The story of the Lockheed A-12 began with a bright orange fireball 70,000 feet over Sverdlovsk in the Soviet Union. This explosion, 1500 miles deep into Russian territory, would start a diplomatic crisis with repercussions that directly impacted the A-12 and SR-71 operations for the rest of their service lives. That explosion severed the tail from a Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft and sent the pilot, Francis Gary Powers, plummeting into the hands of the Soviet authorities. After the U.S. broadcasted a cover story assuming Powers had died, the Soviets revealed they had parts of the plane and Powers in their custody. This caused then U.S. President Eisenhower to do two things, stop all over flights and find a way to make the U-2 invisible to radar. While some efforts where made to reduce the U-2 radar signature, it was just not possible to cloak a jet-powered glider with long straight wings. Enter Lockheed’s Kelly Johnson.

Thank you very much to Nichole at Quayside Publishing Group, the parent corporation of Zenith Press for providing this book for review. Thanks are also due to the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me the opportunity to explore a wonderful documentation and fascinating historical description. Author Bill Yenne has struck an excellent balance of historical facts and data woven together in a great story. I found the entire book to be engaging at all times. The book is not just a valuable reference; it is a great read as well. I remember building the Testors F-19 stealth fighter a long time ago when it first came out. I was disappointed when the F-117 Nighthawk became public a few years later, but after reading this book and seeing prototype photos I believe that Testors was not as far off as many may think, nor were Tom Clancy and Larry Bond in their description of the Frisbee in Red Storm Rising.

This detail set from Scale Aircraft Conversions is for the Hasegawa 1/72^nd scale A-3 Skywarrior. The kit has been around for some time and although not a newer rerelease it is still available. This set is a direct replacement for the kits landing gear and has a few modifications that help improve the Hasegawa kit. This conversion set has 7 parts, which includes the main landing gear legs, the nose gear and the oleo scissors and retraction struts for the main gear. The nose gear comes complete with the wheel molded in place. This appears to be a direct copy of the kit gear. As a result you will be required to open up and clean the space between the nose gear fork and the tire.

History

The F-104 Starfighter was one of the most famous and long lasting aircraft in history. Entering service with the USAF in the 50s, variants of the F-104 flew into the mid-2000s. The G model was manufactured under license in several NATO countries was used as a multi role fighter-bomber due to its increased range and load capacity. The 104S is an upgraded version that the Italian Air force flew until replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Review

The 325^th Fighter Group, also known as the “Checker Tail Clan” is one of the most well known units of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. They flew P-40s, P-47s and P-51, making them a very interesting unit for modelers. They flew over North Africa, France, Italy, Eastern Europe and even the former Soviet Unit. Their distinctive tail markings helped aerial recognition and likely worried their counterparts when encountered in combat.

The book has the following chapters