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The Lockheed SR-71 (known unofficially as the Blackbird, and by its crews as the Habu or the sled) was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed YF-12A and A-12 aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works. The SR-71 line was in service from 1964 to 1998, and it was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout that entire period, an unparalleled achievement in aviation history. The aircraft flew so fast and so high that if the crew detected a surface-to-air missile launch, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate. Thirteen aircraft are known to have been lost, all from non-combat related reasons.
The SR-71 included many novel and advanced technologies in order to achieve that performance; in particular, due to extensive frictional heating from its high speed, almost everything in the aircraft had to be specially produced; the airframe was built almost entirely of titanium, as operating temperatures were too high for aluminum. It was also one of the first aircraft to be have been built with a reduced radar cross section; however, the aircraft was not completely stealthy, and still had a fairly large radar signature. The chief designer, Kelly Johnson, was the man behind many of its advanced concepts. After his retirement, Ben Rich ran the program.
History
While the U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft produced immense value when it began to overfly the Soviet Union in 1956, it was accepted that this subsonic, nonstealthy aircraft eventually would be vulnerable to the Soviet air defense network. Indeed, one was shot down in May 1960, ending manned reconnaissance overflights of the Russian landmass. Overhead reconnaissance of the Soviet Union was taken over by satellites, but the SR-71 was already in development.
Predecessor models
The A-12 Oxcart, designed for the CIA by Kelly Johnson at the Lockheed Skunk Works, was the precursor of the SR-71. Lockheed used the name "Archangel" for this design, but many documents use Johnson's preferred name for the plane, "the Article." As the design evolved, the internal Lockheed designation went from A-1 to A-12 as configuration changes occurred, such as substantial design changes to reduce the radar cross-section. The first flight took place at Groom Lake, Nevada, on April 25, 1962. It was 'Article 121,' an A-12, but it was equipped with less powerful Pratt & Whitney J75s due to protracted development of the intended Pratt & Whitney J58. The J58s were retrofitted as they became available. The J58s became the standard power plant for all subsequent aircraft in the series (A-12, YF-12, MD-21) as well as the follow-on SR-71 aircraft. Eighteen A-12 aircraft were built in four variations, of which three were YF-12As, prototypes of the planned F-12B interceptor version, and two were the M-21 variant (see below).
The Air Force reconnaissance version was originally called the R-12 (see the opening fly page in Paul Crickmore's book SR-71, Secret Missions Exposed, which contains a copy of the original R-12 labeled plan view drawing of the vehicle). However, during the 1964 presidential campaign, Senator Barry Goldwater continually criticized President Lyndon B. Johnson and his administration for falling behind the Soviet Union in the research and development of new weapon systems. Johnson decided to counter this criticism with the public release of the highly classified A-12 program and later the existence of the reconnaissance version.
Name and designation
The USAF had planned to redesignate the A-12 aircraft as the B-71 as the successor to the B-70 Valkyrie, whichhad two test Valkyries flying at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The B-71 would have a nuclear capability of 3 first-generation SRAM's (Short-Range Attack Missiles). The next designation was RS-71 (Reconnaissance-Strike) when the strike capability became an option. However, then USAF Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay preferred the SR designation and wanted the RS-71 to be named SR-71. Before the Blackbird was to be announced by President Johnson on February 29, 1964, LeMay lobbied to modify Johnson's speech to read SR-71 instead of RS-71. The media transcript given to the press at the time still had the earlier RS-71 designation in places, creating the myth that the president had misread the plane's designation. .... (read more)