Saturday, February 27th would have been the 100th birthday of Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, leader of Lockheed Skunk Works, who was responsible for the design of iconic aircraft like the SR-71 Blackbird, P-38 Lightning, F-80 Shooting Star, U-2 Dragon Lady and the family of Constellation propliners. His extraordinary accomplishments are an encyclopedia of aviation history and twice earned him the Collier Trophy. Air and Space magazine also looked back on his storied career in an extensive feature that takes a close look at many of his projects.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.