Top Secret Flight

Top Secret Flight
Author: Dale Cox
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 437
Release: 2011-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 1257125222

Sled Driver

Sled Driver
Author: Brian Shul
Publisher: Lickle Pub Incorporated
Total Pages: 151
Release: 1991
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9780929823089

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.

Top Secret Flight

Top Secret Flight
Author: Dale W. Cox
Publisher:
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Aerial reconnaissance
ISBN: 9781479395699

Top Secret Flight tells the story of an actual reconnaissance mission flown in March, 1942 to obtain critical photos for planning the DOOLITTLE RAID on Tokyo. an Air Corps Captain on active duty in 1941 was an eyewitness to these events; the mission has never before been revealed to the public.Three B-17 bombers, extensively modified for photo-recon, flew 18,000 miles in three stages to reach Japan, in 1942 flights this distance had never before been attempted. The longest flight up to that time was still Lindberg crossing the Atlantic in 1927.

Flying Saucers

Flying Saucers
Author: Donald Edward Keyhoe
Publisher:
Total Pages: 296
Release: 1960
Genre: Unidentified flying objects
ISBN:

Dark Eagles

Dark Eagles
Author: Curtis Peebles
Publisher: iBooks
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2003
Genre: Aeronautics, Military
ISBN: 9780743458368

This extraordinary history of the nation's top-secret military aircraft spans from World War II to the Gulf War, and chronicles how these planes--called "Dark Eagles" because they were painted black--were developed, tested, and operated in secrecy.

Flight of the Forgotten

Flight of the Forgotten
Author: Mark Vance
Publisher: Mark Alan Vance
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2011-04-10
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 0615473768

Flight of the Forgotten is the true story of one of the most closely-guarded American military secrets of all time. It is intriguing, controversial and thought-provoking. The story traverses 50 years, two generations and the realities of our physical world. The triggering event is the tragic loss of an American Eighth Air Force bomber crew in 1945 under mysterious circumstances while enroute home after the end of World War II. The loss represents a 50-year-old aviation mystery, officially "forgotten" by the United States Government. Details described and amplified within the story remain permanently "buried" inside a top-secret O.S.S. file to this day. This book is a public counter to official efforts by the United States Government to have the events permanently erased from the public record. The author's extensive research indicates that those events involve murder, conspiracy and sabotage by the O.S.S., the forerunner to the modern CIA.

Shadow Flights

Shadow Flights
Author: Curtis Peebles
Publisher:
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2000
Genre: History
ISBN:

Historian Peebles draws on previously top secret documents from both countries and the recollections of participants on both sides to recount the US spy plane program against the Soviet Union after World War II. The lid was blown off and the program ended with the downing of Francis Gary Powers in his U-2 spyplane. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

Area 51

Area 51
Author: Annie Jacobsen
Publisher: Little, Brown
Total Pages: 604
Release: 2011-05-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0316193852

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.

The Night Stalkers

The Night Stalkers
Author: Michael J. Durant
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2006-12-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1440625166

From the New York Times bestselling authors of In the Company of Heroes comes a thrilling account of military aviation for history buffs and “for those who love vivid tales of battlefield heroics” (Publishers Weekly). In the world of covert warfare, Special Operations pilots are notoriously close-lipped about what they do. They don’t talk about their missions to anyone outside their small community. But now, Michael J. Durant and Steven Hartov shed fascinating light on the mysterious elite commandos known as SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment) and take readers into a shadowy world of combat they have only imagined.

Our Mission Revealed

Our Mission Revealed
Author: Lloyd R. Spanberger
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2014-07-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 1499011113

It was the early 1960s and our country was in the midst of the cold war with the Soviet Union. President Eisenhower had, earlier, decided to initiate development of a spy satellite system to obtain strategic intelligence data on the Soviets. A massive program was instituted to accomplish this goal and, as part of the overall program, the concept of an all-military facility to provide R&D support and duplicate imagery processing from these satellites, was ordered. This began the establishment of the AFSPPF, which operated for 15 years in that capacity. This story describes the mission of the AFSPPF and what it was like to work in an Ultra Top Secret operation, whose mission was not disclosed until now. No-one involved with our operation could talk about it to anyone, including family, friends or anyone else in the military, unless they were properly cleared and were amongst those who needed to know. All content herein was derived from the personal recollections of our remaining members and from what little official declassified documentation we could find. It is hoped the reader will enjoy learning what it was like to work in such a unique Top Secret unit of the U.S. Air Force. AFSPPF was an Air Force Headquarters unit created in 1961 to conduct the research and development (R&D) necessary to provide the best possible production equipment and techniques in support of special projects specified by the Secretary of the Air Force. There is no declassified documented record of the activity within the facility. The facility operated in a Top Secret, Black Opps mode throughout its entire 15-year lifetime. Aspects of the units mission evolved over time, however the mainstay was production, evaluation and distribution of classified imagery, from spy satellites and aircraft, to our nations intelligence community, in a timely manner. The production and evaluation directorates, within the facility, also assisted with the many R&D projects in support of the overall national reconnaissance program. It was an exciting time for all of us. We not only provided the best photographic intelligence possible to our nations leaders, but also had a lot of fun doing it. It was hard work and long hours, all with no individual recognition given. There was, however a degree of self-satisfaction involved. We knew and understood the objectives and often saw details of our advisories military capabilities that were never exposed to the public eye. The satellites and aircraft involved have now all been declassified and our mission can now be revealed, so all can see what really went on in such a Top Secret operation. This true story is not only about our mission, but about the unique, exciting and sometimes humorous experiences of the people who did the work.