- Henry Combs
Henry Combs was a structural engineer at
Clarence Johnson 's famedSkunk Works group of Lockheed Corporation. He was Deputy Project Manager on theLockheed U-2 program, Head Structural Engineer on theSR-71 Blackbird , and later, Technical Director of the Skunk Works. While he is most known for his integral work on the U-2, the SR-71 and theF-117 Nighthawk , he also worked on theF-104 ,Lockheed Constellation ,C-130 Hercules ,XP-58 Chain Lightning , andLockheed JetStar .Combs is revered as the father of the titanium A-12 structure. According to Ben Rich in "Skunk Works", Combs was the "dean" of the eight man structures group and an "irascible genius".
Combs spoke on the U-2's development at the CIA's "The CIA and the U-2 Program" conference on 17 September 1998.
An accomplished glider pilot, Combs is honored by the Soaring Society of America's "Henry Combs Perpetual Trophy". In 1998, he completed his 200th straight-out diamond distance flight.
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