Documentary BBC - The Legendary SR 71 Blackbird Stealth

Video from the channel Aloisa Conti about Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 1:04:01. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

This documentary from the Battle Stations series tells the story of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the strategic reconnaissance aircraft that the United States Air Force flew at over Mach 3. It combines archive footage with re-enactments and follows the aircraft from its origins at Skunk Works to its retirement. It closes with a USAF film dedicated to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing.

The starting point is the shooting down of Francis Gary Powers's U-2 by an SA-2 missile on 1 May 1960. That episode made it clear that a reconnaissance aircraft capable of flying higher and faster than Soviet defences was needed. Kelly Johnson and his Skunk Works team set out to design an aircraft that could cruise at Mach 3 above 80,000 feet. Aluminium could not withstand temperatures above Mach 2.6, so the structure was built from titanium. The design incorporated chines, canted tail fins and close to 20% radar-absorbent composite material.

The aircraft was unveiled in Burbank on 22 December 1964. On its first flight, flown by Robert Gilliland, it stayed airborne for a little over an hour and exceeded 1,000 mph. Deliveries to Beale Air Force Base began in 1966. It was crewed by a pilot and a reconnaissance systems officer (RSO), both wearing pressure suits. Its J58 engines were ignited with triethylborane.

The first operational mission departed Kadena on 21 March 1968, over Vietnam. In October 1973, Jim Shelton flew 11 h 20 min from Griffiss over Egypt and Israel during Operation Giant Reach, and the ceasefire came on 24 October. The 1974 records, tied to Farnborough, left the New York-London leg at 1 h 55 min 42 s, with Jim Sullivan, and the London-Los Angeles leg at 3 h 47 min 39 s, with Buck Adams. In April 1986, Brian Shul and his RSO photographed Libya after the F-111 strikes and evaded a missile. In the late 1980s, the SR-71 was retired because of its cost, having never lost an aircraft to enemy fire.