SR-71 Blackbird
This article is about the United States reconnaissance jet. For other uses of 'Blackbird', see Blackbird (disambiguation).
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was a Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft designed by Clarence L "Kelly" Johnson at Lockheed's "Skunk Works" plant in the late 1950s, the Blackbird served until 1989. In 1994, the program was reactivated under NASA, and the aircraft continued to fly until 1999.
Due to the friction caused by the SR-71's titanium airframe with the outside atmosphere, the SR-71 could expand as much as one foot during high-speed flight.
Many consider the SR-71 Blackbird to be the finest military aircraft ever produced, and Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara inexplicably ordered destruction of its plans, which prevented further manufacturer of it.[1]
Operational History
In 1967 and 1968, SR-71s flew over two dozen reconnaissance missions in support of Operation Rolling Thunder, mostly over North Vietnam, but some flights covered Cambodia and Laos as well.
In the early 1980s, SR-71s from Beale Air Force Base conducted missions over communist Nicaragua.[2]
SR-71s overflew Grenada and gathered information in preparation for the 1983 invasion.[3]
After the bombing of Libya in April 1986 (Operation El Dorado Canyon), two Blackbirds flew a mission to collect post-strike intelligence. It was the first time that two SR-71s flew a joint mission.[4]
In its final flight from California to Washington, D.C. where it was to be retired at the Smithsonian Institution, the SR-71 set an interconnectable record for coast-to-coast flight time of 97 minutes, catching a tailwind from the jet stream.
Specifications
The SR-71 does not run on standard military JP-8 aviation fuel because it could vaporize of spontaneously ignite at the high altitudes and speed the SR-71 could fly at. A special aviation fuel, JP-7 was developed exclusively for the SR-71.[5]
| Function | High-speed, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft |
| Contractor | Lockheed |
| Power plant | Two Pratt & Whitney J58-1 continuous-bleed afterburning turbojets with 32,500 lbf (145 kN) each |
| Length | 107 feet, 6 inches |
| Height | 18 feet, 6 inches |
| Maximum speed | Mach 3.2 at 70,000 ft |
| Wingspan | 55 feet, 7 inches |
| Empty weight | 67,500 pounds |
| Maximum Weight | 172,000 pounds |
| Crew | Two: a pilot and a radar officer |
| Range | 2,900 nautical miles |
| Ceiling | 85,000 feet |
| Armament | None |
