During the 1950s, the United States and the Soviet Union teetered on the brink of nuclear devastation. America's hope for national security relied solely upon aerial reconnaissance. Radar Man is the fascinating memoir of a physicist who, with his colleagues, developed the stealth technology that eventually created radar-invisible aircraft. Edward Lovick shares a compelling story from the perspective of an enthusiastic scientist that highlights his pioneering experiences in an innovative, secret world as he helped create stealth aircraft such as the A-12 OXCART, SR-71 Blackbird, and F-117 Nighthawk. From the moment in 1957 when Lockheed's famous aircraft designer Clarence L. 'Kelly' Johnson invited Lovick to join his "Skunk Works," Lovick details how he helped the CIA eventually perform vital, covert reconnaissance flights over Soviet-held territory during the Cold War, saved Lockheed ADP's A-12 from cancellation, and provided key design input to the SR-71 and F-117. Lovick's autobiography describing his career as an engineering physicist in the Skunk Works not only draws attention to the insurmountable challenges that accompanied the task of developing radar-invisible aircraft, but also the importance of the monumental task these young scientists fulfilled-all with the hope of creating a secure future for their beloved country.

RADAR MAN

A Personal History of StealthBy Edward Lovick, Jr.

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2010 Edward Lovick, Jr.
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-4802-0

Contents

Preface................................................................xiAcknowledgments........................................................xviiIntroduction...........................................................xixCurious Beginnings.....................................................1Airplanes—an Early Love..........................................7First Flight in an Aircraft............................................10My First Rocket Experience.............................................10Early Radio Experiments................................................13Formation of Young Engineers...........................................17Lockheed at Last!......................................................25Radio and Radar Installation...........................................27B-17 Bomber Aircraft...................................................29Electronic Test Equipment Group........................................31Crash Investigation at NOTS............................................34Naval Ordnance Test Station, Inyokern..................................37In the Navy............................................................43University of Illinois.................................................47Return to Lockheed.....................................................53Antenna Testing........................................................56Antenna Radiation Patterns.............................................61Modern Antenna Laboratory..............................................65Scale Model Antenna Testing............................................71P-2V Antennas Field Testing............................................73Dr. Tetsu Morita.......................................................75The Bornholm Incident..................................................76AWACS and Kelly Johnson................................................79Into the Skunk Works—the U-2.....................................83The Big Rumbling Cart..................................................88Small Scale Model Testing..............................................92U-2 Infrared Sensor Calibration........................................96Early Anechoic Chamber Testing.........................................98The "Six String Hang"..................................................102Security Breach........................................................106U-2 Low Frequency Design and Testing...................................107Testing U-2s at Daggett................................................110Pole Testing at Indian Springs AFB.....................................111The A-12—Competition Stealth and Speed...........................115Kelly Johnson's All-plastic Plane......................................118Arrow Design Series RCS Testing........................................120That Fateful Meeting...................................................125A-12 RCS Full-scale Demonstration......................................127Visit to a German Laboratory...........................................128Building the Full-scale Mockup.........................................128Groom Lake Facility....................................................132RCS Testing............................................................133The A-12 OXCART........................................................137Chines.................................................................139Magnetic Materials.....................................................141Antennas...............................................................145Engine Inlets..........................................................146Engine Exhaust Outlets.................................................152Static RCS Tests.......................................................156The A-12 Aircraft in Flight............................................156Anti-Radar Flight Tests................................................157A-12 Antennas Refinement...............................................158Lightning Tests........................................................162LMSC Missile and Satellite Testing.....................................167Anechoic Chamber Evolution.............................................171Derivatives and Developments...........................................175The D-21 "Little Whizzer"..............................................175YF-12..................................................................177R-12 Aircraft..........................................................177SR-71 Aircraft.........................................................177SR-71 Flight Suits.....................................................178Eglin AFB Over-water Tests.............................................178Active Cancellation....................................................179Gary Powers............................................................180Gaseous Radar Wave Attenuators.........................................181U-2s and the Jungle Environment........................................182Early RCS Prediction Code Development..................................183The F-117—Doing It with Mirrors..................................185Have Blue RCS Test Competition.........................................190Alan Brown.............................................................197Denys Overholser.......................................................198James Reichert.........................................................199Lightning Tests........................................................199Windshield Optical Tests...............................................200Have Blue Prototype Flights............................................200Cancellation Tests at Grey Butte.......................................201Medical Classes........................................................202I Declined Management—Again......................................202ADP Preliminary Design Group Activities................................205The Stealth Bomber.....................................................205The Stealthy Submarine Boat............................................206Helicopters............................................................209The Sea Shadow.........................................................211Dr Nicholas Damaskos...................................................212Sherre Love and Windows................................................212Stellar Engineers Incognito and Influential People.....................221Mike Ash...............................................................221Jim Herron.............................................................224Dr Allen Atkins........................................................225Dr Robert Elliott......................................................226Dr Thomas T Taylor.....................................................226Afterword..............................................................227Appendix A: Smith Charts and Z-Theta Charts............................231Appendix B: Analogies and Graphical Aids...............................235Appendix C: EIC Antenna Directivity....................................239Appendix D: Military Radar Frequency Bands.............................243Appendix E: Outside U-2 Historical Studies.............................245Appendix F: Salisbury Screen Design....................................247Appendix G: Magic Tee..................................................253Appendix H: Resistivity...