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TIME: Almanac 1993
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TIME Almanac 1993.iso
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123190
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1992-08-28
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848b
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MILESTONES, Page 7
DIED. Clarence ("Kelly") Johnson, 80, aircraft designer who
ran the Lockheed Corp.'s secret "Skunk Works" factory started
in World War II; in Burbank, Calif. Johnson joined Lockheed in
1933 as a tool designer and went on to design the P-80 Shooting
Star, America's first operational jet fighter. Other designs he
worked on include the P-38 Lightning and the U-2 and SR-71
Blackbird spy planes. Built in an eight-month crash program in
1955, the U-2 flew at 70,000 ft. on missions over the Soviet
Union. Its reconnaissance photos gave President Eisenhower
detailed intelligence about Soviet missile and bomber threats,
showing the limits of their capabilities and helping him resist
pressure for greater defense spending.