Black Lightning: The Legacy of the Lockheed Blackbirds

Black Lightning—The Legacy of the Lockheed Blackbirds



Revised edition of The Archangel and the Oxcart



Black Lightning—The Legacy of the Lockheed Blackbirds—brings to life the unique and mesmerizing story of Kelly Johnson’s Lockheed Blackbirds; The A-12 Cygnus, M-21/D-21 mother daughter reconnaissance drone, the YF-12 Interceptor and of course, the magnificent SR-71. As the Cold War became more deadly, the United States needed to find answers to the Soviet Union and their dangerous games. As the USSR progressed in technology, the United States had a need to know what was happening on the other side of the Iron Curtain. The "spy on the ground" was not viable anymore. The CIA had to find an answer to replace that spy.



Aerial Reconnaissance in the U.S. was in trouble. The USAF was recycling its WWII methods of aerial reconnaissance. The "Silent Warriors", those who took those reconnaissance missions unbeknowest to family and many in the military itself, were crews that were becoming casualties of the USSR MiGs faster than anyone thought possible. A new answer was needed and that answer was speed.



Lockheed and the CIA came up with the speed, Mach 3 speed for the first time in aerial reconnaissance and aviation history. Black Lightning—The Legacy of the Lockheed Blackbirds tells the story of the men and aircraft that covered enemy territory, alone, and unarmed. These CIA pilots and their speed hungry aircraft returned the "photographic material" for the U.S. faster than ever before. Black Lightning—The Legacy of the Lockheed Blackbirds documents the history of the fastest aircraft ever known and the men that flew them.