly photograph land, coastlines and ports to see what the Soviets were doing.

In the days before satellites, this was a very effective way of spying on the enemy. The U-2 enabled the USA and Britain to gather intelligence to 'see' Russia's military activity during the Cold War. A U-2 mission over Cuba in October 1962 helped the USA to discover the existence of Soviet missiles on the island, sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis.