Customer Reviews

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

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As I opened the package containing this book today, I found myself hoping that it would mention the missions that were flown over the Middle East from Griffiss Air Force Base in upstate New York. In fact I had been thinking the same thing when I ordered the book.

Most folks think that the first post-WWII combat mission to originate from and end in the lower 48 was a B-52 strike from Barksdale AFB to just outside of Iraq and back in 1991. But, in fact, there were a number of them flown over Cuba by Air Force and Navy fliers in 1961. And they were followed by a series of SR-71 missions from New York to the Middle East and back during the October War. Well, friends, not only were the Griffiss missions mentioned in Lockheed SR-71 Operations in Europe and the Middle East, there is an entire chapter on them! (B-52s from Wurtsmith AFB, Mich., attacked Iraq from there at the start of the first Gulf War. They recovered in Saudi Arabia.)

While this isn't Paul Crickmore's first book on the SR-71 (see, among others, the companion Lockheed SR-71 Operations in the Far East), it sure is a good one. Crickmore has even done original research on Soviet attempts to intercept SR-71s over the Baltic in the 1980s--including interviews with former Soviet pilots.

This book is probably not the last word on SR-71 operations, but it is the most current one. There are many photos in this fine, highly recommended book.

Osprey's fine guides to battles, wars and military history are top picks for any serious military library. Rare photos and original artwork lends to the effort. Paul F. Crickmore's LOCKHEED SR-71 OPERATIONS IN EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST provides a fine addition to the Osprey Combat Aircraft series, covering tensions around the deployment of the aircraft and its mission to monitor Warsaw pact troop movements and photograph ports.

A VERY interesting book in the Osprey Library! I also purchased the companion book SR-71 Operations in the Far East and found it to be equally fascinating. I didn't think reading about spy ops would be so riveting. Alone, unarmed, usually on the edge of hostile foreign borders, these crews kept us and our allies safe for nearly forty years! And all done in an aircraft that is STILL years beyond it's time! A must read.