167-587: Lucius D. Clay Kaserne ( German : Flugplatz Wiesbaden-Erbenheim ) ( IATA : WIE , ICAO : ETOU ), commonly known as Clay Kaserne , formerly known as Wiesbaden Air Base and later as Wiesbaden Army Airfield , is an installation of the United States Army in Hesse , Germany . The kaserne is located within Wiesbaden-Erbenheim . Named for General Lucius D. Clay , it is the home of
334-465: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it
501-643: A hypersonic unmanned surveillance plane, as it would be suited for missions that require greater speed for time-sensitive targets. The company released a notional artist's impression of the TR-X aircraft at an Air Force Association conference in Washington on 14 September 2015. Its name was changed to mean "tactical reconnaissance" to reflect its purpose as an affordable peace and wartime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, distinguishing it from strategic, penetrating SR-71-class platforms; TR
668-535: A race track for horses. In 1929, the race track was converted into a regional airport . The Luftwaffe took over operations in 1936. One unit stationed at the airfield was Jagdgruppe 50 , a fighter group of Messerschmitt Bf 109s . On August 17, 1943, Jagdgruppe 50 intercepted American bombers taking part in the ill-fated Regensburg Strike targeting the Messerschmitt factory in Regensburg and
835-402: A second language , and 75–100 million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220 million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90 million people, or 16% of
1002-453: A suicide pill , although most chose not to. If put in the mouth and bitten, the "L-pill"—containing liquid potassium cyanide —would cause death in 10–15 seconds. After a pilot almost accidentally ingested an L-pill instead of candy during a December 1956 flight, the suicide pills were put into boxes to avoid confusion. When in 1960 the CIA realized that a pill breaking inside the cockpit would kill
1169-612: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become
1336-549: A $ 22.5 million contract (equivalent to $ 255.9 million today) in March 1955 for the first 20 aircraft, with the first $ 1.26 million ($ 14.33 million today) mailed to Johnson's home in February 1955 to keep work going during negotiations. The company agreed to deliver the first aircraft by July of that year and the last by November 1956. It did so, and for $ 3.5 million ($ 39.2 million today) under budget. The Flight Test Engineer in charge
1503-567: A 1,600 mi (1,400 nmi ; 2,600 km ) radius. The reconnaissance aircraft was essentially a jet-powered glider . In June 1954, the USAF rejected the design in favor of the Bell X-16 and the modified B-57. Reasons included the lack of landing gear, use of the J73 engine instead of the more proven Pratt & Whitney J57 used by the competing designs, and not using multiple engines, which
1670-516: A 5,000-pound (2,300 kg) payload and 130-foot (40 m) wingspan. It will use the same F118-101 turbofan and generator as the U-2, but thrust could increase to 19,000 pounds (8,600 kg) and power increased to 65–75 kVA; service ceiling would increase to 77,000 ft (23,000 m) with a second engine. The TR-X is meant to be "survivable, not unnoticeable", operating outside of enemy air defense bubbles rather than penetrating into them. In 2020,
1837-466: A Polish expatriate were added to the U-2 trainees although only two of the Greek pilots were subsequently allowed to fly the aircraft. Their flight proficiency was poor. The language barrier and a lack of appropriate flying experience proved problematic; by late 1955, foreign pilots had been dropped from the program. USAF pilots had to resign their military commissions before joining the agency as civilians,
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#17327754733142004-469: A formal partnership with Panzergrenadierbrigade 32, a Federal Republic of Germany Bundeswehr mechanized infantry brigade headquartered in nearby Schwanewede. The division also had informal relationships with Dutch, Belgian, and British NORTHAG forces, often conducting joint training activities at Bergen Hohne. After the Gulf War the division went through a series of inactivations and redesignations. Due to
2171-559: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from
2338-724: A joint USAF-CIA project (the first time the CIA dealt with sophisticated technology) came in November 1954. Lockheed had meanwhile become busy with other projects and had to be persuaded to accept the CL-282 contract after its approval. Bissell became head of the project, which used covert funding; under the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949, the CIA's director is the only federal government employee who can spend "unvouchered" government money. Lockheed received
2505-454: A lens with a 240-inch (610 cm) focal length, Johnson replied "I'd sell my grandmother for six more inches!"; Baker instead used a 180-inch (460 cm) f/13.85 lens in a 13 in × 13 in (33 cm × 33 cm) format for his final design. The U-2 has used Jet Propellant Thermally Stable ( JPTS ) since the aircraft's development in the 1950s. JPTS is a high thermal stability, high altitude fuel , created specifically for
2672-477: A local training area, facilities at Garlstedt included a troop medical clinic, post exchange, library, movie theater, and a combined officer/non-commissioned officer/enlisted club. The division's soldiers and family members received radio and TV broadcasts from The American Forces Network (AFN) – Europe via the AFN Bremerhaven affiliate station located in the nearby port city of Bremerhaven. The brigade
2839-458: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained
3006-526: A next-generation High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) platform, but Lockheed sees a future need and wants something in development early. The company's last attempt to create a stealth unmanned aircraft was the RQ-3 DarkStar , which never made it past flight testing and was canceled. Plans for a U-2 replacement would not conflict with the development of the SR-72 , another project by the company to create
3173-481: A perfect balance in the fuel tanks essential for a safe landing. Similarly to sailplanes , the U-2 has a yaw string on the canopy to detect slip or skid during the approach. A skid during flight with no bank is the hint of an imbalance around the longitudinal axis which could be resolved by moving the fuel to the left or right wing tank. When the first overflights of the Soviet Union were tracked by radar,
3340-743: A plum assignment for armor branch brigadier generals, on par with perhaps only the Berlin Brigade for high visibility and potential for advancement to higher rank. The brigade initially deployed to Germany with the M60 Patton tank and the M113 armored personnel carrier . 4–3rd Field Artillery had the M109 155 mm self-propelled howitzer . In 1984, 2–66th AR transitioned to the M1 Abrams main battle tank . In 1985, 3–41st IN and 4–41st IN transitioned to
3507-696: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In
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#17327754733143674-402: A process referred to as "sheep dipping", and were always called "drivers", not pilots. The program only recruited fighter pilots with reserve USAF commissions, as regular commissions complicated the resignation process. The program offered high salaries and the USAF promised that pilots could return at the same rank as their peers. The CIA's standards for selection were higher than the USAF's once
3841-483: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it
4008-610: A retired U.S. Army major general, attended the ceremony. The brigadier general in charge of 2nd Armored Division (Forward) had a unique command. In addition to command of the heavy brigade, he also functioned as the Commander, III Corps (Forward), headquartered in Maastricht , Netherlands , and as commander of all US Army forces in Northern Germany , including the military communities of Garlstedt and Bremerhaven. In
4175-464: A single aspheric singlet lens . Six-thousand-foot (1,800 m) reels of film were used, with the emulsion being coated on a polyester ( PET ) base that offered significantly improved dimensional stability over extremes of temperature and humidity compared to conventional cellulose acetate . In addition, the U-2 also carried a low-resolution Perkin-Elmer tracking camera using a 3-inch lens, which made continuous horizon-to-horizon photographs. This
4342-526: A small regional studio, AFN Hessen, on WAAF to serve the American troops in and around Wiesbaden. It is now home to the 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion of the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade , flying the RC-12 Guardrail signals intelligence aircraft. On June 14, 2012, WAAF was renamed "Lucius D. Clay Kaserne" after General Lucius D. Clay . Clay was the former U.S. military governor of
4509-505: A target with 1,500 nmi (1,700 mi ; 2,800 km ) of operational radius. The USAF decided to solicit designs only from smaller aircraft companies that could give the project more attention. Under the code name "Bald Eagle", it gave contracts to Bell Aircraft , Martin Aircraft , and Fairchild Engine and Airplane to develop proposals for the new reconnaissance aircraft. Officials at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation heard about
4676-506: A weapon to escape in the event of capture. To decrease the risk of developing decompression sickness , pilots breathe 100% oxygen for an hour prior to taking off to remove nitrogen from the blood. A portable oxygen supply is used during transport to the aircraft. Since 2001, more than a dozen pilots have reportedly suffered the effects of decompression sickness, including permanent brain damage in nine cases; initial symptoms include disorientation and becoming unable to read. Factors increasing
4843-717: Is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It is the most spoken native language within the European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and
5010-601: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as
5177-738: Is a reference to the short-lived rebranding of the U-2 as the TR-1 in the 1980s. Size, and thus cost, is kept down by having less endurance than the Global Hawk at around 20 hours, which is still about the same time as a normal RQ-4 sortie even though it is capable of flying for 34 hours. The TR-X concept is aimed squarely at USAF needs and is not currently being marketed to the CIA or other government agencies. It would have increased power and cooling to accommodate new sensors, communication equipment, electronic warfare suites, and perhaps offensive or defensive laser weapons . TR-X could be ready for service in
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5344-612: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German
5511-558: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic
5678-478: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German
5845-480: Is common practice in high resolution cameras in later systems also, where the large image helps localize the small high-resolution images. The aircraft carries a variety of sensors in the nose, Q-bay (behind the cockpit, also known as the camera bay), and wing pods. The U-2 is capable of simultaneously collecting signals , imagery intelligence and air samples. Imagery intelligence sensors include either wet film photography, electro-optic, or radar imagery—the latter from
6012-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25 million speak it as
6179-399: Is driven by a second U-2 pilot who assists the landing U-2 by reporting the aircraft's altitude. In practice, once the aircraft has descended to an altitude of two feet (0.61 m) above the runway the pilot initiates a stall and the aircraft falls from this height. Chase cars and live calling of aircraft altitude are necessary because the landing gear is not designed to absorb the weight of
6346-535: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in
6513-611: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as
6680-565: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are
6847-659: Is one of a handful of aircraft types to have served the USAF for over 50 years, along with the Boeing B-52 , Boeing KC-135 , Lockheed C-130 and Lockheed C-5 . The newest models (TR-1, U-2R, U-2S) entered service in the 1980s, and the latest model, the U-2S, had a technical upgrade in 2012. The U-2 is currently operated by the USAF and NASA. After World War II , the U.S. military desired better strategic aerial reconnaissance to help determine Soviet capabilities and intentions, and to prevent being caught off-guard as it had been in
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7014-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and
7181-597: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as
7348-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German
7515-525: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c. 1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period
7682-578: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish
7849-485: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers
8016-689: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to
8183-639: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as
8350-537: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share
8517-417: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language
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#17327754733148684-466: The Federal Republic of Germany . The 2nd Armored Division (Forward) stationed there had approximately 3,500 soldiers and another approximately 2,500 family dependents and civilian employees. The West German government constructed family housing in the nearby city of Osterholz-Scharmbeck. In addition to troop barracks, motor pools, an indoor firing range, repair and logistics facilities, and
8851-522: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout
9018-746: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in
9185-643: The M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle . The C/2-1 Cavalry was replaced by an air cavalry troop, the D/2-1 Cavalry, armed with AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters . The brigade's initial subordinate combat units consisted of the 3rd Battalion of the 41st Infantry Regiment , 2nd Battalion of the 50th Infantry Regiment , 2nd Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment (Iron Knights), 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery Regiment , and C Troop, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment . In October 1983, as part of
9352-666: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c. 765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in
9519-650: The P-80 . He was also known for completing projects ahead of schedule, working in a separate division of the company, informally called the " Skunk Works ". Johnson's design, named CL-282 , was based on the Lockheed XF-104 with long, slender wings and a shortened fuselage. The design was powered by the General Electric J73 engine and took off from a special cart and landed on its belly. It could reach an altitude of 73,000 feet (22,300 m) and had
9686-546: The Raytheon ASARS-2 system. It can use both line-of-sight and over-horizon data links. Though the USAF and the Navy would eventually fly the U-2, the CIA had majority control over the project, code-named Project DRAGON LADY. Despite SAC chief LeMay's early dismissal of the CL-282, the USAF in 1955 sought to take over the project and put it under SAC until Eisenhower repeated his opposition to military personnel flying
9853-676: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung
10020-422: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit. ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this
10187-400: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German
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#173277547331410354-410: The attack on Pearl Harbor . The Air Force commissioned the 'Beacon Hill Report' from Project Lincoln at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , which was researched in 1951–1952 and delivered in 1952. The committee was led by Carl F. P. Overhage and was overseen by the Air Force's Gordon P. Saville , and included James Gilbert Baker and Edwin H. Land , who would design the specialized optics in
10521-439: The cryptonym AQUATONE to the project, with the USAF using the name OILSTONE for their support to the CIA. James Baker developed the optics for a large-format camera to be used in the U-2 while working for Perkin-Elmer . The new camera had a resolution of 2.5 feet (76 cm) from an altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 m). The aircraft was so crowded that when Baker asked Johnson for six more inches (15 cm) of space for
10688-408: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from
10855-445: The stall speed at that altitude was only 10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h). This narrow window is called the " coffin corner ", because breaching either limit was likely to cause airflow separation at the wings or tail. For most of the time on a typical mission the U-2 was flying less than five knots (6 mph; 9 km/h) above stall speed. A stall would cause a loss of altitude, possibly leading to detection and overstress of
11022-399: The "Return of Forces to Germany" (REFORGER) (1980 and 1987). Division subordinate units used the NATO gunnery and maneuver ranges at the Bergen-Hohne Training Area for gunnery and maneuver training and each year the division as a whole deployed south to Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels[24] (both in Bavaria) training areas for annual crew and unit gunnery and maneuver qualification. The division had
11189-405: The 2025 timeframe, with a fleet of 25–30 aircraft proposed to replace the nearly 40-aircraft mix of U-2s and RQ-4s. Lockheed Martin revealed more specifications about the TR-X concept at a 15 March 2016 media day, confirming the aircraft would be unmanned and air refuelable. Its maximum takeoff weight would be greater than either the U-2's or RQ-4's at around 54,000 lb (24,000 kg), with
11356-399: The Airlift. On 4 July 1956 a U-2A stationed in Wiesbaden flew over both Moscow and Leningrad as part of Operation Overflight, missions to spy on Soviet Armed Forces bases. This was the first flight by a U-2 over the Soviet Union . It was flown by United States Air Force pilot Hervey Stockman, and the aircraft is now in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. In 1973,
11523-422: The Army's 2d Theater Signal Brigade , 66th Military Intelligence Brigade and is the headquarters of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF). The USAREUR oversees the 7th Army Training Command , 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command and 21st Theater Sustainment Command . Clay Kaserne also maintains an airfield. The land on which present-day Clay Kaserne now stands was originally built in 1910 as
11690-443: The CIA conduct its own overflights, Land and James Killian of MIT told President Eisenhower about the aircraft; Eisenhower agreed that the CIA should be the operator. Dulles finally agreed, but some USAF officers opposed the project because they feared it would endanger the RB-57D and X-16. The USAF's Seaberg helped persuade his own agency to support the CL-282, albeit with the higher-performance J57 engine, and final approval for
11857-427: The CIA initiated Project Rainbow to reduce the U-2's radar cross-section . This effort ultimately proved unsuccessful, and work began on a follow-on aircraft, which resulted in the Lockheed A-12 Oxcart . In August 2015, the 60th anniversary of the U-2 program, Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works revealed they were internally developing a successor to the U-2, referred to as the UQ-2 or RQ-X, combining features from both
12024-473: The CIA set up a cover story involving experimental rocket aircraft. Shell Oil developed a new low-volatility, low vapor pressure jet fuel that would not evaporate at high altitudes; the fuel became known as JP-7 . Manufacturing several hundred thousand gallons for the aircraft in 1955 caused a nationwide shortage of Esso's FLIT insecticide. Realizing the plane could not be tested and flown out of Burbank Airport , they selected what would become Area 51 . It
12191-536: The Cockpit Altitude Reduction Effort (CARE), increasing the cabin pressure from 3.88 psi to 7.65 psi, a 15,000-foot (4,600 m) altitude equivalent. The urine collection device also was rebuilt to eliminate leakage. Existing cameras had ground resolution down to 23 feet (7 m) from an altitude of 33,000 feet (10,000 m), and were inadequate for the 70,000 feet (21,000 m) altitude. Ground resolution of 9.8 feet (3 m)
12358-723: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In
12525-748: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of
12692-536: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of
12859-451: The German states; the invention of the printing press c. 1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of
13026-681: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by
13193-690: The Germany and architect of the rebuilding of Germany after World War II that led to the Marshall Plan . Clay instituted Operation Vittles from WAAF in 1948, retiring only after the Soviets lifted their blockade of Berlin. Prior to this renaming, "Lucius D. Clay Kaserne" was the name of a U.S. Army facility in then-West Germany, near the community of Garlstedt in Osterholz-Scharmbeck . The installation still named Clay Kaserne had been
13360-655: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are
13527-865: The Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as a recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ), the Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German
13694-562: The Lakenheath flights. To avoid delays, in June 1956, Detachment A moved to Wiesbaden , Germany, without approval from the German government , while Giebelstadt Army Airfield was prepared as a more permanent base. Eisenhower remained concerned that despite their great intelligence value, overflights of the Soviet Union might cause a war. While the U-2 was under development, at the 1955 Geneva Summit he proposed to Nikita Khrushchev that
13861-518: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c. thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c. 1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy
14028-630: The Mediterranean area EATS flights connected Udine , Pisa , Rome , and Naples . The EATS originally was composed of left-over wartime troop carrier squadrons, glider and fighter pilots, B-17 "Flying Fortress" crewmen and other available personnel. In addition to regular flights which service the Army of Occupation, EATS also operated special flights such as providing transportation for diplomatic officials, evacuating sick or wounded, performing mercy flights, aiding Graves Registration in returning
14195-734: The PR3 photo-reconnaissance variant, but the USAF asked for English Electric's help to further modify the American-licensed version of the Canberra, the Martin B-57 , with long, narrow wings, new engines, and a lighter airframe to reach 67,000 feet (20,400 m). The U.S. Air Research and Development Command mandated design changes that made the aircraft more durable for combat, but the resulting RB-57D aircraft of 1955 could only reach 64,000 feet (19,500 m). The Soviet Union, unlike
14362-453: The RB-57D would not meet the 70,000 feet (21,300 m) requirement that panel member Allen F. Donovan of Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory believed was necessary for safety. The CIA told the panel about the CL-282. The design elements that the USAF considered to be flaws (the single-engine and light load factor) appealed to Donovan. He was a sailplane enthusiast who believed that a sailplane
14529-431: The Soviet Union and the United States would each grant the other country airfields to use to photograph military installations. Khrushchev rejected the "Open Skies" proposal. The CIA told the president that the Soviets could not track high-altitude U-2 flights; this belief was based on studies using old Soviet radar systems and American systems that were not as effective at high altitudes as current Soviet systems, of which
14696-580: The Soviet Union's best interceptor aircraft , which could barely reach 45,000 feet (13,700 m). He and others believed that Soviet radar, which used American equipment provided during the war, could not track aircraft above 65,000 feet (19,800 m). At the time, the highest-flying aircraft available to the US and its allies was the English Electric Canberra , which could reach 48,000 feet (14,600 m). The British had already produced
14863-605: The Soviet submarine construction program in Leningrad , and counting the numbers of the new Myasishchev M-4 "Bison" bomber. Soviet radar monitored the U-2 incursion into Soviet airspace in real-time, with radar tracking starting from the time the aircraft crossed into East German airspace. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was informed immediately. . While contemplating appropriate retaliatory steps, he ordered Soviet Ambassador to Washington, Georgy Zarubin , to protest vehemently to
15030-526: 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 32,000 feet (9,800 m), proving that Johnson had met his promised specifications and deadline. By 16 August,
15197-767: The U-2 its remarkable performance also makes it a difficult aircraft to fly. Martin Knutson said that it "was the highest workload air plane I believe ever designed and built … you're wrestling with the airplane and operating the camera systems at all times", leaving no time to "worry about whether you're over Russia or you're flying over Southern California". The U-2 was designed and manufactured for minimum airframe weight, which results in an aircraft with little margin for error. Most aircraft were single-seat versions, with only five two-seat trainer versions known to exist. Early U-2 variants were powered by Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet engines. The U-2C and TR-1A variants used
15364-634: The U-2's flight over Soviet airspace, the CIA turned to a foreign power, MI6 , the British Secret Intelligence Service, to request authorization from Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Macmillan , who approved the flights. The fact that radar had—contrary to the CIA's expectations—successfully tracked the aircraft worried Eisenhower, but he approved the first Soviet overflight, Mission 2013 on 4 July. U-2 Article 347's main targets were
15531-540: The U-2's onboard systems, a new mission computer designed to the U.S. Air Force's open mission systems standard and a new and modern cockpit displays ( Primary Flight Display or PFD). The avionics upgrades are scheduled to be completed by 2022. Lockheed Martin then plans to refresh the U-2's sensors and other electronic systems., to act as a node in the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) now under development. The design that gives
15698-566: The U-2. During the early 1950s, the best intelligence the American government had on facilities deep inside the Soviet Union were World War II German Luftwaffe photographs taken during the war of territory west of the Ural Mountains , so overflights to take aerial photographs of the Soviet Union would be necessary. The committee suggested a plane with advanced optics, flying above 70,000 feet (21,300 m). After 1950, Soviet air defenses consistently intercepted all aircraft near
15865-514: The U-2. JPTS has a lower freeze point, higher viscosity, and higher thermal stability than standard USAF fuels. In 1999, the Air Force spent approximately $ 11.3 million (equivalent to $ 20.58 million in 2023 dollars) on fuel for the U-2 aircraft and was looking for a lower-cost alternative. JPTS is a specialty fuel and as such has limited worldwide availability and costs over three times the unit volume price of USAF's primary jet fuel, JP-8 . Research
16032-453: The U.S. State Department that very day, explaining that the recent trust-building to ease tensions between the two countries was undermined by the overflight provocations. A second flight on 5 July continued searching for Bisons, took photographs of Moscow (the only ones taken by the program), and flew over cloud-covered rocket factories at Kaliningrad and Khimki. Eisenhower knew from the earlier overflights that his hope of no Soviet detection
16199-538: 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 ; 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 ,
16366-582: The U.S. was not aware. Knutson later said that "the U-2 was really quite invisible to American radar, but Russian radar were a little different—better, you might say". Although the Office of Scientific Intelligence issued a more cautious report in May 1956 that stated that detection was possible, it believed that the Soviets could not consistently track the aircraft. Dulles further told Eisenhower, according to presidential aide Andrew Goodpaster , that in any aircraft loss
16533-564: The US Air Force awarded the Avionics Tech Refresh contract to Lockheed Martin for upgrading the U-2. In February 2020, the flight tests and the installation of new electro-optical reconnaissance systems were completed. SYERS-2C cameras manufactured by Collins Aerospace equip the entire U-2S fleet. The contract is valued at $ 50 million. The U-2S's ISR very high altitude mission requires changes for avionics suite for
16700-512: The USAF believed to be more reliable. General Curtis LeMay of Strategic Air Command (SAC) walked out during a CL-282 presentation, saying that he was not interested in an airplane without wheels or guns. Civilian officials including Trevor Gardner , an aide to Secretary of the Air Force Harold E. Talbott , were more positive about the CL-282 because of its higher potential altitude and smaller radar cross-section, and recommended
16867-430: The United States and Britain, had improved radar technology after the war, and could track aircraft above 65,000 feet (19,800 m). It was thought that an aircraft that could fly at 70,000 feet (21,300 m) would be beyond the reach of Soviet fighters, missiles, and radar. Another Air Force officer, John Seaberg, wrote a request for proposal in 1953 for an aircraft that could reach 70,000 feet (21,300 m) over
17034-548: The United States forthrightly acknowledge its use of U-2 overflights "to guard against surprise attack". Their advice was not followed, and the weather cover story led to the disaster that followed the May 1960 U-2 loss. The British government in January 1956 approved the U-2's deployment from RAF Lakenheath . NACA announced that the USAF Air Weather Service would use a Lockheed-developed aircraft to study
17201-542: The United States many clues on how the Communist countries used radar to track overflights, which benefited the U-2 program. With approval from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)'s director Hugh Dryden , Bissell's team at the CIA developed a cover story for the U-2 that described the aircraft as used by NACA for high-altitude weather research; the cover story would be used if
17368-873: The Wiesbaden area until it was returned in 1993 to the Federal Republic of Germany and renamed Europaviertel . The buildings at Lindsey Air Station now house certain offices of the German Federal Investigation Bureau Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), the State Police of Hesse, new private housing and a folk high school (VHS). The sports field and gym are now the home of the Wiesbaden Phantoms . German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] )
17535-414: The air base was a joint Army/Air Force community. U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF)/U.S. Air Forces in Europe units (USAFE) assigned to Wiesbaden Air Base or Lindsey Air Station from 1945 to 1993 included: Lucius D. Clay Kaserne was a new military facility built near the village of Garlstedt just north of the city of Bremen . The facilities cost nearly $ 140 million to construct, half of which was paid for by
17702-900: The aircraft in 1953. It was approved in 1954, and its first test flight was in 1955. It was flown during the Cold War over the Soviet Union , China, Vietnam , and Cuba . In 1960, Gary Powers was shot down in a CIA U-2C over the Soviet Union by a surface-to-air missile (SAM). Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. was shot down in a U-2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. U-2s have taken part in post-Cold War conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq , and supported several multinational NATO operations. The U-2 has also been used for electronic sensor research, satellite calibration, scientific research, and communications purposes. The U-2
17869-408: The aircraft jumped into the air at 70 knots (81 mph; 130 km/h), 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
18036-554: The aircraft were lost over hostile territory. U-2s flew some real weather-related missions, taking photographs that appeared in the press, and sometimes had civilian government decals, but few believed in the cover story; in May 1957 the UK's Daily Express newspaper reported the U-2 operating east of the Iron Curtain . The civilian advisers Land and Killian disagreed with the cover story, advising that in case of an aircraft loss,
18203-464: The aircraft when falling from altitudes much above two feet (0.61 m). Instead of the typical tricycle landing gear, the U-2 uses a bicycle configuration with a forward set of main wheels located just behind the cockpit and a rear set of main wheels located behind the engine. The rear wheels are coupled to the rudder to provide steering during taxiing. To maintain balance while taxiing and take-off, two auxiliary wheels called "pogos" are attached under
18370-420: The aircraft. Nonetheless, the USAF substantially participated in the project; Bissell described it as a "49 percent" partner. The USAF agreed to select and train pilots and plot missions, while the CIA would handle cameras and project security, process film, and arrange foreign bases. Beyond not using American military personnel to fly the U-2, Eisenhower preferred to use non-U.S. citizens. Seven Greek pilots and
18537-407: The airframe. The U-2's flight controls are designed for high-altitude flight; the controls require light control inputs at operational altitude. However, at lower altitudes the higher air density and lack of a power-assisted control system make the aircraft very difficult to fly: control inputs must be extreme to achieve the desired response, and a great deal of physical strength is needed to operate
18704-497: The army's regimental alignment program, 2–50 Infantry was redesignated as 4–41 Infantry and 1–14 Field Artillery as 4–3 Field Artillery. Other brigade subordinate units eventually included the 498th Support Battalion, D Company, 17th Engineer Battalion, and the 588th Military Intelligence Company. The brigade also had a military police platoon and an aviation detachment. In 1986, under the army's COHORT unit manning and retention plan, 3–41st Infantry returned to Fort Hood , Texas , and
18871-922: The ball bearing plants in Schweinfurt . Alfred Grislawski , a German fighter ace , took part. The field was captured when the 80th U.S. Infantry Division took Wiesbaden on 28 March 1945. Subsequently, the United States Army Air Forces gave the base the temporary designation "Y-80." Beginning in September, 1945, the European Air Transport Service (EATS) operated passenger and cargo service from Wiesbaden daily to London , Munich , Bremen , Vienna and Berlin . From Berlin an EATS plane made weekly flights to Warsaw , Poland . Flights originated from Vienna for Bucharest , Belgrade , Sofia , and Budapest . In
19038-410: The controls. The U-2 is very sensitive to crosswinds, which, together with its tendency to float over the runway, makes the aircraft notoriously difficult to land. As it approaches the runway, the cushion of air provided by the high-lift wings in ground effect is so pronounced that the U-2 will not land unless the wings are fully stalled. A landing U-2 is accompanied on the ground by a chase car , which
19205-648: The country's borders—sometimes even those in Japanese airspace. Existing US reconnaissance aircraft, primarily bombers converted for reconnaissance duty such as the Boeing RB-47 , were vulnerable to anti-aircraft artillery, missiles, and fighters. Richard Leghorn of the United States Air Force suggested that an aircraft that could fly at 60,000 feet (18,300 m) should be safe from the MiG-17 ,
19372-567: The design to the Central Intelligence Agency 's Office of Scientific Intelligence . At that time, the CIA depended on the military for overflights, and Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles favored human over technical intelligence-gathering methods. However, the Intelligence Systems Panel, a civilian group advising the USAF and CIA on aerial reconnaissance, had recognized by 1954 that
19539-430: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with
19706-456: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in
19873-519: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of
20040-399: The event of the deployment of III Corps and/or the 2nd Armored Division from the United States, the division commander would revert to his job as assistant division commander for operations of 2nd Armored Division. This contingency was practised during REFORGER exercises in 1980 and 1987. As a result of this varied and demanding job, command of the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) was considered
20207-459: The expected flood of U-2 photographs. Before the aircraft became operational, however, USAF's Project Genetrix , which used high-altitude balloons to photograph the Soviet Union, China, and eastern Europe, led to many diplomatic protests from those countries and for a while, CIA officials feared that the U-2 project was at risk. While Genetrix was also a technical failure—only 34 of the 516 balloons returned usable photographs—the balloon flights gave
20374-448: The ground resolution can be inferred by calculation to be 24 inches (60 cm). This was followed by the "B" camera with a 36-inch-focal-length (910 mm) lens with F/10 and image motion compensation, resolving 100 lines per mm, and the ground resolution can be inferred by calculation to be 9.1 inches (23 cm). It was a panoramic camera which took pictures of an extremely large area of the earth's surface. The lens design consisted of
20541-570: The headquarters of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) was relocated to Ramstein Air Base near Kaiserslautern . The Air Force moved most personnel out of Wiesbaden in 1975 as part of Operation Creek Swap, in which most Army facilities in Kaiserslautern were turned over to the Air Force, in exchange for the facilities at Wiesbaden. The 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division , was stationed at Wiesbaden in 1976 as part of "Brigade 76" until it
20708-631: The home of the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) and is now the home of the Bundeswehr 's logistics school. In 2022 and 2023, during the Russo-Ukrainian War from 2022, the base became the logistical hub, the International Donor Coordination Center, involving at least 17 nations who had representatives there. Lindsey Air Station, an installation on the opposite side of Wiesbaden from the air base,
20875-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,
21042-481: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of
21209-580: The largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina , and Espírito Santo . Lockheed U-2 The Lockheed U-2 , nicknamed " Dragon Lady ", is an American single-engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated from the 1950s by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day and night, high-altitude (70,000 feet, 21,300 meters), all-weather intelligence gathering . Lockheed Corporation originally proposed
21376-399: The latter began its own U-2 flights; although more candidates were rejected, the CIA's program had a much lower accident rate. Test pilot Tony LeVier trained other Lockheed pilots to fly the U-2. By September 1955 he had trained six USAF pilots, who in turn trained other "sheep-dipped" pilots. As no two-seat trainer model was available for the program's first 15 years, training was done before
21543-450: The loss of the aircraft. A committee of Army, Navy, USAF, CIA, NSA , and State Department representatives created lists of priority targets for U-2 and other intelligence-gathering methods. The U-2 project received the list and drew up flight plans, and the committee provided a detailed rationale for each plan for the president to consider as he decided whether to approve it. The CIA's Photo Intelligence Division grew in size to prepare for
21710-468: The manned U-2 and unmanned Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk and improving upon them. Disclosed details say the design is essentially an improved U-2 airframe with the same engine, service ceiling, sensors, and cockpit, with the main differences being an optional manning capability (something Lockheed has proposed for the U-2 to the USAF several times, but has never gained traction) and low-observable characteristics. The USAF has no requirement or schedule for
21877-512: The more powerful Pratt & Whitney J75 turbojet. The U-2S and TU-2S variants incorporated the more powerful General Electric F118 turbofan engine. High aspect ratio wings give the U-2 glider -like characteristics, with an engine out glide ratio of about 23:1, comparable to gliders of the time. To maintain their operational ceiling of 70,000 feet (21,000 m), the early U-2A and U-2C models had to fly very near their never-exceed speed (V NE ). The margin between that maximum speed and
22044-402: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted
22211-653: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from
22378-413: The pilot wears a partially pressurized space suit , which delivers the pilot's oxygen supply and provides emergency protection in case cabin pressure is lost. While pilots can drink water and eat various liquid foods in squeezable containers through a self-sealing hole in the face mask, they typically lose up to 5% of their body mass on an eight-hour mission. Initially, pilots had the option of carrying
22545-500: The pilot would almost certainly not survive. With such assurances and the growing demand for accurate intelligence regarding the alleged " bomber gap " between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, in June 1956 Eisenhower approved 10 days of overflights. The first U-2 overflight had already occurred, using the existing authorization of air force overflights over Eastern Europe. On 20 June 1956, a U-2 flew over Poland and East Germany, with more flights on 2 July. When Eisenhower refused to approve
22712-494: The pilot, it destroyed the L-pills, and as a replacement, its Technical Services Division developed a needle poisoned with a powerful shellfish toxin and hidden in a silver dollar . Only one was made because the agency decided if any pilot needed to use it the program would probably be canceled. Like the suicide pill, not all pilots carried the coin, and Knutson did not know of any that intended to commit suicide; he carried it as
22879-449: The project and decided to submit an unsolicited proposal. To save weight and increase altitude, Lockheed executive John Carter suggested that the design eliminate landing gear and not attempt to meet combat load factors for the airframe. The company asked Clarence "Kelly" Johnson to come up with such a design. Johnson was Lockheed's best aeronautical engineer, responsible for the P-38 and
23046-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation
23213-453: The prototype flew at 52,000 feet (15,800 m), an altitude never before reached in sustained flight; by 8 September, it reached 65,000 feet (19,800 m). 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, was the origin of the aircraft's nickname. Meanwhile, U-2s conducted eight overflights of
23380-677: The remains of American soldiers and rushing supplies to needy areas. In 1948 the installation served as a hub supporting the Berlin Airlift with around-the-clock flights to Tempelhof Airport . Airmen from Wiesbaden distinguished themselves in support of "Operation Vittles". C-47 "Skytrain"s and C-54 "Skymasters" of the 60th Troop Carrier Group flew missions daily to Tempelhof in the beleaguered city of Berlin. During one day's operations more than 80 tons of food and supplies were airlifted from Wiesbaden. The streets on Wiesbaden Air Base were named after servicemen who gave their lives during
23547-504: The restructuring of the U.S. Army after the end of the Cold War, the 2nd Armoured division was ordered off the active duty rolls, ending more than 50 years of continuous service. SGT Michael L. Anderson was the last member of the 2nd Armored Division. He was a 74F who was in charge of cutting orders for all remaining members of 2nd Armored Division HQ. On 1 September 1991, he cut the final orders for himself and his commanding officer. Over
23714-496: The risk of illness since 2001 include longer mission durations and more cockpit activity. Conventional reconnaissance missions would limit pilot duties to maintaining flight paths for camera photography. Operations over Afghanistan included more real-time activities, such as communication with ground troops, increasing their bodies' oxygen requirements and the risk of nitrogen bubble formation. U-2 pilots now exercise during oxygen pre-breathing. In 2012, modifications were initiated under
23881-546: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,
24048-548: The summer and fall of 1992, the 2nd Armored Division was inactivated. Lucius D. Clay Kaserne was turned back over to the German government and was later to become home of the German Army Logistics and Supply School (Logistikschule der Bundeswehr) as well as the seat of General der Nachschubtruppe. Lucius D. Clay's name was later reused for the Wiesbaden Army Airfield. Until summer 2011, WAAF
24215-500: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in
24382-411: The trainee's first solo flight and via radio. Pilots had to adjust to the U-2's unusual combination of jet engines and enormous, high-lift glider wings; because of the "coffin corner" they learned of the need to pay complete attention to flying when not using the autopilot. After AQUATONE was funded and security handled by the CIA, the agency referred to all its high altitude aircraft as "articles". This
24549-521: The weather and cosmic rays at altitudes up to 55,000 feet; accordingly, the first CIA detachment of U-2s ("Detachment A") was known publicly as the 1st Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, Provisional (WRSP-1). The death in April 1956, however, of British agent Lionel Crabb while examining Soviet ships in Portsmouth harbor embarrassed the British government, which asked the United States to postpone
24716-418: The wings. These fit into sockets underneath each wing at about mid-span and fall off at takeoff. To protect the wings during landing, each wingtip has a titanium skid. After the U-2 comes to a halt, the ground crew re-installs the pogos, then the aircraft taxis to parking. Because of the high operating altitude and the cockpit's partial pressurization, equivalent to 28,000 feet (8,500 m) pressure altitude,
24883-555: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during
25050-600: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching
25217-417: Was Joseph F. Ware Jr. Initial design and manufacturing was done at Lockheed's Skunk Works factory in Burbank, California , with engineers embedded in the manufacturing area to address problems quickly. Procurement of the aircraft's components occurred secretly. When Johnson ordered altimeters calibrated to 80,000 feet (24,400 m) from a company whose instruments only went to 45,000 feet (13,700 m),
25384-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of
25551-451: Was acquired and a paved runway constructed for the project. The planes were dismantled, loaded onto cargo planes, and flown to the facility for testing. The aircraft was renamed the U-2 in July 1955, the same month the first aircraft, Article 341, was delivered to Groom Lake . The "U" referred to the deliberately vague designation "utility" instead of "R" for "reconnaissance", and the U-1 and U-3 aircraft already existed. The CIA assigned
25718-407: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially
25885-431: Was carried out to find a cheaper and easier alternative involving additives to generally used jet fuels. A JP-8 based alternative, JP-8+100LT, was being considered in 2001. JP-8+100 has increased thermal stability by 100 °F (56 °C) over stock JP-8, and is only 0.5 cents per gallon more expensive; low-temperature additives can be blended to this stock to achieve desired cold performance. The small landing gear made
26052-422: Was established as an Army Air Force installation on 13 November 1946, having previously been a German Army facility named Gersdorff Kaserne . Lindsey Air Station achieved its greatest prominence between December 1953 and 14 March 1973 when it was the host base for Headquarters, USAFE. After the transfer of Wiesbaden Air Base to the Army in 1976, Lindsey Air Station provided support for various Air Force units in
26219-427: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which
26386-405: Was home to the headquarters of 1st Armored Division and a number of subordinate units. As American forces draw down in Europe, 2017 plans called for Wiesbaden to remain one of six geographic hubs for U.S. forces in Europe. After the closure of US facilities in Frankfurt, Germany, the headquarters of American Forces Network (AFN) was moved from its old AFN Frankfurt location to Mannheim. AFN opened
26553-408: 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. 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
26720-411: Was officially designated as 2nd Armored Division (Forward) during ceremonies at Grafenwöhr, FRG on 25 July 1978. The Garlstedt facilities were officially turned over to the United States by the German government in October. At that time the Garlstedt kaserne (camp) was named after General Lucius D. Clay, the American military commander during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II . His son,
26887-420: 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. There were other non-fatal incidents, including at least one that resulted in
27054-570: Was replaced by 1–41st Infantry. In 1987, 4–41st Infantry returned to Fort Hood and was replaced by 3–66th Armor (Burt's Knights, named for Captain James M. Burt who was awarded the Medal of Honor as a company commander in the 66th Armored Regiment in the Battle of Aachen during World War II). Now an armor-heavy brigade, 2nd Armored Division (Forward) fielded 116 M-1A1 Abrams tanks and nearly 70 M2/3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles. The division participated in numerous major NATO training exercises, including "Trutzige Sachsen" (1985), "Crossed Swords" (1986) and
27221-460: Was replaced by the 3d Corps Support Command and 12th Aviation Brigade in the mid-1980s. In the mid-1980s, the base served as a landing point for the F-117 "Nighthawk" "Stealth Fighter". Although not officially acknowledged by the Air Force until 1988, the F-117 became operational in 1983. The Wiesbaden Air Base would "go dark", turning off all airfield and perimeter lights, whenever "stealth" flights were landing or taking off. From 1975 to 1993,
27388-418: Was required, at a maximum payload weight of 440 pounds (200 kg). The U-2's camera was specially designed by James G. Baker of Harvard and Richard Scott Perkin of the Perkin-Elmer Company, initially in collaboration and later separately. Initial missions were flown with the trimetrogon "A" camera, consisting of three 24-inch-focal-length (610 mm) cameras, with F/8 resolving 60 lines per mm, and
27555-441: Was the type of high-altitude aircraft the panel was seeking. Edwin Land , the developer of instant photography and another member of the panel, proposed to Dulles through Dulles' aide, Richard M. Bissell Jr. , that his agency should fund and operate this aircraft. Land believed that if the military, rather than the CIA, operated the CL-282 during peacetime, such action could provoke a war. Although Dulles remained reluctant to have
27722-443: 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 300 miles (480 km), and its strange, glider-like appearance and the space-suited pilot startled the base commander and other witnesses. Not all U-2 incidents were so benign, with three fatal accidents in 1956 alone. The first
27889-438: Was unrealistic, but ordered that the overflights stop if the aircraft could be tracked. The CIA found that the Soviets could not consistently track the U-2s and therefore did not know that Moscow and Leningrad had been overflown. The aircraft's photographs showed tiny images of MiG-15s and MiG-17s attempting and failing to intercept the aircraft, proving that the Soviets could not shoot down an operational U-2. Knutson recalled that
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