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The Blackbird
The SR-71 Blackbird was a long-range, Mach3+, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from A-12 and YF-12A aircraft as a “black project” by Lockheed’s Skunk Works Division and its renowned designer, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson.
As told by William Wolf in his book Conquest of the Skies: Seeking Range, Endurance, and the Intercontinental Bomber, the SR-71 was designed to have basic stealth characteristics and was a forerunner of future stealth aircraft. The SR-7 1’s first flight took place on 22 December 1964, and it entered service with the 4200th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, California, in January 1966. During aerial reconnaissance missions the SR-71 operated at such high speeds and high altitudes that it could out-accelerate and out-fly surface-to-air missiles.
The faster the Blackbird flew the more efficient it became due to the ramjet effect (the compression of air and fuel at supersonic speeds). The aircraft had to refuel about every ninety minutes or every 2,500 miles. The fifty-six Kc- 135Q tankers were a greatly modified version of the standard KC135 tanker that could only be used to refuel the SR-71. Thirty- two SR-71s served with the USAF 1964-1998, with twelve lost in accidents, but none lost to enemy action.
SR-71 flying faster than Concorde from New York to London
The USAF retired its SR-71 fleet on 26 January 1990. Several SR-71s were reinstated into service in 1995, so it could be used for NASA research projects, but by 1999, the final NASA Blackbirds were grounded permanently.
The SR-71 was the world’s fastest and highest-flying operational air-breathing manned aircraft throughout its tenure.
On 28 July 1976, SR-71 61-7962 broke the world absolute altitude record of 85,069 ft in sustained flight, That same day SR-7 1 61-7958 set an absolute speed record of 2,193.2 mph–approximately Mach 3.3. On 1 September 1974, an SR -71 flown by pilot Maj-James Sullivan and reconnaissance systems officer (RSO) Maj. Noel Widdifield set the Speed Over a Recognized Course record for flying from New York to London(3,461-53 miles) at 1,806.96mph, an elapsed time of 1:54:56 hours (an average velocity of Mach 2.72, including deceleration for in-flight refueling). By comparison, the best commercial Concorde flight time was 2:52 hours, while the Boeing 747 averages 6:15 hours.
Records that remain unbroken today
On 26 April 1971, SR-71 61-7968, flown by Majs. Thomas Estes and Dewain Vick, flew over 15,000 miles in 10:30 hours, for which it was awarded the 1971 Mackay Trophy and the 1972 Harmon Trophy. On 6 March 1990, Lt. Col. Raymond Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida piloted SR-71 61-7972 on its final flight and set four new speed records:
- Los Angeles to Washington, DC (2,299.7 miles). at an average speed of 2,144.8 mph and an elapsed time of 64:20 minutes.
- West Coast to East Coast (2,404 miles) at an average speed of 2,124.5 mph and an elapsed time of 67:54 minutes
- Kansas City, Missouri, to Washington, DC (942 miles), at an average speed of 2,176 mph and an elapsed time of 25:59 minutes.
- St. Louis, Missouri, to Cincinnati, Ohio (311.4miles), at an average speed of 2,189.9 mph and an elapsed time of 8:32 minutes.
These records remain unbroken today.
Conquest of the Skies: Seeking Range, Endurance, and the Intercontinental Bomber is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo credit: U.S. Air Force and Adrian Meredith / Crown Copyright
