#spy plane
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A Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird over Edward Air Force Base
➤➤ EDWARDS AFB VIDEO: https://youtu.be/fGSqQxhYYkA
#youtube#aircraft#airplane#aviation#dronescapes#military#documentary#aviation history#sr 71 blackbird#sr71#skunk works#kelly johnson#edwards air force base#edwards afb#spy plane
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SR-71 on display at Flight Test Nation 2009, October 17, 2009, Edwards AFB
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National Air and Space Museum, Dulles, Virginia
photo: David Castenson
#Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird#spy plane#black and white photography#national air and space museum#photographers on tumblr
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A Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, in flight.
Date: February 1982
Photographed by Ken Hackman.
NARA: 6366138
#Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird#SR-71#9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing#Spy plane#February#1982#USAF#my post
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SR-71 “Ichi-Ban” – Buried in the Deepest Ocean on Earth
Throughout the 60s, Lockheed Skunk Works were building some incredible aircraft – the A-12 Oxcart and SR-71 were and still are some of the fastest vehicles ever made. These technical achievements were incredible. Before home computing and the internet, there were aircraft capable of more than 2,000 mph.
But, being on the bleeding edge of technology comes with risks. Either through lack of understanding or difficulty in manufacturing parts to tight enough tolerances, accidents can and will happen. This was to be the unfortunate fate of the SR-71 known as “Ichi-Ban”.
The Lockheed SR-71, known as the ‘Habu’.
SR-71 #61-17974 was based at Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Japan and made quite the scene for the locals who lived close by.
Read More: Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird – The Plane Designed to Leak
The unusual aircraft drew a lot of attention thanks to the unusual shape and jet black paintwork. The SR-71 became known as the ‘Habu’ locally, thanks to its resemblance to the Habu Pit Viper.
The Habu Viper.
The shape of the Habu Viper’s head has a strong resemblance to the SR-71.
As these aircraft were spyplanes, pilots did not become aces in the traditional sense, but with every mission flown a Habu was painted onto the side of the Blackbird. Once amassing 5 missions complete the crew would be considered an ace.
#61-17974 had the most operational missions complete and a large Habu was painted on the tail of the aircraft as a mark of respect. The snake was wrapped around a red ‘1’ and in the local language, ‘number one’ translated to ‘Ichi-Ban’.
The SR-71 known as "Ichi-Ban".
In April of 1989, just like many missions flown before, Pilot Lt. Col Dan House took Ichi-Ban into the skies above Kadena and everything seemed normal.
Nothing was reported by House or by his RSO Blair Bozek that would indicate any issue.
That was until House pushed the throttles on the pair of J-58 engines to maximum power. As Ichi-Ban hit Mach 3.0 the bearing in the left-hand compressor failed and caused the immediate destruction of the engine whilst travelling at over 2,000 mph.
The Wreckage of SR-71 "Ichi-Ban".
The damage from hitting the water was immense.
As the J-58 exploded, shrapnel was sent flying damaging the SR-71 and most critically severing hydraulic lines. Even the best and most experienced pilots ever would not be able to save such a badly damaged plane.
House did not give up, incredibly aware that the death of his RSO and himself was imminent, he managed to steer the Blackbird into a shallow descent and decelerate as quickly as possible.
Ejecting from aircraft is not a pleasant experience for anyone involved and doing it at Mach 3 would have been suicide.
The US could not let the wreckage fall into the hands of the Chinese government.
It was extremely important to recover the wreckage as the technology was highly classified.
However, extreme skill combined with a lot of luck meant that the wounded aircraft found itself below 10,000 at low enough speed for both House and Bozek to safely eject. They landed in the sea where some local fishermen came to their rescue.
Ichi-Ban continued going down and eventually smashed into the waters of the South China Sea.
Despite the age of the SR-71, the US could not let the wreckage be recovered by the Chinese. It was too technically advanced. It was not long before the wreckage had been salvaged and transported back to the Kadena Air Force base.
The tail of Ichi-Ban.
There were several options of what they could do with the wreckage of Ichi-Ban: scrap the aircraft and sell the metal to the highest bidder in Okinawa, send it back to the US for disposal, or bury it.
Typically the fastest and least expensive option was chosen.
Read More: The F-22 Raptor – The Fighter of the Future
But, the story does not end there – the Pacific Air Force would not permit burial of the aircraft at Kadena because facilities were constantly under construction for new tenants. Meaning that it may be a possibility that it would need to be dug up and moved somewhere else.
The SR-71 was an important aircraft to many.
Crews were very fond of the SR-71. Fitting that a full military honours burial was done to see her off.
Burial at sea seemed the most fitting option but required help from the US Navy. After all of the bureaucracy was settled the SR-71 #61-17974 was transferred to a waiting vessel.
Her remains were taken out to sea on Christmas Eve 1989 and buried with full military honours. Pushed off the side of the vessel, Ichi-Ban sank 25,597 feet into the ocean where she lies at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
Are there any SR-71 still flying?
Though the SR-71 still holds the record for the highest altitude in horizontal flight, it’s no longer in use. In fact, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson designed this aircraft for Lockheed with the latest technology of the time. The plane’s pilots even required special suits to survive the extreme conditions the planes created. However, the US retired the planes in 1989 for political reasons and would only have brief reinstatement during the 1990s, after which the US permanently retired them.
@Stealthy360 via X
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faster than a bullet
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yummy scary Lime Soda DEMON
I wanted to paint cathy sipping some pumpkin spice coffee, but the colour combo wasnt going to work out I didn't think, so instead it became some kind of key lime looking drink, but of course, since it's October, it's *scary*
#cathartes#blackbird#sr 71#ghost#spy plane#spooky season#october 2023#watercolour#lime juice#drink#traditional art
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Memorandum for the Record Authored by Andrew J. Goodpaster
Collection DDE-WHOSS: White House Office, Office of the Staff Secretary: Records of Paul T. Carroll, Andrew J. Goodpaster, L. Arthur Minnich, and Christopher H. RussellSeries: Alphabetical Subject FilesFile Unit: Intelligence Matters (9)
[stamped and struck through at top and bottom of page] TOP SECRET [/stamped and struck through at top and bottom of page] March 4, 1959 MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD: The the President's request, I advised General Twining that the President has decided to disapprove any additional special flights by the U-2 unit in the present abnormally tense circumstances. A. J. Goodpaster Brigadier General, USA [stamped on right margin] The Dwight D. Eisenhower Library [/stamped on right margin] [stamped on lower right margin] DECLASSIFIED E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-204 MR 78-44 #18 By DJH Date 12/12/80 [stamped on lower right margin
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Dragon Lady
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Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.
National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center outside Washington, DC. 2014.
#military aviation#aviation#blackbird#sr-71#sr 71 blackbird#lockheed#aircraft#spy plane#usaf#yzshot#black and white#nokia lumia#lumia 1020
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It has been hastily reassigned to ground operations.
Get fucked!
#dougie rambles#news#political crap#fuck putin#ukraine#Russian invasion of Ukraine#spy plane#beriev A-50#AEW&C#early warning systems#early warning radar#ilyushin#il76#shootdown#get fucked
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A brief story of a secret funding project for three Lockheed YF-12 aircraft. YF-12 Secret Funding 🎥 https://youtu.be/waIKmfA-lP8
#youtube#aircraft#airplane#aviation#dronescapes#military#documentary#spy plane#sr 71 blackbird#sr71#sr 71#yf-12#blackbird#YF 12#secret project#skunk works#kelly johnson#lockheed#lockheed blackbird#aviation daily#aviation lovers#aviation photography#aviation history#1950s#1950s history
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March AFB Airshow - 1978
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imma gonna drop this specific image of an sr-71 blackbird because it's vibes.
{btw, here's the article that i took this image from if ur curious}
#aviation#airplane#aircraft#avigeek#weird aircraft#sr 71#sr 71 blackbird#reconnaissance aircraft#lockheed#blackbird#spy plane
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If you’re ever in the Washington, DC, area, you must go a few miles to Virginia to see the 972 SR 71. Beautifully displayed, it is the showpiece of the museum. It’s what you see when you first walk in.
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft, was at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War. On its last flight, the Blackbird on display at the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, DC, in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 2,124 miles per hour
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center displays thousands of aviation and space artifacts, including the Space Shuttle Discovery, a Blackbird SR-71, and a Concorde, in two large hangars.
Hours
10:00 am to 5:30 pm
Open every day except December 25
Tickets
Free admission
No tickets required
Parking $15
@Habubrats71 via X
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