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F-14-RF-4C
Cold War

When a US Navy F-14 Tomcat shot down a USAF RF-4C Phantom II during a war game

by Till Daisd
written by Till Daisd

F-14 shooting down RF-4C

A US Air Force (USAF) RF-4C Phantom II was shot down by a US Navy F-14 Tomcat on September 22, 1987, over the Mediterranean during NATO Exercise Display Determination 87. The F-14 pilot got confused and released a live Sidewinder while the RF-4C was doing a simulated reconnaissance mission on the USS Saratoga (CV-60). The crew of the RF-4C was rescued after ejecting. The pilot of the F-14 never flew again.

USAF Phantom pilot Captain Michael Ross and his Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) 1st Lt. Randy Sprouse (aboard RF-4C, 69-0381, ZR tailcode, of the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, out of Zweibrucken Air Base, West Germany) were searching for an ‘enemy’ fleet comprised of the US carrier USS Saratoga as part of the multi-force exercise.

Saratoga’s radar picked up a contact that was a neutral KC-135 airborne tanker and directed its F-14 Tomcat fighter jets toward it. The Tomcats arrived at the same tanker where Capt. Ross’s Phantom was refueling. Without giving it much attention, Sprouse looked back and noticed the two F-14s following them. When the unmarked Phantom refueled and departed, the Tomcats initially thought it was a friendly aircraft and followed it.

Confusing the orders

The Phantom’s scanners malfunctioned shortly after it attempted to switch them on. The Phantom crew continued their mission and saw the “enemy” fleet. The requirements stated that the mission was considered completed if they could read the hull number of the carrier. Following the Phantom, new pilot Lt (Jg) Timothy Dorsey (flying F-14A BuNo 162707 from VF-74 Be-Devilers) notified the Saratoga of the reconnaissance aircraft. With the Tomcat on the Phantom’s tail, Lt. Sprouse looked back and called out, “There’s a Navy F-14 sitting on our left wing at about 8 o’clock!”

Captain Ross replied, “Okay. He’s a good guy.”

At the same time, the Tomcat pilot, Lt. Dorsey, asked the Saratoga if he should engage and was given the clearance, “Warning Red, Weapons Free,” which was a standard exercise call at the time (vice Weapons Tight or Hold).

This is where Lt. Dorsey confused the orders. Lt. Dorsey asked, “Jesus! Do they want me to shoot this guy?” To which his own RIO, Lt. Command Edmund Holland, replied, “Yes-shoot!”

Application to be advanced to rear admiral

Since this was intended to be a training mission, Lt. Commander Holland and Command intended for Lt. Dorsey to “fire” a simulated missile, which entailed locking up the target using the infrared tracker of the AIM-9 Sidewinder. When he got the tone the infrared was tracking, that would be a kill. However, Lt. Dorsey fired a live Sidewinder missile and shot down the Phantom (The very end of the film here).

Both were able to eject, although they were both seriously hurt. When they punched out, the explosion and spiral down forced them up against the side of the cockpit. The Saratoga picked up both of the men. Sprouse suffered a dislocated shoulder, while Captain Ross needed 32 surgeries to treat his numerous injuries.

Following an investigation, it was determined that Lt. Dorsey was responsible for both his inexperience and his error in judgment. Even though he was never authorized to fly again, he was allowed to keep his pilot wings and continued in the Navy, advancing to the rank of Captain (Colonel in the Army) and attempting, but failing, to be promoted to rear admiral.

Photo by U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force

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SR-71-Blackbird-Leaking-Fuel
Cold War

The chief of the SR-71 crew reveals why the Blackbird never stopped leaking fuel

by Till Daisd
written by Till Daisd

The SR-71 Blackbird

The US Air Force (USAF) created the SR-71 Blackbird in the 1960s; it was a plane that could move at a speed that exceeded three times the sound of its own engines.

The SR-71 spy plane held the record for being the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft in the world for about 24 years. At a speed of Mach 3+, from 80,000 feet, it could survey 100,000 square miles of Earth’s surface per hour. Additionally, the Blackbird only needed to accelerate in order to outrun any attacker that could attempt to shoot it down with a missile. Its engineering was so advanced that new tools had to be created to assemble the SR-71.

JP-7 fuel

Ordinary jet fuel couldn’t be used in the Blackbird because of how hot it grew during its Mach 3.2 run. It was necessary to use jet fuel with a high flash point and high thermal stability. To meet this requirement, Shell created a unique fuel blend known as JP-7, which has a high flashpoint to keep the fuel from igniting due to the heat from the airframe.

One more issue with operating at Mach 3+ was that, when the SR-71 was designed, no sealant could endure the intense heat produced by an aircraft traveling at that speed.

SR-71 crew chief explains why the Blackbird never stopped to leak fuel and why SR-71s on public display are still weeping JP-7 today
Fuel leakages can be seen under this SR-71 Blackbird.

SR-71 Blackbird leak fuel

The Blackbird consequently leaked fuel. Everyone knows about the fuel leak on the SR-71. They frequently chuckle about it, as if to imply that there was a serious problem with the Blackbird. However, as we have previously shown, this is untrue.

Master Sgt. Floyd Jones (ret.) worked on the Blackbird for nearly 20 years, (according to Air Zoo, Jones entered the USAF in 1966. Assigned to Beale AFB in 1967, Jones became an SR-71 Crew Chief/Phase Inspector. After international assignments, he returned to Beale in 1980, where he became an SR-71 Inspection Dock Chief. Later, Jones worked with SR-71 flight testing and scheduled an SR-71 aircraft to wash at Beale). He was asked if the Blackbird continued to leak fuel, even when it was flying. Here’s his answer.

‘During the PDM [Phase Depot Maintenance], over 10,000 man-hours were expended for fuel tank repair. When the SR was turned over to the Air Force, the fuel leaks were mostly fixed. But after flying at speed, the leaks started to return.

‘You need to understand what constitutes a fuel tank on the SR-71.

‘It starts with an aircraft structure that is sealed with a polymer sealant on all edges and seems.

‘After flying at speed and altitude, the sealant starts to crack, thus creating a leak. Since we couldn’t find a sealant that could withstand the extreme temperature changes a plus 500 degrees to a minus 30.’

SR-71 Blackbird continues to leak fuel

Jones concludes;

‘So yes, the SR-71 would continue to leak under all conditions. It never stopped, even today, 30 years after they were put on public display. They are weeping JP-7 fuel.’

Check out Habubrats SR-71’s Twitter profile and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder‘s Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

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F-15-Streak-Eagle
Cold War

The eight Time-to-Climb World Records that the F-15 Streak Eagle broke

by Till Daisd
written by Till Daisd

The F-15 Streak Eagle was designed to break the time-to-climb records held by the F-4 and MiG-25 by setting new ones

The F-15 proved to be a highly useful testbed aircraft in addition to being developed to be the greatest air superiority fighter in the world. The 19th pre-production aircraft, airframe 72-0119, was involved in one of the most fascinating experimental programs of the Eagle.

How the F-15 Streak Eagle broke eight time-to-climb world records
Streak Eagle Drivers: Maj. Roger Smith, Maj. Dave W. Peterson, and Maj. William R. “Mack” MacFarlane

The name “Streak Eagle” perfectly described the type of flights this F-15A would have performed; in fact, its goal was to break the time-to-climb records held by the F-4 and MiG-25 by setting new ones. The Streak Eagle was heavily modified, with as much of its weight as possible reduced, to carry out this mission.

According to Steve Markman and Bill Holder’s book “One Of A Kind Research Aircraft: A History Of In Flight Simulators, Testbeds & Prototypes,” all superfluous parts of this F-15 were taken out, including the speed brake actuators, radar, cannons, tail hooks, one generator, utility hydraulic system, flap, and missiles. Furthermore, the aircraft gained an additional 40 pounds by not being painted.

The aircraft also had several instruments installed, including a restraint device that took the place of the tail hook and a nose boom equipped with alpha and beta probes to measure sideslip and angle of attack in addition to unique battery packs and controls. Additional special tools included a camera mounted over the shoulder, a G-meter, a backup attitude gyro, altitude verification equipment, and ballast.

With these modifications, the Streak Eagle saved 2,800 pounds, while the fuel carried in each record attempt varied from 3,000 to 6,000 pounds.

Three USAF F-15 pilots, Maj. Roger Smith, Maj. W.R. Macfarlane, and Maj. Dave Peterson, flew the Streak Eagle from January 16 to February 1, 1975, setting eight new altitudes and times records.

How the F-15 Streak Eagle broke eight time-to-climb world records

3,000 meters (9,843 feet) 27.57 seconds

6,000 meters (19,685 feet) 39.33 seconds

9,000 meters (29,685 feet) 48.86 seconds

12,000 meters (39,370 feet) 59.38 seconds

15,000 meters (49,212 feet) 77.02 seconds

20,000 meters (65,617 feet) 122.94 seconds

25,000 meters (82,021 feet) 161.02 seconds

30,000 meters (98,425 feet) 207.80 seconds

When compared to the upward numbers, the Streak Eagle reached 9,000 meters in less than a minute, but a Boeing 727 takes more than 15 minutes.

The National Museum of the US Air Force currently has the F-15 Streak Eagle on display. The following video tells the story of F-15 Streak Eagle record flights.

One-of-a-kind Research Aircraft A History Of In Flight Simulators, Testbeds & Prototypes is published by Schiffer Military and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

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SR-71-F-15
Cold War

An SR-71 pilot denied an F-15 pilot an easy simulated kill during a training sortie

by Till Daisd
written by Till Daisd

‘The next pass was different. I said to Jim that our F-15 jockeys are the best in the world, let’s give them a challenge,’ Former SR-71 Blackbird pilot, Capt. Steve “Griz” Grzebiniak

The SR-71 Blackbird gathered intelligence in some of the world’s most dangerous environments during its 24 years of operation. The Blackbird is still the only US Air Force (USAF) aircraft to have never lost a crew member, either in the air or on the ground, having successfully avoided all 4,000 missiles fired at it.

The Blackbird was built to operate at extremely high altitudes and speeds; from 80,000 feet, it could cover 100,000 square miles of Earth’s surface per hour. It was therefore very difficult for any hostile fighter to get a radar lock on it. However, according to former Blackbird driver Col. Richard H. Graham, USAF (Ret.) two fighters could achieve (simulated) SR-71 kills, but only under certain conditions.

‘Don Emmons and I, as well as many other Habus, had flown numerous at “Tomcat Chase” and “Eagle Bait” sorties against our best fighters—the Navy’s F-14s and the Air Force’s F-15s,’ says Richard H. Graham, former SR-71 Blackbird pilot, in his book SR-71 Revealed The Inside Story. ‘We flew the SR to provide the fighters practice at finding, tracking, locking on, intercepting, and simulated firing of their sophisticated F-14 “Phoenix” missile and the F-15 ‘s AIM-7M “Sparrow” at a high-altitude, high-speed target. The “Tomcat Chase” missions were flown over the Pacific Ocean and the “Eagle Bait” missions the Nellis AFB training area.’

The AIM-7 Sparrow, the only all-weather missile deployed by the US Air Force (USAF), required the aircraft’s radar to continue tracking the SR-71 long after the missiles were launched. This was before the newest generation of air-to-air missiles (the AMRAAM, a fire-and-forget missile with an initial range of roughly 35 miles) was developed. The Sparrow had to remain locked on to the SR-71 for its Fire Control System (FCS) to relay tracking information back to the missile, so it could make appropriate corrections, racing towards the target. When the SR-71 aircrew activated their Defensive systems (DEF, pronounced “deaf”), they could easily prevent the F-15 aircraft from receiving any useful radar data to direct their missiles.

Graham continues;

‘All I ever heard on the radios from the fighters as they sped underneath us was, “Ah damn it, we’re too late!” We tried for years to get SAC Headquarters approval to practice the same intercepts with Det 1’s SR-71s against Kadena’s F-15s. Every Det 1 Commander, particularly Col. Lee Shelton, pushed to get the practice intercepts approved because they believed a lot could be learned by both aircraft. Eventually, SAC gave in to Colonel Shelton’s repeated requests and approved the practice intercepts. In order to get high enough to take a reasonable shot at us, F-15 crews were given special permission to do a zoom-climb to 50,000 to 55,000 feet before a simulated AIM-7 launch against the SR-71. They had permission to be above 50,000 feet for a maximum time of 90 seconds without wearing a pressure suit.’

Former SR-71 pilot, Capt. Steve “Griz” Grzebiniak, writes about the Kadena intercepts in Graham’s book SR-71 Revealed The Inside Story.

‘We flew the HABU as a high-altitude target for the F-15’s only on our infrequently scheduled “DEBBIE” training sorties. We were the fighter’s “training aid,” but it provided us with some valuable training and insight as well. I think it’s common knowledge that our aircraft and pilots are the finest in the world and if anyone could shoot down an SR-71, it would be one of our own.

F-15-AIM-7

‘Our pre-briefed mission required us to fly a specific track, at Mach 2.8 and no higher than 70,000 feet. In addition, we were required to fly over a designated point in space (the IP) and call our time out from the IP in one-minute intervals starting five minutes back. If that wasn’t enough, we would dump some fuel at the IP to help the fighters get a visual “tally” on us. After each mission, we would debrief by phone, and the F-15 drivers would report “four AIM-7s launched, four kills on the HABU.”

‘The next target sortie Jim and I flew had a different outcome. We were scheduled to make two passes over the intercept track. The F-15 guys were excited to have another chance to “smoke” the HABU. On the next pass, Jim and I flew the plan as briefed. One minute calls from the IP, on course, on altitude, Mach 2.8, “Here’s some fuel dump guys, come and get us.” The next pass was different. I said to Jim that our F-15 jockeys are the best in the world, let’s give them a challenge. Jim and I knew that we were flying our favorite jet, tail number 962—she never let us down. We came down the track to the IP, making our one-minute calls, but there was no fuel to dump because we were at 86,000 feet and Mach 3.2. The inlet doors were slammed shut and the jet was purring like a kitten. I made a shallow 10-degree bank turn, not so much to foil the F-15 ‘s intercept, but to allow Jim to see the contrails flailing below us.

‘In the phone debrief after the mission, the F-15 flight lead reported “four shots and four kills” on the first pass and mumbled something about radar problems and no kills on the second pass. Even with the world’s best planes, pilots, and missiles, it would take “a golden BB” [a lucky blind shot by the enemy] to bring down a HABU.’

Photo by MASTER SGT. Bill Thompson U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin

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ADCOM-F-14-Tomcat
Cold War

USA could have achieved the same defense level with 170 F-14s as with 290 F-15s, but went with the latter

by Till Daisd
written by Till Daisd

The Eagle’s AIM-7 Sparrow missile was significantly less powerful than the Phoenix missile system. Research revealed that 170 F-14 Tomcats could equal 290 F-15 Eagles in terms of defense

The development of Soviet long-range patrol and bomber aircraft during the Cold War required a fleet defense fighter capable of engaging high-altitude bombers that were well beyond visual range. Grumman’s response was the famous F-14 Tomcat. Equipped with the long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles, F-14s were able to engage enemy targets more than 90 miles away. Grumman created the F-14’s highly effective variable-sweep wing, which allowed it to fly at a variety of airspeeds, in response to the need for an interceptor able to go at a high speed while carrying this heavy armament.

Following Grumman’s tradition of naming its aircraft after cats, the new “Tomcat” flew for the first time in December 1970. The first F-14As were delivered to the Navy in June 1972 after a series of modifications during flight testing, with Fighter Squadron (VF) 124 assigned to crew training.

ADCOM F-14B

In the same year, the F-14 was also offered to the US Air Force, as the photos in this post show.

The interesting photos in this post, taken at the Grumman Calverton test facility in the summer of 1972, depict the mock-up of the so-called “ADCOM F-14,” which Grumman built in response to a proposal from the US Air Force (USAF) to replace the Convair F-106 Delta Dart as an interceptor for the Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM) in the 1970s. Note the presence of the Aerospace Defense Command livery and emblem on the tail, as well as the mock “Buzz Code.”

In response to this requirement, Grumman created another version of the F-14B Tomcat Interceptor, of which a single mock-up was produced in 1972. The project quickly fizzled out due to a lack of interest, despite the upgrades, including adjustments to the missile launchers and an increase in internal fuel capacity.

The USAF tested the F-14, but the USAF opted to purchase more F-15 Eagles. As told by David F. Brown in his book Tomcat Alley: A Photographic Roll Call of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, when comparing the air defense capabilities of both, the purchase of the F-15 seemed foolish. The Phoenix missile system alone was far more capable than the Eagle’s AIM-7 Sparrow. Studies indicated 170 Tomcats could provide the same level of defense as 290 F-15 Eagles. General Daniel `Chappie’ James, the former Commander of NORAD, personally evaluated the Tomcat. He recommended that it be purchased by the USAF.

After testing the F-14, the USAF decided to buy more F-15 Eagles. According to David F. Brown’s narrative in Tomcat Alley: A Photographic Roll Call of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the F-15 acquisition seems senseless when comparing their air defense capability. The Phoenix missile system was significantly more powerful than the AIM-7 Sparrow aboard the Eagle. Research showed that 170 Tomcats could defend at the same level as 290 F-15 Eagles. The Tomcat was assessed in person by former NORAD Commander General Daniel “Chappie” James, who recommended that the USAF buy it.

Today, it is the F-15 Eagle that guards the sky over the continental United States; the F-14 was defeated by interservice rivalry, by politics, and… its high cost.

Tomcat Alley: A Photographic Roll Call of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat is published by Schiffer Military and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy

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Carmine-Vito-U-2
Cold War

The first U-2 pilot remembers how, after almost biting his lethal cyanide pill in half, the only U-2 pilot to fly above Moscow almost died and crashed into Red Square

by Till Daisd
written by Till Daisd

Who could blame Vito, when approaching Moscow for the first time, felt his throat dry. Consequently, he reached into his pocket for a cough drop, but instead, he took out the cyanide pill and popped it into his mouth

From the beginning, the CIA and the US Air Force (USAF) collaborated to manage U-2 development, testing, and operations. However, the CIA hired citizens to fly overflights over the USSR. USAF Reserve fighter pilots left the service voluntarily to become CIA pilots because President Dwight D. Eisenhower thought that flying military pilots over the USSR would be interpreted as an act of war. They were test pilots for Lockheed, officially.

On July 4, 1956, the first U-2 mission over the USSR was conducted, and the aircraft returned with photos of the shipyards in Leningrad. Following that, there were a few more flights, and the images they provided helped the US determine that, contrary to popular belief, there was no “missile gap” or “bomber gap” favoring the Soviets. In the end, the CIA conducted 24 U-2 flights over the USSR in addition to multiple flights over other communist nations.

According to Ben Rich’s book, “Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed”, Marty Knutson, the first pilot chosen to fly the U-2, recalls:

Carmine-Vito
Carmine Vito

‘I was the first pilot selected to fly in the U-2 program and made the third flight over the Soviet Union on the morning of July 8, 1956. I was a twenty-six-year-old with a thousand hours of fighter time. Now here I was flying over Russia in a fragile little airplane with a wingspan as long as the Brooklyn Bridge—and below I could see three hundred miles in every direction. This was enemy territory, big time. In those days especially, I had a very basic attitude about the Soviet Union —man, it was an evil empire, a forbidding, alien place and I sure as hell didn’t want to crash-land in the middle of it. I had to pinch myself that I was actually flying over the Soviet Union.

‘I began the day by eating a high-protein breakfast, steak and eggs, then put on the bulky pressure suit and the heavy helmet and had to lie down in a contour chair for two hours before taking off and breathe pure oxygen. The object was to purge the nitrogen out of my system to avoid getting the bends if I had to come down quick from altitude.

‘I knew from being briefed by the two other guys who flew these missions ahead of me to expect a lot of Soviet air activity. They tracked me from the minute I took off, which was an unpleasant surprise. We thought we would be invisible to their radar at such heights. No dice. Through my drift sight, I saw fifteen Russian MiGs following me from about fifteen thousand feet below.

‘The day before, Carmine Vito had followed the railroad tracks right into Moscow and actually saw two MiGs collide and crash while attempting to climb to his altitude.

‘Vito had a close call. The ground crew had put his poison cyanide pill in the wrong pocket. We were issued the pill in case of capture and torture and all that good stuff, but given the option whether to use it or not.

‘But Carmine didn’t know the cyanide was in the right breast pocket of his coveralls when he dropped in a fistful of lemon-flavored cough drops. The cyanide pill was supposed to be in an inside pocket. Vito felt his throat go dry as he approached Moscow for the first time—who could blame him? So, he fished in his pocket for a cough drop, and grabbed the cyanide pill instead, and popped it into his mouth.

‘He started to suck on it. Luckily, he realized his mistake in a split second and spit it out in horror before it could take effect. Had he bit down, he would have died instantly and crashed right into Red Square. Just imagine the international uproar!

‘I kept my cyanide pill in an inside pocket and prayed that I would not have an engine flameout.’

Check out the Habubrats SR-71 Twitter profile and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

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SR-71-Survival-Kit
Cold War

A rare aluminum gun was included in the survival kit for the SR-71 Blackbird crew members

by Till Daisd
written by Till Daisd

The survival kit carried by Blackbird’s pilots and RSOs included a few unconventional items, even though no SR-71 was ever shot down

The Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft were the basis for the development of the long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft known as the SR-71, or “Blackbird,” as it was informally called. The 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California, received the first SR-71 to begin service in January 1966. The first SR-71 flight occurred on December 22, 1964.

Nothing that had come before the Blackbird could compare to it.“Everything had to be invented. Everything,” in an interesting article that surfaced on the Lockheed Martin website, renowned aircraft designer Kelly Johnson of Skunk Works recalled.

During its service, the SR-71 Blackbird gathered intelligence in some of the most dangerous environments on Earth. Blackbird’s pilots and RSOs carried a survival kit that included a few unconventional items, even though no SR-71 was ever shot down.

SR-71-Survival-Kit-1
SR-71 Blackbird Pilots Survival Kit

The inclusion of an extremely uncommon aluminum gun in the Blackbird’s survival kit is quite interesting! Aluminum was used to make the gun lightweight. Rodney Miller was informed about the gun for protection by his former SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO), Col. Richard (Butch) Sheffield.

According to Last Stand On Zombie Island, one long-standing joke/urban legend was that the SR-71’s survival kit contained: “One low-power 38 revolver; two boxes of ammunition; four days’ concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings.”

However, as former Blackbird’s pilot Richard Graham explains in his book SR-71 Revealed the Inside History, “the survival kit contained standard Air Force survival items: a one-man life raft, day/night flares, desalinization kit, emergency UHF radio with spare batteries, first aid kit, thermal blanket, fishing gear, survival manual, and maps. Tethered between you and the survival kit was the inflated one-man life raft, ready for a water landing.”

An additional item carried in the pressure suite (not in the survival kit located in the ejection seat) was a sealed envelope containing instructions for the SR-71 crew members to present to anyone causing them trouble. Butch Sheffield gave the sealed envelope to the base commander in South Korea when they were upset about having an SR-71 land on their tiny base. We are not sure what was in that envelope or what it said but the base commander smiled and then was compatible and willing to do anything to make the crew comfortable.

Check out the Habubrats SR-71 and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Facebook pages for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and Linda Sheffield Miller

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Its-time-to-buzz-the-tower
Cold War

When Air Traffic Controllers asked an F-14 pilot to buzz the tower so see for themselves a Navy Tomcat

by Till Daisd
written by Till Daisd

‘Iowa the Air Traffic Controllers could not believe that they had an F-14 Tomcat under their control and so very low…500ft/152m,’ John Chesire, former US Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot

The development of Soviet long-range patrol and bomber aircraft during the Cold War required a fleet defense fighter capable of engaging high-altitude bombers that were well beyond visual range. Grumman’s response was the iconic F-14 Tomcat. With the long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles equipped on them, F-14s were able to engage enemy targets more than 90 miles distant. Grumman created the F-14’s highly effective variable-sweep wing, which allowed it to fly at a variety of airspeeds, in response to the need for an interceptor to be able to go at a high speed while carrying heavy ordnance.

The new “Tomcat,” named for Grumman’s tradition of naming its aircraft after cats, flew for the first time in December 1970. The first F-14As were delivered to the Navy in June 1972 after a series of modifications during flight testing, with Fighter Squadron (VF) 124 assigned to crew training. The new aircraft were first flown by operational squadrons VF-1 and VF-2 on the West Coast and by Atlantic fleet Tomcat squadrons VF-14 and VF-32 on the East Coast.

Through its encounters with Libyan aircraft in the 1980s and its appearance on screen in the very successful movie Top Gun—which included a memorable scene in which an F-14 piloted by Maverick and Goose buzzed the tower—the Tomcat came to represent a period of history.

During former F-14 Tomcat pilot John Chesire’s career, something similar occurred.

As he recalls on Quora, the event took place in the skies over Iowa.

‘I once flew across the plains of Iowa, low and slow, on my way to an airshow in Cedar Rapids. Growing up as a kid on a farm in Iowa, I figured that some farm kid and their parents might enjoy seeing an F-14 for the first time, flying low over their farm. When near Waterloo, Iowa, the Air Traffic Controllers could not believe that they had an F-14 under their control and so very low… 500ft/152m. They asked me to turn around and circle them so that they could come outside their control room and see for themselves a Navy F-14 Tomcat.

‘While I did stay relatively slow, I was at 500ft AGL. I swept the wings back to 68 degrees from their full forward position and briefly lit the afterburners. I may have cycled both the wings and ABs a couple of times for them. The ATC guys apparently really liked it and thanked me profusely as I continued on to my destination.’

Photo by Paramount

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A-12-Oxcart
History

CIA financed A-12 Oxcart secretly through back-door payments to Lockheed with personal checks to Kelly Johnson for over $1 million

by Till Daisd
written by Till Daisd

‘Everything about the A-12 Oxcart program was dark alley, cloak, and dagger. Even the way they financed the operation was highly unconventional,’ Ben Rich, second Director of Lockheed’s Skunk Works

As a replacement for the U-2 spy plane, the CIA created the highly classified A-12 Oxcart with the goal of providing the country with a very fast, extremely high-flying reconnaissance aircraft capable of avoiding Soviet air defenses. Lockheed, the company that built the U-2, was given the Oxcart contract by the CIA in 1959.

Under the direction of renowned engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, Lockheed overcame many technical obstacles to meet the A-12’s extreme speed and altitude requirements. These included innovations in titanium fabrication, lubricants, jet engines, fuel, navigation, flight control, electronic countermeasures, radar stealthiness, and pilot life-support systems.

The A-12 was declared fully operational in 1965 following hundreds of hours of flight at high risk by an elite team of CIA and Lockheed test pilots. The aircraft had achieved the design goal of maintaining a sustained speed of Mach 3.2 at an altitude of 90,000 feet.

Ben-Rich-Kelly-Johnson
Ben Rich (left) and Kelly Johnson (right)

In his book “Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed,” Ben Rich—the second Director of Lockheed’s Skunk Works from 1975 to 1991, following its founder, Kelly Johnson—recalls an intriguing detail about how the CIA funded the A-12 Oxcart program.

‘Everything about this project was a dark alley, cloak, and dagger. Even the way they financed the operation was highly unconventional: using secret contingency funds, they back-doored payment to Lockheed by writing personal checks to Kelly [Johnson*] for more than a million bucks as start-up costs. The checks arrived by regular mail at his Encino home, which had to be the wildest government payout in history. Johnson could have absconded with the dough and taken off on a one-way ticket to Tahiti. He banked the funds through a phony company called “C & J Engineering,” the “C & J” standing for Clarence Johnson. Even our drawings bore the logo “C & J”—the word “Lockheed” never appeared. We used a mail drop out at Sunland, a remote locale in the San Fernando Valley, for suppliers to send us parts. The local postmaster got curious about all the crates and boxes piling up in his bins and looked up “C & J” in the phone book and, of course, found nothing. So, he decided to have one of his inspectors follow our unmarked van as it traveled back to Burbank. Our security people nabbed him just outside the plant and had him signing national security secrecy forms until he pleaded writer’s cramp.”

*According to Kelly Johnson’s book Kelly: More Than My Share of It All, he became known as ‘Kelly’ Johnson (his full name being Clarence Leonard Johnson) because, while attending grade school in Michigan, he was ridiculed for his name, Clarence. Some boys started calling him “Clara”. One morning, while waiting in line to get into a classroom, one boy started with the normal routine of calling him “Clara”. Johnson tripped him so hard that the boy broke a leg. The boys then decided that he was not a “Clara” after all, and started calling him “Kelly”. The nickname came from the popular song at the time, “Has Anyone Here Seen Kelly? (Kelly from the Emerald Isle)”. Henceforth, he was always known as “Kelly” Johnson.

Check out Habubrats SR-71 and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Facebook pages for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

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SR-71-Smart-Valve
Cold War

A smart valve on the SR-71 Blackbird allowed to use JP-7 fuel as internal coolant

by Till Daisd
written by Till Daisd

Only the hottest fuel was transferred to the engines by the SR-71 Blackbird smart valve, while cooler fuel was sent to the avionics and to retract landing gear

The Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft were the basis for the long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft known as the SR-71, or “Blackbird,” as it was informally called. The 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California, received the first SR-71 to begin service in January 1966, while the first SR-71 flight occurred on December 22, 1964.

The SR-71 Blackbird spy plane has been the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft in the world for about 24 years. At a speed of Mach 3+, it could cover 100,000 square miles of Earth’s surface per hour while hovering above 80,000 feet. And if an enemy tried to shoot it down with a missile, all the Blackbird had to do was speed up and outrun it.

Brian-Shul

Everything that had come before the Blackbird was not comparable. “Everything had to be invented. Everything,” in an interesting article that appeared on the Lockheed Martin website, Kelly Johnson, the founder and famed aircraft designer of Skunk Works, recalled.

In the book Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed, Ben Rich, the second Director of Lockheed’s Skunk Works from 1975 to 1991 (who succeeded Johnson), explains that the design team led by him and Johnson looked to Shell Gas to develop a fuel with high thermal stability so that it would not break down and deposit coke and varnish in the fuel system passages.

Rich says, “We needed the fuel to remain stable at enormous temperature ranges. The JP-7 (as it was later known), was at -60° when a KC-135 tanker pumped fuel into the SR-71. The fuel acted as an internal coolant. All the heat built up inside the aircraft was transferred to the fuel by heat exchanges. They designed a smart valve that could sense temperature changes. It supplied only the hottest fuel to the engines. The smart valve sent cooler fuel to the retracted landing gear and avionics.”

The cockpit was cooled by the fuel, as already explained. The air conditioning bled off the engine compressor, dumped it through a fuel cooler, and then through an expansion turbo into the cabin at a temperature of -40°.

Refueling made Butch Sheffield, the SR-71’s eight-year RSO, happy since it allowed the cockpit to chill down. As fuel ran low, it would get more and more uncomfortable in the cockpit.

Check out  Habubrats SR-71 and  Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Facebook pages for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

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