Ben Rich

Benjamin Robert Rich (1925 - 1995) is the main character of Skunk Works and its primary author. He follows Kelly Johnson as chief of Lockheed's Skunk Works operation; he is only the second chief. He joined the Skunk Works in 1954 and ran the operation from 1975 to 1991. Rich developed a large number of important airplanes, including the F-117, the original stealth aircraft. He was involved with the production of the U-2, F-104, SR-71 (The Blackbird), A-12 and F-22.

Rich was the son of Jewish parents who settled in the Philippines. They moved to the US in 1942 and Ben worked with his father in a machine shop, where he came to love engineering. He studied mechanical engineering at Berkeley and received an MA in thermodynamics from UCLA. He was hired to Lockheed immediately and was pivotal in designing the propulsion system for the Blackbird, for which he would later when an...