Skunk Works

Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed by Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos, Little, Brown & Co., 1994. 

Lockheed

This book describes a highly secret project at Lockheed to develop advanced technology in aircraft. It was called the Skunk Works, and was located in Burbank, California. 

Key Individuals: 

• Kelly Johnson: He joined Lockheed in 1933, and started the Skunk Works in 1943. 

• Ben Rich: He was initially Kelly Johnson’s vice-president for advanced projects. In 1975 Rich succeeded Johnson when Johnson retired. 

• Richard Bissell: He was at the CIA and was the champion of the Skunk Works and the U2 spy plane. 

Stealth

Stealth is achieved by minimizing the radar cross-section of the aircraft. The engineers used computer simulations to estimate radar cross section. They tested airplane part shapes in wind tunnels at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in Northern California. To get the weight of the SR-71 Blackbird down, it was made of titanium rather than steel. Titanium is as strong as steel, but with only half the weight. 

Airplanes developed by the Skunk Works:

• P-80 jet fighter

• F-104 Starfighter

• U-2 spy plane

• SR-71 Blackbird spy plane

• F-117A stealth fighter

• F-22 Advanced Tactical Fighter