Sherffield, Richard E. Ohio to Supersonic

Flying the SR-71 Blackbird to the secret world of the Skunk Works

From his humble beginnings in Rootstown, Ohio, to the highest echelons of secret aerospace innovation, Colonel Richard Sheffield's life was anything but ordinary. Ohio to Supersonic traces his remarkable rise from a small-town boy with learning difficulties to one of the most trusted men in American defence, Cold War intelligence and aerospace history. Selected for the top-secret SR-71 Blackbird programme in 1964, Butch was among the first crew members trained by Lockheed's Skunk Works. He flew some of the most daring reconnaissance missions of the Cold War including the first SR-71 flight over North Korea and a supersonic flight over the North Pole with no chance of rescue. In 1967, he became the first Air Force officer to eject from an SR-71 and survive. Six weeks later, he returned to flying at Mach 3. Butch's extraordinary career did not end in the cockpit. At the Pentagon, he was a key figure behind the early development of GPS and oversaw operations involving the SR-71 and U-2. As a congressional investigator, he received over 300 codeword clearances to investigate the nation's most sensitive intelligence programmes. Later, as the sole representative of Skunk Works in Washington, D.C., he became the silent mediator between Lockheed's secret projects and the centres of power. Written with the help of his daughter Linda and the rest of the Sheffield family, with warmth and unwavering honesty, Ohio to Supersonic offers an intimate, inspiring and sometimes hair-raising account of a man who witnessed the birth of modern reconnaissance aviation, shaped national security policy and never forgot where he came from. This is not just a story about supersonic jets and Cold War missions it is a story about resilience, humility, faith and a deep love for one's country.