Skunk Works

^{CIA pilot Marty Knutson’s revealing 1957 photo of snowy Engles Airfield showing squadron of long-range Russian Bison bombers. (Central Imaging Office)}

^{U-2 photo showing Soviet equipment at Cuba airfield during the Cuban missile crisis. (Central Imaging Office)}

^{U-2 Nicaraguan overflight ordered by the Reagan administration, showing Soviet arms buildup in support of the rebel forces. (Central Imaging Office)}

^{SR-71 Blackbird taxiing to take off. The world’s fastest airplane was also a pioneer in stealthiness. Note angled tails that greatly decreased radar profile. (Lockheed)}

^{SR-71 Blackbird streaking across continental U.S. (Lockheed)}

^{Squadron of Blackbirds operating out of Beale Air Force Base, near Sacramento. (Lockheed)}

^{Blackbird production line at the Skunk Works. In mid-1970s, they produced a new Blackbird every month. (Lockheed)}

^{SR-71 Blackbird rolling down a highway en route to permanent display at the air museum at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. (Jay Miller)}

^{D-21 drone being deployed from B-52 for round-trip spy mission over Chinese mainland. (U.S. Air Force)}

^{B-52 carrying D-21 drone en route to launch off Chinese coast for spy mission over mainland. (U.S. Air Force)}

^{D-21 spy drone tucked under wing of B-52 mothership. Drone would drop and ignite off Chinese coast for spy flight over mainland. (Lockheed)}

^{The Stealth Ship undergoing sea trials off the West Coast in the mid-1980s. (Skunk Works)}

^{The Stealth ship inside its secret hangarlike floating dock, where it was assembled and constructed. (Skunk Works)}

^{Ben Rich and the F-117 Stealth fighter. (Denny Lombard and Eric Schulzinger)}

^{The Stealth Ship, called the Sea Shadow, during sea trials. (Skunk Works)}

^{Lockheed’s chief engineer Kelly Johnson talking to one of his pilots during a test flight in the 1940s. (Lockheed)}

^{Ben Rich receiving the 1989 Collier Trophy, aviation’s highest award, for the Stealth fighter. (Lockheed)}

^{Ben Rich and his old mentor, Kelly Johnson, pose in front of a new production model of the famous U-2 in 1983, following Kelly’s retirement. (Lockheed)}

^{The Skunk Works complex off the main runway of the Burbank Municipal Airport in downtown Burbank, California. (Lockheed)}

Also by Leo Janos

YEAGER

CRIME OF PASSION

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