Testing Death
Hughes Aircraft Test Pilots and Cold War Weaponry
Seiten
2006
Praeger Publishers Inc (Verlag)
978-0-275-99066-4 (ISBN)
Praeger Publishers Inc (Verlag)
978-0-275-99066-4 (ISBN)
In 1969, after his return from Vietnam, George Marrett took a job as a test pilot at Hughes Aircraft. By the 1950s, Hughes Aircraft built airborne radar and missiles for all of the Air Force interceptors stationed on the East and West Coasts and along the border with Canada to defend the United States from Soviet bombers.
In 1969, after his return from Vietnam, George Marrett took a job as a test pilot at Hughes Aircraft. For twenty years, he tested the most sophisticated airborne radar and missiles ever designed for advanced Navy and Air Force aircraft. Marrett's masterful command of storytelling puts the reader in the cockpit during the F-15, F-16, and F-18 weapons systems flyoff, as well as during the firing of a Mach 3 Phoenix missile from an F-14A Tomcat at a Soviet MiG Foxbat target. In addition to the weaponry, Marrett relives stories of espionage, deadly crashes, and the development of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber radar. He combines the thrill of test flying with the pathos, humor, and tragedy that is the everyday life of a test pilot, showing how the Cold War was actually won in the skies above Southern California.
The background to Marrett's tale is the story of Hughes Aircraft. While Howard Hughes's huge and unwieldy Spruce Goose never made it into World War II, the Radio Department he started grew to become the electronics giant Hughes Aircraft Company. By the 1950s, Hughes Aircraft built airborne radar and missiles for all of the Air Force interceptors stationed on the East and West Coasts and along the border with Canada to defend the United States from Soviet bombers. In the years that followed, the company built airborne radar for the Navy F-14A Tomcat, the Air Force F-15A Eagle, the Navy F-18A Hornet and the B-2 stealth bomber. They also built the Navy air-to-air AIM-54 Phenix and the Air Force air-to-ground AGM-65 Maverick missiles. These advanced electronic weapons were developed and fielded during President Reagan's massive buildup of military might. Even though Hughes himself did not live to see the Berlin Wall fall in 1989, the company he built made an essential contribution to the collapse of communism.
In 1969, after his return from Vietnam, George Marrett took a job as a test pilot at Hughes Aircraft. For twenty years, he tested the most sophisticated airborne radar and missiles ever designed for advanced Navy and Air Force aircraft. Marrett's masterful command of storytelling puts the reader in the cockpit during the F-15, F-16, and F-18 weapons systems flyoff, as well as during the firing of a Mach 3 Phoenix missile from an F-14A Tomcat at a Soviet MiG Foxbat target. In addition to the weaponry, Marrett relives stories of espionage, deadly crashes, and the development of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber radar. He combines the thrill of test flying with the pathos, humor, and tragedy that is the everyday life of a test pilot, showing how the Cold War was actually won in the skies above Southern California.
The background to Marrett's tale is the story of Hughes Aircraft. While Howard Hughes's huge and unwieldy Spruce Goose never made it into World War II, the Radio Department he started grew to become the electronics giant Hughes Aircraft Company. By the 1950s, Hughes Aircraft built airborne radar and missiles for all of the Air Force interceptors stationed on the East and West Coasts and along the border with Canada to defend the United States from Soviet bombers. In the years that followed, the company built airborne radar for the Navy F-14A Tomcat, the Air Force F-15A Eagle, the Navy F-18A Hornet and the B-2 stealth bomber. They also built the Navy air-to-air AIM-54 Phenix and the Air Force air-to-ground AGM-65 Maverick missiles. These advanced electronic weapons were developed and fielded during President Reagan's massive buildup of military might. Even though Hughes himself did not live to see the Berlin Wall fall in 1989, the company he built made an essential contribution to the collapse of communism.
George J. Marrett served in the U.S. Air Force and flew the F-86L SabreJet, the F-101B Voodoo, and the Douglas A-1 Skyraider, this last as a Sandy rescue pilot in the 602nd Fighter Squadron (Commando) in Thailand, completing 188 combat missions in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Currently, he flies his 1945 Stinson L-5E Sentinel for air shows. He is the author of Cheating Death: Combat Air Rescues in Vietnam and Laos and Howard Hughes: Aviator.
Foreword by D. Kenneth Richardson
Preface
Sore Feet
Jet Pilot
Combat and the F-15 Eagle Fly-Off
Impossible Journey
Ace of the Test Range
Bombing the Blue Eel Railroad Bridge
Flying Dumbo
Gathering of Eagles and one Turkey
California Dreamin'
Hitting the Jackpot in Vegas
A Wasp with Two Stings
The Dream
Epilogue
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 30.5.2006 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | Praeger Security International |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 156 x 235 mm |
| Gewicht | 510 g |
| Themenwelt | Natur / Technik ► Fahrzeuge / Flugzeuge / Schiffe ► Militärfahrzeuge / -flugzeuge / -schiffe |
| Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte | |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung | |
| Technik ► Fahrzeugbau / Schiffbau | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-275-99066-4 / 0275990664 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-275-99066-4 / 9780275990664 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
aus dem Bereich
von der Machtergreifung bis zur Gründung der Vereinten Nationen
Buch | Softcover (2023)
Motorbuch Verlag
CHF 38,90
Entwicklung, Technik, Einsatz
Buch | Hardcover (2023)
Motorbuch Verlag
CHF 93,90
