Lockheed A-12, YF-12 et SR-71 Blackbird : livres - histoire

Lockheed Blackbird Family - A-12, YF-12, D-21/M-21 and SR-71 Photo Scrapbook

Still the world's most popular and most exciting aircraft, the Lockheed family of A-12, YF-12, D-21/M-21, and SR-71 Blackbirds are to this day the highest-performance jet-powered airplanes ever flown. They have set numerous world speed and altitude records for manned aircraft powered by air-breathing engines that theoretically may never be broken. Although no longer operational, A-12s and SR-71s flew for nearly three decades at speeds in excess of Mach 3 and altitudes of up to 90,000 feet.

This book contains many never-before-published photos coupled with new de-classified information recently released by the CIA, including black-and-white and color photos of A-12 cockpits, early camera installations, and never-before-seen special camouflage schemes.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (Osprey)

The SR-71 represents the very pinnacle of Cold War aircraft design and it has become an aviation icon. Together with its predecessor, the A-12, the Blackbird was a giant leap into the technical unknown and the design employed many forms of new technology made necessary by the excesses of speed, altitude and temperature to which the aircraft was subjected.
Throughout its 34-year Air Force career, the SR-71 proved itself to be the world's fastest and highest flying operational manned aircraft. It set a number of world records for altitude and speed, including an absolute altitude record of 85,069ft on 28 July 1974, and an absolute speed record of 2,193.2mph the same day.
This truly was a unique and ground-breaking aircraft, whose fascinating design history is explored here in full and illuminated with photographs and detailed technical illustrations.

Contents: Introduction - Design and Development - Technical Specifications and Variants - Operational History - Conclusion - Bibliography and Further Reading.

Lockheed SR-71 Operations in Europe and the Middle East (Osprey)

First employed in the Far East over North Vietnam and North Korea, American military intelligence quickly realized the SR-71 'Blackbird's' potential value over European targets. In 1976, SR-71 Detachment 4 commenced operations from the RAF base at Middenhall in the UK. Its mission was to monitor Warsaw Pact troop movements along the Iron Curtain and photograph the various ports 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.

Contents: Non-deployment - Squaring up to the Soviet threat - Operation El Dorado Canyon - Shutdown - Appendices.

Lockheed SR-71 Operations in the Far East (Osprey)

Even before the first operational flight of the U-2 spy plane, aircraft designers began work on the type's replacement. The result was the SR-71. First deployed on March 9, 1968, this tri-sonic 'hotrod' flew its first operational sortie over North Vietnam just 12 days later. Thereafter, the SR-71 roamed freely, capturing photographic, radar and electronic intelligence.

This book examines the impact this aircraft had, not only on North Vietnam but during the Cold War as a whole, gathering information about the Soviet nuclear submarine fleet based in Vladivostok as well as the port's defenses, monitoring the actions of North Korea and flying four 11-hour, non-stop sorties into the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War in the late 1980s.

Contents: Black Shield & Giant Reach - The War Intensifies - North Korea - Back in the USSR - Flights to the Middle East - Appendices.

Lockheed A-12 - The CIA's Blackbird and Other Variants (Osprey)

During the early years of the Cold War, the most effective way to gather strategic intelligence about the Soviet Union and its allies was manned overflight. Lockheed's U-2 was spectacularly successful in this role, however, much to the concern of US President Eisenhower, its shape meant that it could be tracked on Russian radars.
Given the highly sensitive nature of such flights, the President insisted that every effort should be made to reduce to zero the U-2's radar cross section (RCS), thereby making the aircraft invisible. When this was proven to be impossible, the stage was set for a U-2 replacement. Following a competition between Lockheed and Convair, the former was declared the winner and the result was the A-12.
Designed to incorporate 'stealth' features before the term was even coined, the A-12 has to date proven to be the fastest, highest flying jet aircraft ever built.

This book also covers a two-seat variation of the design built as an advanced interceptor - the YF-12.

Contents: Introduction - Design evolution and development - Technical Specifications - Operational History - Conclusion - programme shut-down - The YF-12 evolution, flight test and cancellation - The M-21 D-21 evolution, flight test and cancellation.

YF-12A Flight Manual

Reprint of the pilot's flight manual for the YF-12A, the fighter version of the SR-71. This aircraft was intended to shoot down incoming Soviet Backfire bombers.

SR-71 Flight Manual : The Official Pilot's Handbook - Declassified and Expanded with Commentary

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was a long-range, Mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft developed by Lockheed's top-secret Skunk Works. One of the first aircraft designed to have a low radar signature, the SR-71 could map 100,000 square miles from an altitude of 80,000 feet.
Operational from 1964 to 1998, it is still the fastest jet-powered aircraft - a Blackbird once completed a Los Angeles-to-Washington, D.C. flight in 64 minutes.

Naturally, reigning in all that technology and performance required some know-how on the parts of the pilots and ground crews. This massive volume, the SR-71 Flight Manual, is a facsimile reprint of the official flight manual issued to SR-71 crew members augmented with anecdotes and and descriptions of flight procedures from former SR-71 pilot Col. Richard Graham (Ret.).

Divided into seven sections, the book covers in minute detail everything from the SR-71 trainer to normal and emergency operation procedures, navigation and sensor equipment, operating limitations, flight characteristics of the Blackbird, and all-weather operation.
Now the official SR-71 flight manual is not only declassified, it's (at least partially) demystified as well!

A veteran of fifteen years of assignments within the SR-71 community, Colonel Richard H. Graham is uniquely qualified to tell the Blackbird's story. Crew member, instructor pilot, chief of the standardization/evaluation division, Colonel Graham was named SR-71 Squadron Commander, 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, in January 1981.
A command pilot with more than 4,600 military flying hours, he has earned many military decorations and awards.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird - Pilot's Flight Operation Instructions

Created by Lockheed's brilliant designer Kelly Johnson, the SR-71 was one of the most legendary aircraft to emerge from the "Skunk Works". Capable of Mach 3 flight, the SR-71 could survey 100,000 miles of the earth's surface from an altitude of 80,000 feet.

The Blackbird holds the coast-to-coast speed record of 64 minutes flown at over 2100 m.p.h. It was also one of the first aircraft to be shaped in such a way as to have a very low radar signature.
Originally created for the elite group of men who drove "the sled", this handbook provides a revealing look into the cockpit of one of history's great planes.

Just recently declassified, this book contains all the basic pilot's instructions for the SR-71 and two-seat training model. This affordable facsimile has been reformatted, but care has been taken to preserve the integrity of the text. Please note, some pages are still classified and have been omitted.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird - Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions

Created by Lockheed's brilliant designer Kelly Johnson, the SR-71 was one of the most legendary aircraft to emerge from the "Skunk Works". Capable of Mach 3 flight, the SR-71 could survey 100,000 miles of the earth's surface from an altitude of 80,000 feet.
The Blackbird holds the coast-to-coast speed record of 64 minutes flown at over 2100 m.p.h. It was also one of the first aircraft to be shaped in such a way as to have a very low radar signature. Originally created for the elite group of men who drove "the sled", this handbook provides a revealing look into the cockpit of one of history's great planes.
Just recently declassified, this book contains all the basic pilot's instructions for the SR-71 and two-seat training model. This affordable facsimile has been reformatted, but care has been taken to preserve the integrity of the text. Please note, some pages are still classified and have been omitted.