Lockheed SR-71 Operations in Europe and the Middle East

Lockheed SR-71 Operations in Europe and the Middle East cover

Lockheed SR-71 Operations in Europe and the Middle East

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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.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Non-deployment/Chapter 2: Squaring up to the Soviet threat/Chapter 3: Operation El Dorado Canyon/Chapter 4: Shutdown/Appendices

Product details

Published Aug 18 2009
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 96
ISBN 9781846034183
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 0 b/w; 7 col
Dimensions 248 x 184 mm
Series Combat Aircraft
Short code COM 80
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Paul F. Crickmore

Paul F. Crickmore is the author of the much-acclai…

Illustrator

Chris Davey

Chris Davey has illustrated more than 70 titles fo…

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