Lockheed SR-71: The Secret Missions Exposed

by Paul F. Crickmore, Bill Gunston, Michael Badrocke (Illustrator)

Tasked with performing highly classified recce missions, Lockheed's SR-71 is undoubtedly the most impressive military jet ever built. This latest edition reviews the alliance between NASA and the Lockheed project, and features a fully detailed complete listing of USAF missions flown out of Kadena. Also detailed are the flights from Beale AFB in California and RAF Mildenhall in England, as the SR-71 monitored Soviet nuclear submarines in the Arctic Circle and the Baltic. The SR-71 story features contributions from 70 crewmembers and six generals who discuss their experiences and judgements of the Blackbird project.

Genres: Aviation

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[KennyO · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crickmore's book about the SR-71 is a benchmark of coverage of the airplane. He doesn't merely describe what the airplane is or how it was built or how fast and high it flew; he makes clear its purpose and its evolution. I've been fortunate to have met two of the people who worked at the Skunk Works (that was its unofficial name) in Burbank under Kelly Johnson and both named this book as the authoritative source for outsiders. The writing is not graceful and not especially engrossing but it is certainly factual and enjoyable for us airplane junkies. This is a great contrasting companion volume to Brian Shul's Sled Driver.