Anthony “Tony” Bevacqua

In March 1957, USAF pilot Anthony “Tony” Bevacqua completed flight training at the CIA’s Area 51 facility as the youngest pilot to ever check out and fly the U-2 plane. Bevacqua flew the U-2 plane for the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing until 1965 when he attended the Air Force’s Command and Staff College before becoming an SR-71 reconnaissance plane pilot until retiring in 1973 with over 2,600 hours in the U-2 and SR-71. Bevacqua was an instructor pilot on both the U-2 and the SR-71. In 2013 Bevacqua was the recipient of the Kelly Johnson Award.

For his role in the highly classified CIA U-2 project at Area 51 and service to the United States, Anthony Bevacqua has earned his 2019 enshrinement into the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame.