United States Air Force - Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance plane 17 : 無料・フリー素材/写真
United States Air Force - Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance plane 17 / James St. John
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示 2.1 |
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| 説明 | (National Museum of the United States Air Force collection, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, USA)----------------------From exhibit signage:LOCKHEEDSR-71BLACKBIRDAs of March 2020, the "Blackbird" remains the fastest- and highest-flying production aircraft. Developed at the height of the Cold War, the SR-71 flew top secret missions around the world for more than 20 years.Entering service in 1966, under the code name PROJECT SENIOR CROWN, the secretive Blackbird performed flights over dangerous hot spots, including North Vietnam, Cuba, Nicaragua, Libya, and the Persian Gulf. At 80,000 feet, the Blackbird could photograph 100,000 square miles in one hour. The SR-71 also flew reconnaissance missions along the borders of Communist China and the Soviet Union.The United States Air Force retired the SR-71 in 1990, with a brief return to service in the mid-1990s. No SR-71 was ever lost to hostile action.SPEED2,193 miles per hour.In 1974, an SR-71 flew from New York to London in only 1 hour, 54 minutes, beating the previous record by almost three hours.FASTER THAN A BULLETSR-71: 3,216 feet per secondBullet: 2,930 feet per secondDISTANCEIn 1971, an SR-71 flew 15,000 miles nonstop in 10.5 hours - circumnavigating the continental United States twice - averaging about 1,500 miles per hour and slowing down only to refuel in flight.ALTITUDE85,069 feetSR-71: 16.1 miles highU-2: less than 70,000 feet high737: about 30,000 feet highFLYING THE SR-71Blackbirds operated from three primary locations: Beale Air Force Base, California, USA; Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan; and Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England. With aerial refueling, SR-71s could cover the world.Only a few elite pilots and reconnaissance systems officers (RSOs) operated the SR-71. Just 93 pilots and 89 RSOs flew operational SR-71 missions.On March 21, 1968, in the aircraft on display, Major (later General) Jerome F. O'Malley and Major Edward D. Payne conducted the first operational SR-71 sortie. During its career, this aircraft accumulated 2,981 flying hours and flew more sorties than any other SR-71.COLD WAR NECESSITYIn the mid-1950s, the United States recognized the need for a U-2 replacement. Lockheed proposed the ultrafast Blackbird design to meet this need. The first Blackbird version, the single seat A-12, was built for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Ther term 'Blackbird' refers to not just one aircraft, but a 'family' that included the United States Air Force's SR-71 and YF-12A, the CIA's A-12, the M-21 carrier, and the D-21 remotely piloted aircraft.From 1967-1968, A-12s flew classified missions under the name PROJECT BLACK SHIELD, spying on missile sites and military activities in Southeast Asia and North Korea. PROJECT BLACK SHIELD depended heavily on United States Air Force support, including maintenance, film processing, aerial refueling, and basing in Okinawa, Japan.ENGINEERING MARVELThe Blackbird flew higher and faster than any aircraft in existence, while being significantly less visible on radar. This required solving extremely difficult technological problems.Heat heavily influenced the Blackbird's construction. Aerodynamic friction at high speed heated parts of the plane to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. When using the afterburners, the engine cowlings would reach 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit.In order to reduce visibility on radar, engineers made extensive use of "plastic" laminates, triangular seams, vertical tails canted inward at 15 degrees, and radar-absorbing paint.Engineers blended the leading edges and fuselage into chines to reduce radar visibility, provide extra lift, and improve the aerodynamic performance of the plane.THE J58 ENGINEThe SR-71 was powered by a unique engine and specially developed fuel. The SR-71 maintained Mach 3 flight from the J58's continuous ramjet afterburner. JP-7 fuel remained stable at extreme temperatures and was chemically ignited.Intake air had to be slowed down to less than the speed of sound. Air moving this fast was too hot for the turbojet engine to use to create thrust. The addition of moveable spikes on each engine regulated the air flow regardless of the flight speed.At high speed, the SR-71 used continuous afterburner, which was directly fed by air from the intake though external tubes. This "ramjet" feature added to the thrust already provided by the powerful turbojet section.SR-71 crews wore full-pressure suits in case the cockpit depressurized or they had to eject at high altitude.---------------------- |
| 撮影日 | 2024-09-08 13:55:09 |
| 撮影者 | James St. John |
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