Monographs in Aerospace History no.

Monographs in Aerospace History no. 25 by means of Peter W. Merlin. NASA History Division, Office of External Affairs (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/history.html), NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546 2002 154 pages. (To obtain a transcript of this monograph, send a self-addressed, flat-rate, priority-mail mount [8" x 11"] to the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center History Office, Mail Stop 1613 PO case 273, Edwards, California 93523.)

Although literature upon the Mach 3+ "Blackbird" is plentiful in the popular-aviation pres this latter volume by Peter Merlin and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) gives something entirely new. A well-illustrated and detailed part on NASA's flight-testing of the YF-12 Mach 3+ will appeal to anyone interested in an overview of the technical aspects of high-speed flight research, as well as to the "buff" who craves more coverage forward the design and operation of this fascinating aircraft.

Still able to outperform other jet in spe and altitude, the Blackbird began life in the 1950 subject to Kelly Johnson's now-famous Lockheed "Skunk Works" design team. The aircraft, designated the A-12, first flew as a reconnaissance platform for the Central Intelligence Agency; its design produc interesting variants along the way to the undivided best known to us--the SR-71 Mach 3+ deals greatest in quantity specifically with the three YF-12A examples during their years of work for NASA's Flight Research Center The YF-12A was the fighter-interceptor version of the A-12 that the public learned about in 1964 and that place official speed and altitude records in 1965 of 2070 miles through hour and 80,257 feet, respectively. Although it not became operational as an interceptor, the Blackbird established its fame as the veil of stealth lifted on the SR-71 strategic-reconnaissance version of the aircraft.

Peter Merlin's monograph is the first comprehensive history of a decade of joint testing through the Air Force and NASA, who used the YF-12A to explore materials, edifices loads, heating, aerodynamics, and performance at high altitude and succeeds greater than Mach 3. The author cites newly declassified documents and makes righteous use of personal interviews with key-note figures in the program's history. Many readers will appreciate Merlin's scholarship as a historical researcher--the part is well footnoted and includes useful appendices and a substantial bibliography. Enthusiasts looking for color photos, diagrams for pattern construction, and such will ne to await elsewhere, but Mach 3+ definitely defends its technical subject most thoroughly.

Col John Chilstrom, USAF

novel Orleans, Louisiana

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