Lockheed's SR-71 "Blackbird" Family -A-12, F-12, D-21, SR-71 -Aerofax (Paperback)

~ James Goodall (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Lockheed 'Blackbird' aircraft family is arguably the most famous in the world. Developed for the USAF as reconnaissance aircraft nearly 40 years ago, SR-71s remained the world's fastest and highest-flying production aircraft throughout their operational existence. Though only 50 SR-71s were built, everything about them was unique, awe-inspiring, and enigmatic. Today, four decades after the first flight of the first A-12, details of the 'Blackbird' story are still emerging and there is seemingly endless demand from the public for new material.

The authors have teamed up to create what amounts to the most detailed history of these incredible aircraft ever published. For the first time, the stories of the development program, the General Dynamics "Kingfish" competition, the M-21 and D-21 effort, the F-12 saga, and the operational history of the A-12 and SR-71 under the auspices of the CIA and the Air Force are all covered in detail.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Midland Pub Ltd (March 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857801385
• ISBN-13: 978-1857801385
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #516,805 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blackbird Summary, March 22, 2003

By	Darwin Evelsizer "yardbird78" (Mascoutah, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the latest book on Lockheed's Blackbird family of "Titanium Wonderbirds" from the mind of aeronautical genius Kelly Johnson. The text is very complete with many details on development, various "firsts", record flights, summaries of individual airframes and operational statistics. There are many very good black and white photos and a color section at the end of the book. The color section has several never before published pictures, but the quality of most of them is definately not up to Mr Goodalls' normal standards. There are a couple of caption errors such as the one on top of page 126 that says it is of 2 reactivated SR-71s at Palmdale. It is actually of two SR-71s at the time of their 1990 retirement and it was taken on the south run up pad at Beale AFB, CA. The control tower and individual SR shelters are barely visible on the horizon between the two aircraft.
The book has very good coverage of the Tagboard/Senior Bowl program with the D-21 on the M-21 and B-52H. This program was also covered in Mr Goodall's previous book on the Blackbirds with some different pictures.
If you are interested in just one book that covers the entire Blackbird history from initial development to final retirement, this is the book to get.