U.S. reconnaissance machine "SR -71 Blackbird" is still the fastest in the world

The SR -71 Blackbird, a strategic reconnaissance machine developed by the US Lockheed, was higher and faster than any other plane during the Cold War.Even more than half a century has passed since the first flight, that has not changed.

The SR -71, which was secretly designed in the late 1950s, was so expensive that it could reach space, and was able to fly out faster than missiles.The aircraft still keeps the high -flight altitude on horizontal flight and the highest flight speed of airplanes that do not power rockets.

In a time when there was no spy satellite or drone (unmanned), SR -71 was developed to invade the enemy without even being shot down.

A black -painted aircraft to distribute the heat was nicknamed "Blackbird".In addition, the aircraft with a streamlined and narrow aircraft seemed to be completely different from the conventional aircraft.

"Despite being designed in the 1950s (Blackbird), (Blackbird)," (Blackbird) is still a future plane, "he said.

CIA reconnaissance aircraft

In May 1960, a US reconnaissance aircraft U -2, which had taken aerial photographs in the Soviet airspace, was shot down.

The incident immediately throws diplomatic ripples in the US -Soviet cold war, and the United States needed to develop a new reconnaissance aircraft that could fly faster, higher, and non -aircraft firing.

"The CIA (US Central Information Bureau) wanted was a reconnaissance aircraft that could fly at an altitude of 27 km or more, and was less likely to be found by radar," said Merlin.

The design of this ambitious reconnaissance aircraft was entrusted with Clarence Kelly Johnson, one of the best aircraft designers in the world, and a secretary composed of engineers organized by Johnson.It was "Skancworks".

"I had to invent everything. Everything," said Johnson.Johnson died in 1990, when Blackbirds were first retired.

The Blackbird Family's first airplane was named "A -12" and took his first flight on April 30, 1962.A total of 13 A -12 was created, and the aircraft became a secret program operated by the CIA.

Titanium aircraft

Since the SR -71 was designed for flight at a speed of 3,200 km / h, the surface temperature of the aircraft increased due to friction with the surrounding outside air, and the conventional aircraft dissolved at high temperatures.Therefore, titanium alloy was adopted as the material of the aircraft.Titanium is lighter than iron on top with high temperatures.

However, another problem occurred due to the use of titanium alloy.First, it was necessary to create a new set of titanium tools.If you use a normal steel tool, the fragile titanium will break when you come into contact with the tool.

It was also found that the procurement of the titanium itself was difficult."At that time, the world's largest titanium supplier was the Soviet Union. The US government had to buy a large amount of titanium. Perhaps he purchased a fictional company," (Merlin).

The SR -71 unit was not painted at all, and the silver titanium alloy of the aircraft was flying out.It was 1964 that SR -71 was first painted black.It was found that black paint would efficiently absorb and release heat and lower the temperature of the entire aircraft.Thus, "Blackbird" was born.

"Blackbird" family

Multiple derivative types have been developed from the first model of the Blackbird Family "A -12".

The YF -12 looks exactly like A -12 except for the nose, but this is an interceptor, not a reconnaissance aircraft.A total of three aircraft were manufactured and operated by the U.S. Air Force.

The M -21 had a pylon for and launched an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft behind the aircraft.A total of two aircraft were manufactured, but in 1966, an unmanned aircraft collided with the mother machine, killing one of the crew.Following the accident, the M -21 development plan was canceled.

The SR -71, the last derivative type of A -12, took the first flight on December 22, 1964, and was responsible for gathering US Air Force for more than 30 years.A total of 32 aircraft were manufactured, and the total number of Blackbird Family was eventually 50.

Pioneer of stealth aircraft

The SR -71 aircraft contained some of the world's first composite materials used in airplanes.Thanks to this material, the aircraft became less likely to be found by enemy radar."At that time, the word stealth was still used, but the aircraft was essentially a stealth aircraft."

SR -71 was easy to invade the enemy's airspace because it was altitude with no anti -aircraft shooting at high speed than missiles, and rarely found in radar.

Merlin said that SR -71 was the idea that when the enemy discovered and fired a missile, he had already left the enemy's airspace."However, at that time there was no real -time datalink, so (SR -71) took a film photo from the sky and was processing and studying the film that the aircraft brought back to the base."

As a result, Blackbird had never been shot down by enemies.However, with the reliability of the aircraft, 12 out of 32 aircraft were lost in an accident.It was also an airplane that was difficult to operate and pilot.

"I needed a lot of manpower to prepare for the aircraft. When the blackbird was dispatched, as with the launch of the space shuttle, basically countdown (second reading) was performed.Because I needed preparation. It was as much effort and personnel as I could imagine (Mr. Merlin)

The aircraft of the aircraft had to dress specially so that they could withstand high -altitude extreme conditions.

Mr. Merlin said, "They were basically wearing the same kind of space suit that the crew of the Space Shuttle was wearing today," and said, "If you fly at high speed, the pilot seats are very hot.The pilot was pressed by pressing their meals into the window glass during the long mission. "

In the end, Blackbird never flew in the Soviet Union.After the 1960 incident, the US government completely stopped flying in the Soviet territory.However, during the Cold War, they played an important role and performed missions in other important battles such as the Middle East, Vietnam, and North Korea.

In 1976, the SR -71 set a world record that was still unbreakable, with a flight altitude of 850,5069 feet (about 26,000 meters) and a maximum speed of 2193.2 miles (about 3530 km = Mach 3.3).。However, the Blackbird Plan was canceled in 1990 due to the improvement of the practicality of new technologies such as spy satellites and unmanned aircraft and the surveillance data was quickly obtained, so it was temporarily revived in the mid -1990s (in the mid -1990s.)

In 1999, the U.S. Aeronautics Bureau (NASA) took the last flight of SR -71, and all remaining blackbirds were sent to the museum.