When one of the unit’s administrative sergeants called the Soviet embassy in San Francisco, he proposed they offer him $100,000 in exchange for some important SR-71 documents
What aviation geek doesn’t love speed, new technologies, advanced manufacturing methods, and the mysteries of a secret government program? Many aircraft embody these features, but none come close to the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.
It could fly over Vietnam in eight minutes; its electronic countermeasures were so advanced that they are still in use today on other airplanes and remain top-secret; it had tires filled with nitrogen; and it was made from one of the most expensive metals on earth. And it’s still the world’s fastest plane.
No other aircraft of its era could match the SR-71 Blackbird’s speed, innovation, or secrecy. The following is an intriguing narrative from pilot Terry Pappas of SR-71 Blackbird, found in his fantastic book SR-71 Blackbird Q&A, which you can get HERE.
‘Sentenced to 25 years of hard labor at Leavenworth, Kansas.
‘When you try to sell top-secret information in 1985, Leavenworth is where you’re going.
‘One of the administrative sergeants assigned to the unit was in financial distress. He figured that the top-secret information that he had about the SR-71 could be sold. He called the Soviet embassy in San Francisco and proposed they give him $100,000 for several key documents related to the SR-71. The Soviets figured that this guy was deranged so they notified US intelligence. He was caught. He got a one-way ticket to Leavenworth.’
Pappas concludes;
‘Just how secure was the top-secret information? At Beale Air Force Base in California, there was a cipher lock to enter the building. There was another lock to enter the hall where our squadron was, then we had a separate room, there was safes lining the wall. Each of the RSOs and pilots had their own safe, and in it was in a larger safe that had to be unlocked in order to get your safe. What did they keep in there? Their checklist, among other things. Security was paramount around the SR-71 program.’
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Photo by Terry Pappas