Spyplanes

Spyplanes PDF Author: Norman Polmar
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA
ISBN: 0760351554
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
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.

Spyplanes

Spyplanes PDF Author: Norman Polmar
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA
ISBN: 0760351554
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 243

Get Book

Book Description
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 I-spy Guide to Aircraft

The I-spy Guide to Aircraft PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9782067188341
Category : Airplanes
Languages : en
Pages : 62

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Book Description
This I-Spy book is based on what you will see around the skies of the United Kingdom.

An Illustrated Guide to Spy Planes and Electronic Warfare Aircraft

An Illustrated Guide to Spy Planes and Electronic Warfare Aircraft PDF Author: Bill Gunston
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780861011773
Category : Drone aircraft
Languages : da
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Bogen er et opslagsværk om fly til recognisering, elektronisk efterretningstjeneste og jamming.

The Black Watch

The Black Watch PDF Author: Ernest Kellogg Gann
Publisher: Random House (NY)
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
Describes the planes, the missions, and the men who fly reconnaissance.

Blackbird: A History of the Untouchable Spy Plane

Blackbird: A History of the Untouchable Spy Plane PDF Author: James Hamilton-Paterson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1681775743
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
The fascinating story of the spy plane SR-71 Blackbird—the fastest manned aircraft in the history of aviation. The SR-71 Blackbird, the famed “spy” jet, was deliberately designed to be the world's fastest and highest-flying aircraft—and its success has never been approached since. It was conceived in the late 1950s by Lockheed Martin's highly secret 'Skunk Works' team under one of the most (possibly the most) brilliant aero designers of all time, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson. Once fully developed in 1964, the Blackbird represented the apogee of jet-powered flight. It could fly at well over three times the speed of sound above 85,000 feet and had an unrefueled range of 3,200 nautical miles. It flew with great success until 1999). Despite extensive use over Vietnam and later battlefields, not one was ever shot down (unlike the U2 in the Gary Powers incident). The Blackbird's capabilities seem unlikely ever to be exceeded. It was retired because its function can be performed by satellites—and in today's steady trend toward unmanned military aircraft, it is improbable that another jet aircraft of this speed and caliber will ever again be conceived.

High-Altitude Spy Planes

High-Altitude Spy Planes PDF Author: Bill Sweetman
Publisher: Capstone
ISBN: 1429613149
Category : Airplanes, Military
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
Discusses the U-2 spy plane, its uses, engines, sensors, and future in the U.S. Air Force.

Spy Planes

Spy Planes PDF Author: Jay Schleifer
Publisher: Children's Press
ISBN: 9780516353029
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
Discusses the history of surveillance from the sky, describing different types of reconnaissance aircraft and their role in the future.

Spyplanes

Spyplanes PDF Author: Norman Polmar
Publisher: Voyageur Press (MN)
ISBN: 0760350310
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
"Spyplanes is an illustrated history of manned spyplanes, with profiles, pictures, and technical specifications for each plane."--Provided by publisher.

Spy Pilot

Spy Pilot PDF Author: Francis Gary Powers (Jr.)
Publisher:
ISBN: 1633884686
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
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.

I-spy Aircraft

I-spy Aircraft PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781856710596
Category : Airplanes
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description