Agencies - Writings:
Despite the accelerated progress in combat technologies, such as satellites;The drones, (Drones), are still the plane (SR-71) as the “Lady of Heaven”;It is still the fastest plane in the world and has the highest flight height..This prompted "Gacobo Prixo", a journalist who lives in the British capital, "London", and covers news and investigations for the (C..that.that.thatترناشيونال)، لكتابة تحقيقًا نشره موقع المحطة الإخبارية العالمية، يستقصي فيه تاريخ الطائرة (إس.R-71).
The writer begins to achieve it by referring to the features of the unique plane.He says: “During the Cold War;This plane could fly with higher and faster efficiency than any other plane, and 55 years after its first flight;This plane still maintains this center. ”.
It has a historical background..
It was the Lockheed plane (S.R-71)، المصممة بسرية في أواخر الخمسينيات من القرن الماضي، قادرة على التحليق بالقرب من حافة الفضاء والطيران بسرعة تفوق سرعة صاروخ.To this day, the plane retains record numbers to the highest height of horizontal flying, and the highest speed of a plane that does not work with a missile force.
It was part of a family of spy planes designed for the adventure to enter the enemy's lands, without being dropped or even discovered, earlier for the appearance of satellites and drones..
And the function of the black paint, designed to waste heat, earned it the title (Blackbird), that is, "Black Bird", and this was paired with elegant lines of the long plane body, made it look different from anything produced before, a design that has not lost any of its brilliance.
The highest records in horizontal flying..
"You still look like something from the future, although she was designed in the fifties of the last century..
"Merlin" added: "And due to the way the fuselage bends and the wing and its definitions;The plane looks more organic than mechanical.Most traditional aircraft looks;As if someone made it, but this plane looks as if it had developed itself..
CIA spy!
The investigation pointed out that, in May 1960, an American spy plane (U-2), (U-2), was shot down in the Soviet airspace while taking pictures of the air.. وفي البداية؛ قالت الحكومة الأميركيةthatها طائرة أبحاث مناخية ضلت طريقها، لكن القصة انهارت بمجرد أن نشرت الحكومة السوفياتية صورًا للطيار الأسير، ومعدات المراقبة الخاصة بالطائرة.
The incident had immediate diplomatic repercussions on the Cold War, and strengthened the need for a new type of reconnaissance aircraft that could fly faster and higher, and be safe from anti -aircraft fire.. وقال “ميرلين”: “أرادت وكالة المخابرات المركزية طائرة يمكن أن تطير أعلى من: 90 ألف قدم، أو ما يقرب من ذلك، وبسرعة عالية وغير مرئية للرادار بقدر الإمكان”.
The task of designing such an ambitious machine, "Clarence Kelly Gonson", one of the greatest aircraft designers in the world, and his secret oath;The consisting of engineers at Lockheed, named: (your population and Skung Works).
"Gonson", who died in 1990, remembers the same year in which Black Birds retired from the service: "It was necessary to create everything.Everything in the sense of everything ”.
The original plane was in the family: (Black Bird) bearing the name: (A-12), and its first trip, on April 30, 1962.In total, it was produced: 13 A-12 aircraft, and the plane was a very special and secret access program managed by the CIA..
The fuselage is made of "titanium"..
Since the plane was designed to fly faster than two thousand miles per hour, friction with the surrounding atmosphere would heat the fuselage to a degree that would dissolve the traditional plane structure.So the plane was made of (titanium), a metal that is able to withstand high temperatures, besides it is lighter than steel weight.
However, the use of (titanium) causes other problems.First, it was necessary to manufacture a new collection of tools - also made of (titanium) - because regular steel tools break the fragile (titanium) when touching it..Second: It turns out that obtaining the metal itself is difficult."Merlin" said: "The USSR at the time was the largest supplier of (titanium) in the world.The United States government has to purchase a lot, perhaps using fake companies..
The first plane, which is totally not painted, was stuck, and it appears that its body membrane is from the silver (titanium).It was prolonged in black for the first time, in 1964, after the discovery that the black paint, which absorbs the heat and releases it efficiently, would help reduce the temperature of the entire plane structure..Thus (Black Bird) was born.
From a reconnaissance plane to an interceptor fighter..
Soon the A-12 plane evolved into a designed model;To serve as an interceptor, (type of fighter planes), instead of a reconnaissance plane.In practice, this means adding missiles, (Joe-Joe), and a second driving moon, to the individual of a crew to operate the necessary radar equipment..This new plane, which seemed to be identical to A-12;With the exception of the front of the plane, it is called: (U.F-12).
The writer explains that;At a time when the A-12 plane remained very secret, the presence of: (Yoo.F-12)، من قِبل الرئيس، “ليندون غونسون”، في عام 1964، وصُمِّمت ثلاث منها، وشُغِّلت من قِبل القوات الجوية الأميركية.
A third model was produced at this time almost;It is called: (M-21), which contained a tower on the back of the plane to install and launch one of the first drones.Two planes were also designed, but the program stopped, in 1966, after a drone collided with the mother plane that launched it;The killing of one of the pilots.
The final derivative of the plane, (A-12), was with a dual cockpit and a larger fuel capacity, bearing the name: (S..R-71)، و”إس.R ";It is the first letters in English term: “Strategic Reception”, and was first shaved on December 22, 1964.This is the version that will be launched to perform the US Air Force's intelligence missions for more than 30 years, and a total of 32 of them was built;This raised the final number of a family, (Black Bird), to: 50 aircraft.
Before "ghost"..
The fuselage guarantees, (S.R-71)؛ بعضًا من المواد المركبة التي جرى استخدامها للمرة الأولى على الإطلاق في طائرة؛ مما جعل رصد رادار العدو للطائرة أمرًا صعبًا."Merlin" said: "The plane was completely hidden before using the word: (ghost)".
And because it flying at a higher altitude than the anti -aircraft fire can reach, faster than the missile, and the radar hardly monitored, it was possible for (Black Bird);To enter the hostile atmosphere without a practical hindrance.
Merlin explained;That: “The idea was that by the time the enemy discovers, and its missile is launched, it is already on its way to get out of its air field..But this was before we had data links in the actual time, so the planes were taking pictures of a movie, and returning the film to the base, to be processed and studied..
You need a massive effort and great working forces..
As a result of this, the Black Bird plane was not landed by enemy fire.However, there was a problem in relying on it, and it was lost: 12 aircraft, from 32, due to accidents.It was also a complicated plane regarding its operation and flying."Merlin" explains..The operation of (Black Bird) was a basis for a descending count, as is the case in the tasks coming to space, because there was a lot of preparation in all of the crew and vehicle, which is a huge amount of effort and workforce..
The pilots had to wear their clothes in a special way;Because of the harsh conditions at high altitudes."Merlin" said: "They were often wearing a space suit, which is the same thing that you will find later that the space shuttle crews wears it..Also, the cockpit becomes very hot when flying at high speeds, to the extent that the pilots used to heat their meal in long tasks by placing it and installing it on the glass..
The Black Bird plane was not launched over the Soviet airspace, (which the US government stopped doing completely after the 1960 incident), but the planes remained an important role in the Cold War, and made tasks in other critical theaters, such as the Middle East, and ”Vietnam, and "North Korea".
Record numbers..
In 1976, it arrived (S.R-71)؛ إلى الأرقام القياسية التي لم تزل تحتفظ بها: تحلق على ارتفاع مستمر يبلغ: 85 ألفًا و69 قدمًا، وتصل إلى سرعة قصوى تبلغ: ألفين و193.2 miles, in the hour, or 3.3 Mach.
The program was suspended, in 1990, (with a short revival in the mid -1990s), as soon as technologies such as industrial spy satellites and drone vehicles became more feasible, and allow immediate access to reconnaissance data.
The writer concludes his investigation with the last flight of the plane, saying: “S..R-71)، آخر مرة من قبل وكالة الفضاء الأميركية، (ناسا)، عام 1999، والتي استخدمت إثنتين من الطائرات لأبحاث الطيران والفضاء العالية السرعة والارتفاع.Since then, planes (Black Bird) has found their way to museums.