SR-71 Blackbird was a military airplane used by the United States Air Force. The SR-71 was a twin-engine, jet-powered surveillance aircraft (spy plane) designed by the Lockheed Corporation. The letters SR designate a strategic reconnaissance (information-gathering) aircraft. The SR-71 became famous during the Cold War, a period of intense rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union in the middle and late 1900’s. No piloted jet aircraft has ever flown higher or faster than the SR-71.
The SR-71 carried a pilot and an officer responsible for the plane’s cameras, radar, and other equipment. The plane carried no weapons. Lockheed aeronautical engineer Kelly Johnson designed the SR-71. Johnson’s other revolutionary designs included the P-38 Lightning and the U-2 spy plane.
Engines by the Pratt and Whitney Company gave the SR-71 a top speed of about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) per hour. To withstand the intense heat created by such speed, the SR-71 had a titanium structure with special fluids, fuels, and glass. The plane’s dark, heat-resistant paint gave it the name Blackbird.
The SR-71 could reach altitudes above 85,000 feet (26,000 meters). Such extreme elevation required SR-71 pilots to wear pressurized space suits. The plane’s range was about 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers). _Aerial refueling—_that is, receiving fuel from another plane while in flight—gave the SR-71 unlimited range.
The Blackbird’s long, flat design was an early attempt at stealth technology, which sought to evade radar detection. The technology proved largely unsuccessful in the case of the SR-71.
The Lockheed Corporation tested an SR-71 prototype (early model) in December 1964. The aircraft entered U.S. Air Force service in January 1966. Blackbirds flew reconnaissance missions during the Vietnam War (1957-1975). In the 1970’s and 1980’s, SR-71’s participated in a number of global conflicts, as well as relief and research missions.
The SR-71 set a number of speed records. It flew from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in just over 64 minutes. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) used SR-71’s for high-speed and high-altitude research.
The Lockheed Corporation made 32 SR-71’s from 1964 to 1968. Blackbirds were first retired in 1990. They returned to service from 1995 until 1999.
See also Air Force, United States ; Lockheed Corporation .
