The most complete book ever published on the SR-71 Blackbird, from initial design stage and testing through production, testing, and operations.

The legendary SR-71 Blackbird spy plane was, and still is, the world’s only operational Mach 3 aircraft, and was designed, built, and tested by Lockheed’s famed “Skunk Works.”

This book covers all fifty Blackbirds built, from the first flight in 1962, to the last in 1999. As a replacement for the venerable U-2 spyplane, Lockheed went from contract signing to first flight in only thirty-two months starting in April 1958—from the beginning of design studies to the signing of a contract from the CIA to build the initial batch of A-12s in February 1960, to first flight in 1962.

• From A-1 design through the completion of the very first Radar Cross Section models of the A-12
• Testing of every major system and subsystem
• More than 700 color and black-and-white images from a variety of sources, as well as the author’s own superb, new photography

[AuthorName]By James C. Goodall[/AuthorName][AuthorBio]Over the last thirty-five years Jim Goodall has authored more than two dozen books and articles on military aircraft, naval ships, and submarines with a focus on Low Observables, or as it is known today, Stealth.[/AuthorBio][NumIllustration]710 color and b/w photos[/NumIllustration][CoAuthor][/CoAuthor][SubTitle]The Illustrated History of America's Legendary Mach 3 Spy Plane[/SubTitle][ColorPattern]710 color and b/w photos[/ColorPattern]