Planes have become synonymous with warfare, and almost every military boasts a fleet of jets that are ready to protect the skies at a moment’s notice. However, out of all the countries in the world, it’s perhaps the Americans that have the mightiest air force. They’re responsible for engineering some of the most revolutionary and fastest jets in existence.
One aircraft that still holds the record for the quickest fighter jet today is the SR-71 Blackbird, and boy is it a special plane. You can go to anyone who’s an aerospace enthusiast, and they’ll start gushing over the SR-71 Blackbird!
Its black design looks spectacular, and the minute you see this thing in the sky, you can’t help but feel intimidated! The Blackbird came at a time when stealth was a very different concept; being stealthy meant being untouchable, not invisible!
The SR-71 came out during the height of the cold war during the 60s, and it simply blew air defense systems away. Here are 15 facts you didn’t know about the SR-71 Blackbird
15 Fastest Military Aircraft
Back in the day, the American military wasn’t treating stealth the same as they are today. The aircraft during that era were centered around being able to fly faster and higher. It resulted in Lockheed making the SR-71, which could fly at an incredible speed of Mach 3.3; that’s almost 2500 mph in terms of land speed!
14 Untouchable In The Sky
When it took to the sky, nothing could ever hope to keep up with the brilliant jet. It could fly at Mach 3.3 at an altitude of 80,000 feet! You’d be lucky if you even managed to catch a glimpse of this incredible jet, it is an astonishing piece of engineering!
13 Titanium Structure
The Blackbird was so ahead of its time, innovative new techniques and features had to be thought up even to allow its production. It’s made out of 85% titanium and 15% high-end composite materials. According to one of the engineers, the titanium plates were so brittle they would shatter if one of them fell to the floor.
12 Innovative Production
Ordinary drills just wouldn’t work properly when trying to put together this plane. After creating 17 rivet holes, the drill would be virtually unusable afterward. Additionally, to effectively weld the plane together, the engineers had to use an argon shielding gas, which is both rare and expensive. It would make sure that all oxygen was eliminated during the welding process!
11 Flying The Plane
According to Major Brian Shul, flying the SR-71 was unlike any other aircraft he had flown before. At Mach 3.3, the speed was so immense that you could cover several countries in the Middle East in a few minutes. At 80,000 feet you could also see the curvature of the Earth and nothing but black space above you
10 Reconnaissance Jet
The SR in the name of the Blackbird stands for Strategic Reconnaissance. This means that the jet is full off spy equipment that would allow the Americans to successfully spy on the Soviet Union. The airplane’s spy equipment could survey 260,000 square-Km per hour of the Earth’s surface. It could easily spy on troop movements and military installments!
9 Spy Games
The main purpose of the plane was espionage, and even its creation involved a lot espionage and secrecy as well. Lockheed was using 85% titanium to make the airplane, and the biggest providers at that time were the Russians. So, to get the titanium, America needed to create several fake companies to buy the titanium from the Russians!
8 Never Caught Inland
While it was common knowledge that the United States was using the SR-71 to spy on the Soviets and their allies, they were never caught inland in any of the countries. The recon equipment on the jet was so advanced it could evaluate all that it needed to from the outskirts of these countries!
7 Sonic Booms
The United States knew that they had an incredible military jet on their hands. One of its occasional missions was to fly over foreign ceremonies at high Mach speed to cause a sonic boom. Just to let them know that they were in the skies, and what they’re doing is against U.S. policy!
6 Quartz Windshield
Due to the sheer speed at which the jet flew and the altitude, the SR-71 Blackbird could easily reach a temperature of over 600 degrees Fahrenheit. They had to use quartz to make the windshield, and the engineers had to use ultrasonic fusing to the titanium hull. It’s the only way the windshield wouldn’t disintegrate because of the heat!
5 32 Aircrafts
Only 32 SR-71 Blackbirds were made to take to the sky, and understandably so. Each one of the jets costs $34 million per unit and were very expensive to maintain as well. Often after a mission, the jets would have missing parts and damage. The repairs were costly and could also take a very long time!
4 12 Lost
Sadly, 12 of these magnificent airplanes are no longer functioning. However, none of them have been taken out. All of them were lost due to an accident or a malfunction. The jets were so complex, that even the slightest of changes could have catastrophic results. One of the jets supposedly disintegrated mid-flight due to a little duct-tape!
3 4,000 Missiles
During its long 34-year career, the SR-71 Blackbird had more than 4,000 missiles fired at it by enemy forces. What’s astonishing is that not a single missile ever hit the target, and the jet didn’t use any fancy defensive equipment. Standard evasive maneuvers for missiles were accelerating until they couldn’t keep up anymore!
2 Last Of Its Kind
Many people seem to gloss over this fact, but the SR-71 was the last major military aircraft to make use of the “slide rules.” After the Blackbird, all major aircraft design and calculation were left to computers because of their greater processing capabilities. Kelly Johnson and his team of Lockheed engineers were truly exceptional!
1 Retired
There’s still not a military aircraft out there that has the same flight capabilities as the SR-71 Blackbird. However, almost all of them currently sit in museums. Nasa retired the last Blackbird in 1999. Despite the incredible performance, the sheer operating cost of running these magnificent jets is what ultimately led to their retirement!