AEROFAX: LOCKHEED'S SR-71 BLACKBIRD FAMILY

The Lockheed Blackbird aircraft family is arguably the most famous in the world. Though only fifty of these high-speed, high-altitude craft were built, everything about them was unique, awe-inspiring and enigmatic. Today, some forty years after the first flight of the first A-12, details of the Blackbird story are still emerging into the public domain and there is a seemingly endless demand from aviation enthusiasts and the general public for new information and 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 programme, 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 US Air Force are all covered in great detail. The book includes coverage of the high-speed, high-altitude reconnaissance over flights performed by SR71As from bases in the US, Japan and Britain during the Cold War. With 205 black and white and 43 colour photographs plus 86 drawings and illustrations.