Comparison: Squadron Signal book 1086 U-2 Spyplane 1988 vs 2002 editions

Book 1086 U-2 in action (1988 vs 2002)

This'll be a quick one. The U-2 Dragon Lady is one of the intriguing aircraft from the Lockheed "Skunkworks" division that was ultimately made famous for developing secret reconnaissance aircraft, notably the U-2 and the SR-71 Blackbird.

Squadron Signal Publishing released a book about the U-2 in 1988 as part of the "in action" line, book number 1086. Fourteen years later in 2002 they would publish an update with an additional eight pages, covering the use of the U-2 since the first book's release.

So if you're a collector and you don't have them, do you get both or just the update? It depends on what you like. I love the cover art and while sometimes an update to an earlier edition of a Squadron book has the same artwork, in this instance they chose to put on a new cover. So I bought both because both are nice covers. 

The original release had a Don Greer painting of the famous incident where Francis Gary Powers, a U-2 pilot, was shot down while on a recon mission over Russia. It was huge news back in May, 1960 when it happened. Since this is easily the most famous incident involving the U-2, it is curious Squadron decided to go with a different cover for the update.

The 2002 edition features a newer variant of the U-2, a U-2R, in 1991 during Desert Shield and Desert Storm deployment. I can't find a signature on the cover, so I has to assume that Don Greer is also the artist as he's the only contributor credited with "color" art in the credits.

If you're tight on cash, just get the update. You'll miss out only on the 1988 edition's cover and perhaps you can live with that. If you're a completist, get both, and if you're a sucker for the art like me, get both. 

If you can't find the update, which appears to be rarer in the wild than the 1988 edition, then just get the first edition as it's a great book even without the updates. 

Book 1086 was published before Squadron started printing the disclaimer that the "in action" books were only supposed to be focused on chronicling the development of a craft and its development through variants and not include other information. Earlier entries in the "in action" series like 1086 are, in my opinion, better reads since they tend to include some operational history and sometimes even pilot testimonials, and are therefore more interesting. I've touched on this before, but later in the game, the "in action" books started to become very light on text and more like picture books with captions; still good reads but with less meaty content.