Phoenix Scale Publications, based in Great Britain, is a partnership of four people whose combined experience equals over 100 years working in both the aviation and modelling press. After so many years working for others, they came together as equal partners in this new venture, with each partner bringing their own unique talents. On the editorial side we have Andy Evans, who, during his 40-year career has been at the helm of five aviation and modelling magazines, as well as a contributor to many more. He is also a published author with over 60 aviation and modelling books to his name. David Francis is an IPMS UK and Belgium Nationals Gold winning modeler and he has edited one of the world’s best-selling magazines for six years. His work has featured in numerous aviation and modelling books and magazines for the last 35 years. On the design side we have Jonathan Phillips and Andy Folds, who have been involved in designing and producing a wide range of magazines and books over the last 25 years, including market-leading modeling magazines.

The Phoenix Red Series was launched with the F-16 Fighting Falcon Part 1 [US Versions], followed by F-16 Fighting Falcon Part 2 [International Versions] and Wild Weasels. These first three books are currently sold out. Red Series Book Number 5 The Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady and is the subject of this review. Two additional books in the Red Series are currently available: Number 4 The Republic F-105 Thunderchief and Number 6 The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle.

This square-back volume is 128 glossy pages surrounded by card covers. The front cover photograph is Article 79 that was originally constructed as a Lockheed TR-1A. She [80-1079] was later upgraded to U-2S standards. Still on active service with the USAF, serving with the 99^th Reconnaissance Squadron, 9^th Reconnaissance Wing, and is based at Beale AFB in California. Not counting the inside cover advertisements, I counted 235 color photographs and 17 black and white photographs. Ryan Dorling also provides sixteen color side profiles covering U-2A through the U-2R variants. As a bonus, Ryan also includes a color side profile of the white Dodge Charger chase car.

Ryan Dorling kicks off this tome with 76 pages on the Development and Service of the Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady. The U-2 got its start after World War II when the military establishment needed to determine the Soviet’s capabilities. Lockheed made an unsolicited bid under “Bald Eagle” but the USAF rejected it in favor of the Bell X-16 and a modified Martin B-57. A civilian advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force liked Lockheed’s proposal and recommended it to the CIA. The airframe was completed at Lockheed’s Skunk Works facility in Burbank, California, and then transferred to Area 51 for testing. The top of Page 009 shows early U-2 airframes being loaded into a C-124 for transport. The photograph at the middle of the page is the first U-2, referred to as ‘Article 341’, and was never assigned a serial number. Article 341, during a high-speed taxi test, accidentally became airborne on August 1, 1955. Test pilot Tony Levier immediately tried to land, but just bounced the U-2 off the runway. His second attempt got her down but blew out her tires along with the brakes catching on fire. Later, she was lost on April 4, 1957, during a Project Rainbow test flight, killing Lockheed’s Flight Test Pilot, Robert Sieker. The bottom photograph is an early U-2 wearing NACA markings as a cover story.

The special paint the U-2R/S aircraft wore had characteristics that resembled a black board. This resulted in some interesting artwork adorning some U-2R/S. A good example is at the top of Page 27 as Santa Claus visits Beale AFB to inspect the chalk work on a Dragon Lady’s nose. The bottom of the page shows off the sailplane wings on the U-2R with a nice top view. To the right is a SYERS [Senior Year Electro-optical Reconnaissance System] photograph of the Kuwati oilfields burning in 1990. NASA’s use of the ER-2 variants covers 14 pages. The ER-2 cockpit is shown at the bottom of Page 66. The top and middle of the page shows ER-2, 80-1063, wearing the tail code 706. Her tail code was changed to 806 [N806NA] on June 6, 1984.

The next section covers primarily U-2S, 80-1096 in the walkaround format. The Walkaround section is followed by color side profiles by Ryan Dorling [Page 095]. The top profile is a U-2C carrying ROCAF [Republic of China Air Force] tail code 3515.Taiwan’s 35^th Squadron [Black Cat Squadron] operated a total of 19 Dragon Ladies, but normally only had 2 airframes at a time. The Black Cat Squadron flew about 220 missions, losing five aircraft over mainland China. The lower profile is NASA’s ER-2, N806NA. Additional full color photographs of U-2s are on display in the next section, U-2 Gallery.

The next section covers build reviews of the Dragon Lady in 1/72 and 1/48 scales. Up first is a double build by Chris Dorling utilizing the Academy 1/48 U-2S released in 2014. This is the same kit originally released by Italeri in 1988 of the Lockheed TR-1A/B. Several of the modifications are shown on Page 117 to build a U-2S and an ER-2.These include BAM Models ASARS nose and Senior Ruby super pod resin parts. Both models feature re-scribed panel lines. Pavla Models provides a resin ejection seat while many of the aerials and sensors were scratch built by Chris Dorling. The contents include:

• Acknowledgements
• Author’s Note
• Glossary of Terms
• Introduction: The Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady
• The History Of The U-2 [Page 009]
• U-2 Variants
• ‘Operation Crow Flight’
• The 100^th SRW
• SA-2
• The Early U-2
  • U-2R-TR-1
• The U-2R/S [Page 027]
• U-2 Maintenance
• Article 051
• 9h RW ‘Always Ready’
• 1^st Reconnaissance Squadron
• 99^th RS
• What It Takes To Become A U-2 Pilot
• 5^th RS Osan AB
• Olive Harvest ‘Still Not Here After 40 Years’
• OL-UK and the ‘Artic Dragons’
• Getting The U-2 In The Air
• NASA Operations [Page 066]
• Two Seater Dragon’s
• U-2 Chase Car
• The Future Of The U-2
• Walkaround: U-2S In Detail
• Color Side Profiles by Ryan Dorling [Page 095]
• U-2 Gallery
• U-2 Variants
• U-2 Specifications
• Modeling: Building the U-2 in Popular Scales
  • Double Dragon By Chris Dorling [Academy 1/48 U-2S & NASA ER-2] [Page 117]
  • The First Dragon Lady By James Buford [HobbyBoss 1/72 U-2A]

Phoenix delivers a nice book on the Dragon Lady, and I seem to have acquired quite a few books on the Lockheed U-2. You get the development and service history of the Dragon Lady. You get over 250 photographs, the majority in color. The three build reviews are all well done and show off what can be accomplished with the available model kits. A bonus if you buy this book is that Phoenix will be adding additional updates online in the future. If you are planning on building a Lockheed U-2, this book is a must-have. My thanks to Phoenix Scale Publications and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great issue.

Highly recommended!