Book Review of
Tactical Reconnaissance Cold War
1945, Korea, China, Vietnam & The Iron Curtain
Author: Doug Gordon
Pen & Sword Books
ISBN: 9781526784353
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2921
MSRP: $34.95
ISBN: 9781526784353
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2921
MSRP: $34.95
HISTORY:
The purpose of tactical reconnaissance is to gather intelligence about the enemy’s disposition, strength and technology within the confines of the battlefield and its environs. Initially this mainly involved photographic intelligence: but later came to include the gathering of electronic and communications intelligence.
In this book, Doug Gordon reveals how the United states Air Force’s tactical reconnaissance units operated from the end of the Second World War through until the 1970’s. This was an immensely active period that included the major conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, as well as a time that saw rapid technological developments in both aircraft design and reconnaissance systems.
Among the many subjects explored by the author are the highly secret missions flown over China and the Soviet Far East in the early to mid 1950s by Saber RF 86s. The latter met a demand for a high-speed reconnaissance aircraft that could take pictures over enemy territory and be fast enough to escape attack by the MiGs, so a small number of Sabres were modified in the field by removing the guns and replacing them with cameras.
The author also details the RB-87A Canberra missions over the Soviet Union, by aircraft flying clandestinely out of Bitburg and Yokota, the RF-100A missions that were flown over the Soviet Union from bases in Turkey, as well as Rhein-Main and Yokota, and of the role of the RF-101 Voodoos and RB-66s in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Highly illustrated throughout, and packed full of first-hand accounts, this book is one of the most comprehensive works ever published on the subject.
With a longstanding interest in the subject Doug Gordon has set out to explore the role of tactical reconnaissance in the Cold war to the same extent that has often been done for the fighter, fighter-bomber and bomber missions.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword is based in the UK.
This book is soft-cover of 324 pages (6 pages are blank) in 6 ½” x 9 ¾” page format.
It contains 259 black and white photos and 144 color ones.
There are 32 aerial photos of different terrains and 4 maps.
The cover art shows a color photo of a F-84F Thunderjet. It is bare metal with an orange anti-glare panel in front of the cockpit. Black U.S. AIR FORCE on the sides of its nose. Star with bars followed by black serial no. FS-007 on sides of the fuselage and black serial no. 17007 on top of double chevrons on its rudder.
The book contains photos of:
2 photos of the camera installations in A-26s, a P-51D Mustang, a F-15A (later called a RF-61 Black Widow, many RB-26s, pilots, RF-80As, Cs & Fs, a Gloster Meteor, a T-33, a F-86F Sabre, a few shots of the RB-45C Tornado, shots of the RB-57A (one has “NITE MARE” with a winged-horse illustration on its side, badges of the 7407th Support Squadron, a few RF-84Fs, the Fighting 84th TRS groups cartoons of fuselages with “THE RUPTURED DUCK” on them, several RB-66Bs (one with a woman standing beside it), a RB-101C Voodoo, a C-47, a KC-135, a RF-4C, a EF-111A, a AB-50 tanker, a C-130, a KC-135, a RF-4C and a RF-33.
There is a post-card inserted into the book to use to get more information about Pen & Sword books.
This book will be of great interest to aircraft modelers and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the North American distributor of Pen & Sword Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The purpose of tactical reconnaissance is to gather intelligence about the enemy’s disposition, strength and technology within the confines of the battlefield and its environs. Initially this mainly involved photographic intelligence: but later came to include the gathering of electronic and communications intelligence.
In this book, Doug Gordon reveals how the United states Air Force’s tactical reconnaissance units operated from the end of the Second World War through until the 1970’s. This was an immensely active period that included the major conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, as well as a time that saw rapid technological developments in both aircraft design and reconnaissance systems.
Among the many subjects explored by the author are the highly secret missions flown over China and the Soviet Far East in the early to mid 1950s by Saber RF 86s. The latter met a demand for a high-speed reconnaissance aircraft that could take pictures over enemy territory and be fast enough to escape attack by the MiGs, so a small number of Sabres were modified in the field by removing the guns and replacing them with cameras.
The author also details the RB-87A Canberra missions over the Soviet Union, by aircraft flying clandestinely out of Bitburg and Yokota, the RF-100A missions that were flown over the Soviet Union from bases in Turkey, as well as Rhein-Main and Yokota, and of the role of the RF-101 Voodoos and RB-66s in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Highly illustrated throughout, and packed full of first-hand accounts, this book is one of the most comprehensive works ever published on the subject.
With a longstanding interest in the subject Doug Gordon has set out to explore the role of tactical reconnaissance in the Cold war to the same extent that has often been done for the fighter, fighter-bomber and bomber missions.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword is based in the UK.
This book is soft-cover of 324 pages (6 pages are blank) in 6 ½” x 9 ¾” page format.
It contains 259 black and white photos and 144 color ones.
There are 32 aerial photos of different terrains and 4 maps.
The cover art shows a color photo of a F-84F Thunderjet. It is bare metal with an orange anti-glare panel in front of the cockpit. Black U.S. AIR FORCE on the sides of its nose. Star with bars followed by black serial no. FS-007 on sides of the fuselage and black serial no. 17007 on top of double chevrons on its rudder.
The book contains photos of:
2 photos of the camera installations in A-26s, a P-51D Mustang, a F-15A (later called a RF-61 Black Widow, many RB-26s, pilots, RF-80As, Cs & Fs, a Gloster Meteor, a T-33, a F-86F Sabre, a few shots of the RB-45C Tornado, shots of the RB-57A (one has “NITE MARE” with a winged-horse illustration on its side, badges of the 7407th Support Squadron, a few RF-84Fs, the Fighting 84th TRS groups cartoons of fuselages with “THE RUPTURED DUCK” on them, several RB-66Bs (one with a woman standing beside it), a RB-101C Voodoo, a C-47, a KC-135, a RF-4C, a EF-111A, a AB-50 tanker, a C-130, a KC-135, a RF-4C and a RF-33.
There is a post-card inserted into the book to use to get more information about Pen & Sword books.
This book will be of great interest to aircraft modelers and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the North American distributor of Pen & Sword Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.