“We had to refuel right after takeoff for only one reason, and it wasn’t because we leaked JP-7 fuel on the ground…” Col. Richard H. Graham, former SR-71 Blackbird pilot…
“Talking to Lockheed engineers later, they determined there was a good possibility if we had gone supersonic, the entire nose section might have imploded from the supersonic shock wave,” Col. Richard…
Under specific circumstances, F-14 and F-15 fighters were capable of simulating SR-71 kills The SR-71 Blackbird collected intelligence during the course of its 24 years of service in some of…
The NASA YF-12 Blackbird research program was ambitious; the plane, unless it was grounded for extensive maintenance or modification, flew on average once every week The images in this post…
Fighter jets are among the most extreme forms of machinery that mankind has ever produced. They are capable of flying faster than the sound itself, doing feats of gravity-defying, and…
The SR-71 remained the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft for approximately 24 years of its life It was a different era in 1976. Americans were waiting to buy as the…
In the 1960s, fearing that the Soviets would shoot down U-2 spy planes, the CIA and the Air Force worked together to build a new aircraft that flew higher and…
On December 22, 1964, Bob Gilliland performed the illustrious SR-71 maiden flight Robert J. “Bob” Gilliland passed away on Thursday, July 4, 2019, at the Rancho Mirage, California retirement facility…
In addition to receiving two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Air Medal, Lieutenant Colonel Ben Bowles gained one of them for rescuing SR-71 #960 Lieutenant Colonel BennBowles, a former SR-71…
“I assumed the Soviet MiG-31 fighter pilot would like nothing better than an opportunity to fire his missiles at an SR-71 Blackbird. Certainly, the SR-71 Blackbird would be a prized…