Spy Planes And Other Reconnaissance Aircraft

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Spyplanes

Author : Norman Polmar
Publisher : Quarto Publishing Group USA
ISBN 13 : 0760351554
Total Pages : 243 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (63 download)

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Book Synopsis Spyplanes by : Norman Polmar

Download or read book Spyplanes written by Norman Polmar and published by Quarto Publishing Group USA. This book was released on 2016-12-20 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive history with descriptions of the world's most significant aircraft employed as "eyes in the sky."For as long as there has been sustained heavier-than-air human flight, airplanes have been used to gather information about our adversaries. Less than a decade after the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, Italian pilots were keeping tabs on Turkish foes in Libya. Today, aircraft with specialized designs and sensory equipment still cruise the skies, spying out secrets in the never-ending quest for an upper hand.Spyplanes tackles the sprawling legacy of manned aerial reconnaissance, from hot air balloons to cloth-and-wood biplanes puttering over the Western Front, and on through every major world conflict, culminating with spyplanes cruising at supersonic speeds 85,000 feet above the Earth's surface. Authors Norman Polmar and John Bessette offer a concise yet comprehensive overview history of aerial recon, exploring considerations such as spyplanes in military doctrine, events like the Cuban Missile Crisis and the downing of Francis Gary Powers' U-2, the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, and the USAF's Big Safari program.Polmar and Bessette, along with a roster of respected aviation journalists, also profile 70 renowned fixed-wing spyplanes from World I right up to the still-conceptual hypersonic SR-72. The authors examine the design, development, and service history of each aircraft, and offer images and specification boxes that detail vital stats for each. Included are purpose-built spyplanes, as well as legendary fighters and bombers that have been retrofitted for the purpose. In addition, the authors feature preliminary chapters discussing the history of aerial surveillance and a host of sidebars that explore considerations such as spyplanes in military doctrine, events like the Cuban missile crisis and the downing of Francis Gary Powers' U-2, the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, and the USAF's current Big Safari program.From prop-driven to jet-powered aircraft, this is the ultimate history and reference to those "eyes in the skies" that have added mind-bending technologies, not to mention an element of intrigue, to military aviation for more than a century.

The CIA and the U-2 Program 1954-1974

Author : Gregory W. Pedlow
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0788183265
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (881 download)

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Book Synopsis The CIA and the U-2 Program 1954-1974 by : Gregory W. Pedlow

Download or read book The CIA and the U-2 Program 1954-1974 written by Gregory W. Pedlow and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1998 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive & authoritative history of the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program (MORP), which from 1954 to 1974 developed & operated 2 extraordinary aircraft, the U-2 & the A-12 OXCART. Describes not only the program's technological & bureaucratic aspects, but also its political & international context. The MORP, along with other overhead systems that emerged from it, changed the CIA's work & structure in ways that were both revolutionary & permanent. The formation of the Directorate of S&T in the 1960s, principally to develop & direct reconnaissance programs, is the most obvious legacy of the events in this study.

The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance

Author : Gregory Pedlow
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1634508513
Total Pages : 310 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (345 download)

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Book Synopsis The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance by : Gregory Pedlow

Download or read book The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance written by Gregory Pedlow and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-03-15 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The CIA’s 2013 release of its book The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance 1954–1974 is a fascinating and important historical document. It contains a significant amount of newly declassified material with respect to the U-2 and Oxcart programs, including names of pilots; codenames and cryptonyms; locations, funding, and cover arrangements; electronic countermeasures equipment; cooperation with foreign governments; and overflights of the Soviet Union, Cuba, China, and other countries. Originally published with a Secret/No Foreign Dissemination classification, this detailed study describes not only the program’s technological and bureaucratic aspects, but also its political and international context, including the difficult choices faced by President Eisenhower in authorizing overflights of the Soviet Union and the controversy surrounding the shoot down there of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers in 1960. The authors discuss the origins of the U-2, its top-secret testing, its specially designed high-altitude cameras and complex life-support systems, and even the possible use of poison capsules by its pilots, if captured. They call attention to the crucial importance of the U-2 in the gathering of strategic and tactical intelligence, as well as the controversies that the program unleashed. Finally, they discuss the CIA’s development of a successor to the U-2, the Oxcart, which became the world’s most technologically advanced aircraft. For the first time, the more complete 2013 release of this historical text is available in a professionally typeset format, supplemented with higher quality photographs that will bring alive these incredible aircraft and the story of their development and use by the CIA. This edition also includes a new preface by author Gregory W. Pedlow and a foreword by Chris Pocock. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

An Illustrated Guide to Spy Planes and Electronic Warfare Aircraft

Author : Bill Gunston
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780861011773
Total Pages : 160 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (117 download)

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Book Synopsis An Illustrated Guide to Spy Planes and Electronic Warfare Aircraft by : Bill Gunston

Download or read book An Illustrated Guide to Spy Planes and Electronic Warfare Aircraft written by Bill Gunston and published by . This book was released on 1983 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bogen er et opslagsværk om fly til recognisering, elektronisk efterretningstjeneste og jamming.

Stealth

Author : Peter J. Westwick
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 0190677449
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (96 download)

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Book Synopsis Stealth by : Peter J. Westwick

Download or read book Stealth written by Peter J. Westwick and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story behind the technology that revolutionized both aeronautics, and the course of history On a moonless night in January 1991, a dozen airplanes appeared in the skies over Baghdad. Or, rather, didn't appear. They arrived in the dark, their black outlines cloaking them from sight. More importantly, their odd, angular shapes, which made them look like flying origami, rendered them undetectable to Iraq's formidable air defenses. Stealth technology, developed during the decades before Desert Storm, had arrived. To American planners and strategists at the outset of the Cold War, this seemingly ultimate way to gain ascendance over the USSR was only a question. What if the United States could defend its airspace while at the same time send a plane through Soviet skies undetected? A craft with such capacity would have to be essentially invisible to radar - an apparently miraculous feat of physics and engineering. In Stealth, Peter Westwick unveils the process by which the impossible was achieved. At heart, Stealth is a tale of two aerospace companies, Lockheed and Northrop, and their fierce competition - with each other and with themselves - to obtain what was estimated one of the largest procurement contracts in history. Westwick's book fully explores the individual and collective ingenuity and determination required to make these planes and in the process provides a fresh view of the period leading up to the end of the Soviet Union. Taking into account the role of technology, as well as the art and science of physics and engineering, Westwick offers an engaging narrative, one that immerses readers in the race to produce a weapon that some thought might save the world, and which certainly changed it.

Spyplane

Author : Norman Polmar
Publisher : Zenith Press
ISBN 13 : 9780760309575
Total Pages : 406 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (95 download)

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Book Synopsis Spyplane by : Norman Polmar

Download or read book Spyplane written by Norman Polmar and published by Zenith Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Book discusses the requirement for and the design, development, and operation of the U-2, from 1954 when the design began, to the current overflights of the Balkans and Iraq. Includes extensive discussions of U-2 overflights of hostile countries (USSR, China, North Korea, North Vietnam) and NASA's use of the U-2.

Remembering the Dragon Lady

Author : Gerald McIlmoyle
Publisher : Severn House Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 9781908916938
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (169 download)

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Book Synopsis Remembering the Dragon Lady by : Gerald McIlmoyle

Download or read book Remembering the Dragon Lady written by Gerald McIlmoyle and published by Severn House Paperbacks. This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With heightened tensions mounting in the Cold War, President Dwight Eisenhower's request for more accurate intelligence information on the Soviet Union was the spark that ignited the U-2 project. Modified USAF bombers began overflights of the Soviet Union in 1951, but existing lower flying aircraft in the US inventory were vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire and a number of cross-border flights were shot down. To meet the challenge and improve the survivability, the Lockheed Corporation received approval for their revolutionary design of a new recon aircraft on December 9, 1954. The company began work under a heavy veil of secrecy with only 81 people, including 25 engineers. A test pilot flew the first flight on August 1, 1955, after only eight months of production, a record-breaking result for rollout of a new project, especially one this complex and innovative. A dedicated and inventive group of contractors came together to support the project with partial pressure suits for pilots, high-resolution cameras, and an engine that could carry the aircraft to altitudes of 70,000 feet and higher. Nicknamed the Dragon Lady, the U-2 has flown over Cuba, Alaska, North and South poles, Vietnam, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, and Afghanistan. The U-2 is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. More recently it flew over the hurricane ravaged US Gulf Coast to collect imagery of the destruction over a 90,000 square mile area. First-person memoirs of many of the men who supported the early US spy plane project are included in this book. They include pilots, maintenance specialists, a flight surgeon, photographic specialists and some family members. The US also trained U-2 pilots from Taiwan and the UK and some of their photos and memoirs are in this collection. An example of the entries in the book include one pilot's experience on a flight over the North Pole when he discovered his instrumentation was inaccurate due to the magnetic fields and realized almost too late that he was flying directly toward the Soviet Union. Maintenance technicians recalled working long hours to prepare aircraft for historic flights over Cuba. Photographic specialists remembered the difficult conditions in Vietnam, and the care required to download the exposed film of North Vietnamese targets from the cameras in the aircraft. All of these experiences were achieved under Top Secret security conditions and on a "need to know" basis.

The Black Watch

Author : Ernest Kellogg Gann
Publisher : Random House (NY)
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 232 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (321 download)

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Book Synopsis The Black Watch by : Ernest Kellogg Gann

Download or read book The Black Watch written by Ernest Kellogg Gann and published by Random House (NY). This book was released on 1989 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the planes, the missions, and the men who fly reconnaissance.

Dragon Lady Today

Author : Chris Pocock
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781500965464
Total Pages : 102 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (654 download)

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Book Synopsis Dragon Lady Today by : Chris Pocock

Download or read book Dragon Lady Today written by Chris Pocock and published by . This book was released on 2014-08-27 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The remarkable Lockheed Martin U-2 high-flying spyplane celebrates its 60th birthday in 2015. But today's U-2 is a fully modernized reconnaissance aircraft, capable of serving the U.S. and its allies for many years to come. Chris Pocock has followed the Dragon Lady for 30 years. He has flown in the jet, and talked to hundreds of U-2 pilots, maintainers, managers and commanders. His previous book, "50 Years of the U-2", is the standard reference on the aircraft's history. Now he updates the story, in a richly-illustrated book with 190 charts and photos, most of them previously unpublished.

Sled Driver

Author : Brian Shul
Publisher : Lickle Pub Incorporated
ISBN 13 : 9780929823089
Total Pages : 151 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (23 download)

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Book Synopsis Sled Driver by : Brian Shul

Download or read book Sled Driver written by Brian Shul and published by Lickle Pub Incorporated. This book was released on 1991 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No aircraft ever captured the curiosity & fascination of the public like the SR-71 Blackbird. Nicknamed "The Sled" by those few who flew it, the aircraft was shrouded in secrecy from its inception. Entering the U.S. Air Force inventory in 1966, the SR-71 was the fastest, highest flying jet aircraft in the world. Now for the first time, a Blackbird pilot shares his unique experience of what it was like to fly this legend of aviation history. Through the words & photographs of retired Major Brian Shul, we enter the world of the "Sled Driver." Major Shul gives us insight on all phases of flying, including the humbling experience of simulator training, the physiological stresses of wearing a space suit for long hours, & the intensity & magic of flying 80,000 feet above the Earth's surface at 2000 miles per hour. SLED DRIVER takes the reader through riveting accounts of the rigors of initial training, the gamut of emotions experienced while flying over hostile territory, & the sheer joy of displaying the jet at some of the world's largest airshows. Illustrated with rare photographs, seen here for the first time, SLED DRIVER captures the mystique & magnificence of this most unique of all aircraft.

50 Years of the U-2

Author : Chris Pocock
Publisher : Schiffer Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 448 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis 50 Years of the U-2 by : Chris Pocock

Download or read book 50 Years of the U-2 written by Chris Pocock and published by Schiffer Publishing. This book was released on 2005 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the U-2 first took off in 1955, no one involved in its top-secret project dreamt that this unique reconnaissance aircraft would still be flying today. The long story of the Dragon Lady is amazing, and complex; this book tells it all, in unprecedented detail, from the early days overflying the Soviet Union under CIA sponsorship, to the Cuban Missile Crisis, and on to the Vietnam War. The epic missions over Communist China were flown by nationalist pilots from Taiwan. How the U-2 was improved, enlarged and put back into production - twice. It led the real-time recce revolution with data links and high-tech sensors. Then it played a key role in Desert Storm, over Bosnia and Kosovo, and most recently over Afghanistan and Iraq. According to the CIA's own historian, Chris Pocock is the foremost authority on the U-2. To write this book, he flew in the aircraft, conducted 250 interviews, and analysed more than 1,000 declassified documents.

Operation Overflight

Author : Francis Gary Powers
Publisher : Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1597979961
Total Pages : 409 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (979 download)

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Book Synopsis Operation Overflight by : Francis Gary Powers

Download or read book Operation Overflight written by Francis Gary Powers and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2011-03 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this new edition of his classic 1970 memoir about the notorious U-2 incident, pilot Francis Gary Powers reveals the full story of what actually happened in the most sensational espionage case in Cold War history. After surviving the shoot-down of his reconnaissance plane and his capture on May 1, 1960, Powers endured sixty-one days of rigorous interrogation by the KGB, a public trial, a conviction for espionage, and the start of a ten-year sentence. After nearly two years, the U.S. government obtained his release from prison in a dramatic exchange for convicted Soviet spy Rudolph Abel. The narrative is a tremendously exciting suspense story about a man who was labeled a traitor by many of his countrymen but who emerged a Cold War hero.

Black Magic

Author : Michael D. O'Leary
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780879383589
Total Pages : 148 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (835 download)

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Book Synopsis Black Magic by : Michael D. O'Leary

Download or read book Black Magic written by Michael D. O'Leary and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Westland Lysander

Author : James Kightly
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9788391717844
Total Pages : 146 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (178 download)

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Book Synopsis Westland Lysander by : James Kightly

Download or read book Westland Lysander written by James Kightly and published by . This book was released on 2003-11-24 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Om det engelske Westland Lysander fly, der som prototype første gang fløj den 15 juni 1936. Om konstruktion, porduktion og operationer. Flytypen blev berømt under den 2. verdenskrig, hvor det bl.a blev benyttet som observationsfly samt forbindelsesfly, som fløj allierede agenter ind i tysk besatt områder.

Silent Warriors, Incredible Courage

Author : Wolfgang W. E. Samuel
Publisher : Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN 13 : 1496822811
Total Pages : 317 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (968 download)

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Book Synopsis Silent Warriors, Incredible Courage by : Wolfgang W. E. Samuel

Download or read book Silent Warriors, Incredible Courage written by Wolfgang W. E. Samuel and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2019-02-19 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 took the American military by surprise. Rushing to respond, the US and its allies developed a selective overflight program to gather intelligence. Silent Warriors, Incredible Courage is a history of the Cold War overflights of the Soviet Union, its allies, and the People's Republic of China, based on extensive interviews with dozens of pilots who flew these dangerous missions. In 1954 the number of flights expanded, and the highly classified SENSINT program was born. Soon, American RB-45C, RB-47E/H, RF-100s, and various versions of the RB-57 were in the air on an almost constant basis, providing the president and military leadership with hard facts about enemy capabilities and intentions. Eventually the SENSINT program was replaced by the high-flying U-2 spy plane. The U-2 overflights removed the mysteries of Soviet military power. These flights remained active until 1960 when a U-2 was shot down by Russian missiles, leading to the end of the program. Shortly thereafter planes were replaced by spy satellites. The overflights were so highly classified that no one, planner or participant, was allowed to talk about them—and no one did, until the overflight program and its pictorial record was declassified in the 1990s. Through extensive research of existing literature on the overflights and interviews conducted by Wolfgang W. E. Samuel, this book reveals the story of the entire overflight program through the eyes of the pilots and crew who flew the planes. Samuel's account tells the stories of American heroes who risked their lives—and sometimes lost them—to protect their country.

Area 51

Author : Annie Jacobsen
Publisher : Little, Brown
ISBN 13 : 0316193852
Total Pages : 628 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (161 download)

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Book Synopsis Area 51 by : Annie Jacobsen

Download or read book Area 51 written by Annie Jacobsen and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2011-05-17 with total page 628 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This "compellingly hard-hitting" bestseller from a Pulitzer Prize finalist gives readers the complete untold story of the top-secret military base for the first time (New York Times). It is the most famous military installation in the world. And it doesn't exist. Located a mere seventy-five miles outside of Las Vegas in Nevada's desert, the base has never been acknowledged by the U.S. government — but Area 51 has captivated imaginations for decades. Myths and hypotheses about Area 51 have long abounded, thanks to the intense secrecy enveloping it. Some claim it is home to aliens, underground tunnel systems, and nuclear facilities. Others believe that the lunar landing itself was filmed there. The prevalence of these rumors stems from the fact that no credible insider has ever divulged the truth about his time inside the base. Until now. Annie Jacobsen had exclusive access to nineteen men who served the base proudly and secretly for decades and are now aged 75-92, and unprecedented access to fifty-five additional military and intelligence personnel, scientists, pilots, and engineers linked to the secret base, thirty-two of whom lived and worked there for extended periods. In Area 51, Jacobsen shows us what has really gone on in the Nevada desert, from testing nuclear weapons to building super-secret, supersonic jets to pursuing the War on Terror. This is the first book based on interviews with eye witnesses to Area 51 history, which makes it the seminal work on the subject. Filled with formerly classified information that has never been accurately decoded for the public, Area 51 weaves the mysterious activities of the top-secret base into a gripping narrative, showing that facts are often more fantastic than fiction, especially when the distinction is almost impossible to make.

Spy Pilot

Author : Francis Gary Powers (Jr.)
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 1633884686
Total Pages : 314 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (338 download)

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Book Synopsis Spy Pilot by : Francis Gary Powers (Jr.)

Download or read book Spy Pilot written by Francis Gary Powers (Jr.) and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most talked-about events of the Cold War was the downing of the American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960. The event was recently depicted in the Steven Spielberg movie Bridge of Spies. Powers was captured by the KGB, subjected to a televised show trial, and imprisoned, all of which created an international incident. Soviet authorities eventually released him in exchange for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. On his return to the United States, Powers was exonerated of any wrongdoing while imprisoned in Russia, yet a cloud of controversy lingered until his untimely death in 1977. Now his son, Francis Gary Powers Jr., has written this new account of his father's life based on personal files that have never been previously available. Delving into old audio tapes, the transcript of his father's debriefing by the CIA, other recently declassified documents about the U-2 program, and interviews with his contemporaries, Powers sets the record straight. The result is a fascinating piece of Cold War history. Almost sixty years after the event, this will be the definitive account of a famous Cold War incident, one proving that Francis Gary Powers acted honorably through a trying ordeal in service to his country.