Product Description: An icon of American military might during the Cold War, 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.
Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 358.4 EAN: 9781846034183 Edition: Original ISBN: 1846034183 Label: Osprey Publishing Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 96 Publication Date: August 18, 2009 Publisher: Osprey Publishing Release Date: August 18, 2009 Studio: Osprey Publishing
Customer Reviews
Osprey's fine guides to battles, wars and military history are top picks for any serious military library
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.