The 1960 "U-2 incident" revealed what the Soviets had claimed for years, that the US was violating Soviet airspace with covert spy missions. But the breadth of the so called “ferret flights” remained a state secret that only started to emerge decades later. Many of those flights were made in a special reconnaissance version of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet.
By September of 1944, the Western Allies had broken out of the Normandy beachehead, and suddenly and quickly moved across northern France . By September 7th, the 90th division was stretched across the northern sector on Patton’s Third Army’s left, advancing slowly northeast. As they did so the German defenders made a risky attack in an effort to spoil the allied advance, cutting through Allied lines in a surprise action at the small town of Mairy-Mannville.