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Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed

A rare insight into America's prized possession, SKUNK WORKS.

Skunk Works, the legendary R&D centre, a dream of so many aerospace engineers producing state of the art weapons and surveillance systems that are probably 8-10 years ahead of the world. From building the worlds first and only operational Mach 3 aircraft that could fly at altitudes just shy of space, needing the pilot to wear pressurised suits to the worlds first operational stealth fighter which remained a mystery to intelligence agencies around the world until it took out the most defended capital, Baghdad, during Operation Desert Storm.


I have been wanting to read this book longer then I would like to admit. Having been a lifelong fanboy of the SR-71 blackbird and the F-22 Raptor I constantly stumbled upon the term "Skunk Works" in literature while reading about the planes. This book was literally the first suggestion I
got as I started researching about Skunk Works.

The book enchants you from the moment you start reading it and transports you to the world of legendary Kelly Johnson and his small team at Lockheed. The book begins with the introduction to the world's first stealth fighter F117 Nighthawk which was the first project of the author after he became the chief of Skunk Works. The author served as it's Lead Propulsion Expert and Vice President of Skunk Works.

The first few chapters are dedicated to the Stealth program which began under Ben's leadership and was the first major project which he undertook and about the leadership of Kelly Johnson. The 14 rules of Kelly Johnson written in 60's are the gospel for any Research And Development(R&D) in my opinion. The brilliance of Kelly as an Aerospace engineer, which won him not one but two Collier Trophy, widely considered as the highest honour in the field of aerospace - one for the F-104 Starfighter and the other for SR-71 Blackbird. This combined with his short temper earned him the recognition as one of the most talented as well as the most difficult people to work within the aerospace industry.

The inner workings of Skunk work's and it's operations, on how engineers, designers and tool's men from Lockheed's main plant are recruited into the unit gives a rare insight into the most secretive aerospace organisation in the world. The book gives a rare insight into America's prized possession, its unrivalled Lockheed's Advanced Development Projects or famously known as Skunk Works.

The book follows the beginning of America's first reconnaissance aircraft - U-2, arising from the need of the west to be able to look on the other side of the iron curtain into the Soviet Union at the time of cold war. It's shortcomings which were apparent from the beginning led to the development of SR-71 Blackbird.

The later chapters of the book explore how in the current world of declining military budget, there is a great need for organisations as Skunk Works to be able to work. The author sheds light upon politics and how it affects the aerospace industry as a whole. The other voices by Air Force Generals and others who have worked with Ben or have flown the aircraft built by Skunk Works are a treasure hunt as they provide a different perspective to the whole operation.

The book is a must-read for anyone interested in knowing about Skunk Works and a great read for anyone wanting to know about aerospace industries or the planes developed by Lockheed Martin.

Book Details:
Title: Skunk Works
Author: Ben R. Rich
Genre: History, Biography 
Publisher: Back Bay Books/Little, Brown & Co. (NY) 
Number of pages: 382

ISBN-10: 9780316743006  
ISBN-13:  9780316743006





Comments

  1. Good to know about skunk works. Never heard of this before reading this review. Thanks for thw write up.

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