Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

The History of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

The stylish SR-71 Blackbird spy plane reaches a whole new level in Lockheed's supersonic soar. Evolving from the YF-12A interceptor program that spawned the A-12 program, which in turn formed the basis for the SR-71 system, the Blackbird became the ultimate CIA tool throughout the Cold War.

The SR-71 "Blackbird" is so named because of the special heat-absorbing and radar-dispersing paint scheme used in the series. The Type A was piloted by a crew of two, who had to don astronaut-style flight suits due to the harsh conditions of high-altitude flight.

The SR-71 looked like a downright stealthy aircraft that played a major role in reconnaissance of Western bloc enemy installations during the Cold War.

The

Blackbird features a streamlined delta design with a sleek, slender body to accommodate instruments and fuel. Dual continuously ventilated turbojets maintained mid-wing are the lifeblood of the series, helping the system achieve airspeeds in excess of Mach 3 at altitudes in excess of 70,000 feet.

At launch, the SR-71 was the fastest conventionally powered aircraft in the world.

The original SR-71 series was developed from the experimental YF-121-A interceptor. From this development, the A-12 family produced 15 of the model, which became a CIA favorite for its Mach 3.6 capabilities and helped launch the D-21 reconnaissance drone.

The final version became known as the SR-71 and reached full operational status in 1966 with 30 aircraft produced.

The training of SR-71 pilots is carried out through a single SR-71B series model and a single SR-71C series model, the latter based largely on the converted A series model. The SR-71 was fully decommissioned in 1989.

Two SR-71s were decommissioned in the mid-1990s, and the entire series was fully decommissioned again in April 1998.

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