Radar Man: A Personal History of Stealth

by Edward Lovick Jr

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.

Genres: History

300 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2010

Reviews

[Bill Conrad]

The idea of an aircraft that is not detectable by radar has always been fascinating. I wanted to read Radar Man by Edward Lovick for a couple of years and finally downloaded it. It accounts Edward’s personal experiences in developing stealth aircraft and the technology surrounding the development. This includes testing and the odd politics of a secret world.
The book contained many insights, and I found the dark secret world fascinating. It is incredible what they accomplished in the 50s without modern radio test equipment, computers, and precise milling machines. Instead, they had dedicated people with powerful arms and slide rules. Quite an undertaking.
What is really amazing is the small team’s success despite the government not believing the science was possible. Edward outlined many creative solutions and complex issues. Plus, he got into his company's politics, the government bureaucracy, and opposing governments.
I enjoyed this book, but I must caution the potential reader. Many technical aspects require some radio/engineering knowledge to grasp the concepts. There were two additional issues. Edward is not a polished writer, and the sentences were choppy. Plus, he ended far too many sentences with exclamation points! However, if you can overlook these two flaws, Edward paints a fantastic story.

[Laird Bennion]

Extremely technical - a must-read for anyone who loved Ben Rich's "Skunk Works".

[Renee]

I got this book from the author himself. an interesting read, if a bit scattered in places. a unique viewpoint of aviation history, and an good companion to other books about the same era/events