Lockheed Sr-71 Operations in Europe and the Middle East
Paul F. Crickmore
(Author)
Chris Davey
(Illustrator)
Description
An icon of American military might during the Cold War (1946-1991), the Lockheed SR-71 'Blackbird' had covered itself in glory during the aircraft's debut in over-flights of North Vietnam and North Korea. When the US intelligence community realized that the aircraft could fly faster and higher than any Soviet fighter, and outrun most surface-to-air missiles, they instructed the United States Air Force to establish a European detachment of the aircraft.
In 1976, SR-71 Det 4 commenced operations from the Royal Air Force base at Middenhall in the United Kingdom. Its mission was to monitor Warsaw Pact troop movements along the Iron Curtain and photograph the various ports with access to the Batlic and Barents Seas that were home to the Soviet Union's nuclear submarine fleet. Despite the best efforts of the USSR, they were never able to intercept a 'Blackbird' in flight. The SR-71 continued its success during several missions over Libya. After surprise military strikes against several targets in 1986, the SR-71s managed to fly over a sophisticated and fully-integrated defense system in order to take bomb assessment photos. Written by an expert on SR-71 operations, this book picks up where Combat 76: Lockheed SR-71 Operations in the Far East left off.Product Details
Price
$25.00
$23.25
Publisher
Osprey Publishing (UK)
Publish Date
August 18, 2009
Pages
96
Dimensions
7.3 X 9.74 X 0.3 inches | 0.68 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781846034183
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About the Author
During his time as an air traffic controller at the London Air Traffic Control Centre, Paul Crickmore gained a unique introduction into SR-71 operations from RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk. He teamed up with Osprey to produced the first detailed book ever to be published on the subject. When additional information became available to him in 1990 following the initial shut down of SR-71 operations, Crickmore produced an even more detailed book, Lockheed SR-71 The Secret Missions Exposed - the standard reference work on the subject. The work was acclaimed by both the aviation press, Ben Rich (late president of the Skunk Works) and the crews that flew the SR-71. He is also the author of the first detailed book about the F-117 written in partnership with his wife Alison, published by Motorbooks International in 1999.
