SR-71C The Bastard
The amazing video included in this post was recorded in June 2016 at Hill Air Force Base (AFB) and shows “The Bastard,” SR-71C S/N 61-7981, the last SR-71 produced and the only C model Blackbird ever built. The aircraft was dubbed “The Bastard” because it was a hybrid made up of the rear fuselage of the first YF-12A (S/N 60-6934) and a functional engineering mockup of an SR-71A forward fuselage manufactured for static testing.
After the second of the two B model trainers crashed on January 11, 1968, the new aircraft was built to replace it. On March 14, 1969, the C model took off from the Lockheed plant in Palmdale, California, piloted by Lockheed test pilot Steve Belgeau in the role of reconnaissance systems officer and Blackbird Chief Project Pilot Robert J. Gilliland at the controls. On September 3, 1970, following flight testing, it was handed over to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, California.
SR-71C last flight
The aircraft, which had just 556.4 flight hours—excluding the 180.9 hours it accumulated when flying as YF-12A S/N 60-6934—made its final flight on April 11, 1976, and was taken out of service on June 24, 1976. After that, it was prepared for long-term storage at the Palmdale, California, Lockheed plant. After Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah intervened, the Air Force assigned the aircraft to the Hill Aerospace Museum in April 1990, and the museum promptly started arranging for its transfer from Beale AFB to Hill AFB.
In July 1990, representatives from the museum, the 405th Combat Logistics Support Squadron (CLSS), the 67th Aerial Port Squadron, and the Air Force Heritage Foundation of Utah flew to California to figure out the best approach to disassembling, packaging, and moving the aircraft.
In August 1990, a crew consisting of sixteen members from the 405th CLSS traveled to California and disassembled the aircraft into three main sections along with several smaller parts, such as a start cart and J58 engine. They then palletized all of the components for transportation on a C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft. However, when the disassembly operation was completed, no cargo aircraft was immediately available to transport the pieces back to the base. Everything would have to wait.
SR-71C The Bastard at Hill AFB
Only the largest components that would need to be transported by cargo aircraft remained after representatives from the 405th CLSS and the 67th Aerial Port Squadron made two trips to Beale AFB in the spring of 1991 using two large flat-bed trucks. It was a C-5 aircraft from Travis AFB that was eventually scheduled for air transport in August 1991, a year after the dismantling started.
The aircraft parts were assembled in a large hangar owned by the 405th CLSS for reassembly and restoration after they all arrived at the base. The aircraft’s extensive two-month reconstruction comprised many active-duty personnel, volunteers, and Air Force Reservists. The finished aircraft was transported to the museum and put on display on October 16, 1991.
Source: U.S. Air Force
Photo by U.S. Air Force