The little-known stories of the United States Air Force pilots who flew alone and unarmed into enemy territory in a world under threat of nuclear war. Tactical Reconnaissance in the Cold War describes how the United States Air Force tactical reconnaissance units operated from the end of World War II until the 1970s. This was an immensely active period that also included major conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. It was also a period of rapid technological development in aircraft and photographic techniques. This highly-illustrated book includes chapters on: the post-war period in Europe and the East; the Korean Conflict and the role of the 67th TRW from 1950 to 1954; the role of the highly secret RF-86 missions over Red China and the Soviet Far East in the early to mid ’50s; the RB-57A missions out of Bitburg and Yokota flying clandestinely over the Soviet Union and the RF-100A missions that were flown over the Soviet Union from Turkey, Rhine-Main and Yokota; United States Air Forces in Europe; the Cuban Missile Crisis and the role of the RF-101 Voodoos and RB-66s.

A comprehensive history of tactical reconnaissance aircraft produced and operated during the Cold War in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The underlying theme of this book is now it can be told. It tells the inside story of aerial reconnaisance and electronic intelligence, from the post-war years through to the present day, complete with political skulduggery, and revelations such as the USSR's actual lack of military capability.

From Kites to Cold War tells the story of the evolution of manned airborne reconnaissance. Long a desire of military commanders, the ability to see the terrain ahead and gain foreknowledge of enemy intent was realized when Chinese airmen mounted kites to surveil their surroundings. Kite technology was slow to spread, and by the late nineteenth century European nations had developed the balloon and airship to conduct this mission. By 1918, it was obvious that the airplane had become the reconnaissance platform of the future. Used successfully by many nations during the Great War, aircraft technology and capability experienced its most rapid evolutionary period during World War II. Entering the war with just basic airborne imagery capabilities, by V-E and V-J days, air power pioneers greatly improved imagery collection and developed sophisticated airborne signals intelligence collection capabilities. The United States and other nations put these capabilities to use as the Cold War immediately followed. Flying near the periphery of and sometimes directly over the Soviet Union, airborne reconnaissance provided the intelligence necessary to stay one step ahead of the Soviets throughout the Cold War.

The book sets forth the role and place of reconnaissance in modern combat; its division into constituent parts; the demands made of it; the goal, missions, and objectives of reconnaissance; and the components of reconnaissance, the men and equipment, and the methods of reconnaissance. The fundamentals of organizing and conducting reconnaissance in the main types of combat are explained. The problems of assembling and processing intelligence information are considered. Reconnaissance is a highly important form of support. It is required to furnish the command element and staff at all levels with the information about the enemy, the terrain, and the area of impending actions that is needed for successfully preparing and conducting combat actions. At the present stage, the Soviet Army and Navy have modern, highly effective reconnaissance equipment with which it is possible to locate enemy objectives (targets) quickly, to identify them correctly, and to determine their location (coordinates) with great accuracy.