The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was a long-range, supersonic spy plane, which was in service with the US Air Force from 1966 to 1989. During the Cold War, it flew hundreds of sorties in the skies over Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea, China, Cuba, and Siberia, with an average of one flight per week. It was equipped with a long-range radar, infrared search sensors, an infrared tracking system, and an Itek 102A 910-1,220-mm reconnaissance camera.
The SR-71's main feature was its speed as it could fly at Mach 3+ at high altitude. It also had a very small radar cross-section design and radar counter-measures to provide it with stealth characteristics and to avoid being detected. The only Soviet combat aircraft which posed a real threat to the Blackbird were the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat and the MiG-31 Foxhound, both of which could reach speeds of Mach 2.9 at high altitudes and were fitted with powerful long-range radars and air-to-air missiles.
The prototype of the SR-71 Blackbird, the YF-12A (No. 06937), made its maiden flight on December 22, 1964. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney J58 (JT11D-20) turbojet engines, with afterburner. After more than a year of flight tests, it was introduced into service with the US Air Force in January 1966 and it was assigned to the 4200th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing based in California. A total of 32 aircraft would be produced by Lockheed in the SR-71A, SR-71B, and SR-71C versions.
For more than two decades, the Blackbird was a top-secret aircraft, which had been designed to replace the Lockheed U-2; this spy plane had been shot down by Soviet SAMs in 1960 while it flew a secret sortie over Soviet territory. This U-2 was flown by Francis Gary Powers, who was taken prisoner and exposed to the international press in Moscow. It was a great scandal for president Dwight Eisenhower.
Below, photograph of the Blackbird in flight about to plug into a KC-135Q tanker aircraft.
Technical Description
The Lockheed SR-71 was a two-seat, twin-engine high-tech aircraft. The design configuration of this advanced plane consisted of a very long tailless fuselage, which was made of titanium alloy, and broad delta wing. The wing was mounted on rear portion of fuselage. It was equipped with two vertical fins and rudders, which were set up on top of each of engine nacelles. The front section of fuselage was fitted with blended forward wing, which was called 'chine'. The chine acted as a fixed canard that provided stability and decreased drag.
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was made of titanium alloy to withstand the kinetic heating of prolonged Mach 3 cruise speed. Most of the fuselage and wing internal volume was taken up by fuel tanks. To endow it with stealth capability, the SR-71 was painted overall in a black radar-absorbent paint, which contained microscopic ferrous balls, with markings kept to the minimum. The cockpit had two seats arranged in tandem. Both pilot and reconnaissance system officer wore pressurized suits as they breathed pure oxygen for about half an hour before take-off to eliminate the nitrogen in their bloodstream to avoid decompression sickness.
Specifications
Type: long-range, strategic, reconnaissance aircraft.
Length: 32.74 m (107 feet, 5 inches)
Wing Span: 16.95 m (55 feet, 7 inches)
Wing Area: 167.23 m2 (1,800 square feet)
Height: 5.64 m (18 feet, 6 inches)
Power Plant: two 32,528-lb-thrust, Pratt & Whitney J58-1 afterburning turboramjet engines.
Maximum Speed: Mach 3.3
Range: 5,230 km (3,250 miles)
Service Ceiling: 25,900 m (84,974 feet)
Below, the prototype of the Blackbird, the YF-12A in 1964.
The SR-71B version on runway ready for take-off.
Below, the SR-71B variant in flight around 1982.
